ELLISVILLE - After surrendering a 4-1 lead to No. 6 Itawamba and being forced to extra innings, 13th-ranked Northwest was determined to avenge its two regular-season losses to the Indians, using a strong 10th inning to earn the 8-5 victory in Friday morning's MACCC Tournament elimination contest.
Northwest, the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament, improved to 31-12 on the season with the victory. No. 3 seed Itawamba dropped to 38-9 overall and was eliminated from the remainder of the tournament with the loss.
With the win, Northwest also locked up its second straight Region 23 Tournament bid and only the third in program history. The Rangers also have just the fifth 30-win season in program history and the first since 2012, when Northwest finished with an overall mark of 30-12-1.
Northwest came out aggressive to open the contest, finishing with one hit after the top of the first inning, despite two hard hit balls that resulted in outs for Itawamba. After holding ICC scoreless in the home half of the first, the Rangers strung together five hits and scored the game's first four runs on a fielder's choice, an error and a pair of singles from
Laila Armstrong and
McKaylee Polk.
Itawamba countered with a run in the bottom of the second, thanks to an RBI-single from Rayne Rippee, as the Indians cut the lead to 4-1.
Both teams went scoreless over the next two innings, as a pitchers' duel broke out between
Gabby Dickerson and Itawamba's Emily Robinson, who shut down the Rangers' bats at the end of the second inning after relieving starter Madison Jenkins.
Itawamba broke the ice in the bottom of the fifth, as a walk and a single helped put two runners on for the Indians. Kara Hays' single to center helped score the second run for ICC, as the Rangers' lead was sliced in half, 4-2.
Northwest had no answer for Robinson over the next couple of innings, while Itawamba continued to chip away at the Rangers' advantage. A leadoff double from Caroline Clark helped pave the way for an RBI-single from Connor Stevens in the sixth and a double from Hays tied the game at 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh. Despite giving up the tying run, Dickerson rebounded to strike out the final two Itawamba batters, denying the Indians' winning run at second base to force extra innings.
After a silent eighth inning, the Rangers finally got the bats going again in the top of the ninth, as
Kaitlyn Bednarek would make the rounds to third base from a leadoff single and a pair of sacrifices. With two outs, Armstrong's single to center field allowed Northwest to plate Bednarek for the go-ahead run and a 5-4 lead.
However, Itawamba was far from finished. A pair of singles from Katie Boatner and McKenzie Patterson put two runners on and a walk to Haylee Alberson loaded the bases. Clark would help the tying run score on her sacrifice fly to center field, once again forcing another inning for both teams.
Fortunes turned in favor of Northwest in the top of the 10th inning, as
Molly Harris was hit by a pitch to lead things off.
Caylee Comer would then reach on an error and the Indians followed by intentionally walking Bednarek to load the bases. After ICC got Harris at the plate for the second out of the inning, another error at third base helped two runs score for the Rangers and Armstrong's RBI-single to center added another, helping Northwest to the 8-5 lead.
Itawamba threatened once more in the home half of the 10th, as Jenkins delivered a leadoff single for the Indians, followed by a walk to Rippee. From there, Dickerson settled back in, as the freshman pitcher sent ICC down on a groundout, fly out and game-ending strikeout of Patterson.
Dickerson's gritty effort is now the longest of her career, a 10-inning complete game with nine strikeouts against four walks. She improved to 20-7 in the circle and notched her 11th complete game.
Itawamba outhit Northwest 14-10, but the Rangers were led by a 3-for-6 effort from Armstrong that resulted in three RBIs. Polk and
Maddie Brower also finished with two hits apiece, while the Indians were paced by a 3-for-4 effort from Clark and two hits each from Boatner, Hays, Patterson, Rippee and Stevens.
Robinson went 8.1 innings in relief for Itawamba, delivering five strikeouts against two walks.
