WESSON - After earning two victories in last week's MACCC Tournament, No. 13 Northwest punched its second consecutive berth into the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, going back-to-back for the first time in program history.

Now, the Rangers have learned which team awaits in the first round of the region tournament bracket.

Northwest enters the tournament as the fifth seed in the six-team draw and will face No. 2 seed LSU Eunice in a first round matchup, scheduled for Wednesday, May 11 at 2:30 P.M. The winner of this contest will face the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 4 matchup (Jones College-Northeast) on Thursday, May 12, while the loser will face the losing team between No. 1 seed Copiah-Lincoln and No. 6 Itawamba in an elimination contest.

Northwest enters the tournament ranked third in the MACCC in hitting, with a team batting average of .331 and fifth in total hits (418). The Rangers have also hit 50 homers as a team, good for second in the conference.

Individually, freshman McKaylee Polk leads the team with a .447 batting average, which also ranks second in the conference. Her 17 doubles and 18 home runs also lead the team, while her 17 doubles rank third in the conference. The Senatobia native's 18 homers lead the MACCC and are tied for fifth in the nation among NJCAA Division II student-athletes.

Additionally, the Rangers are helped by five other players batting .300 or better. Sophomore Laila Armstrong is hitting .413, while Saige Koczka is batting .399, followed by Kaitlyn Bednarek (.373), Meagan Allen (.349) and Meredith Owen (.341). Armstrong's 38 stolen bases rank third in the conference, while Koczka also has 11 doubles and 11 home runs.

In the circle, Gabby Dickerson has led the Rangers' pitching efforts with 190 strikeouts and a 20-7 overall record. Her strikeout total ranks second in the conference and 12th in the nation. Meagan Allen also has an 8-6 record in the circle with 85 strikeouts on the season.

LSU Eunice enters the tournament with a 32-18 record and are ranked No. 8 in the final NJCAA Division II regular season poll. The Lady Bengals are batting .314 as a team and seven players are batting .300 or better, led by Maddie Leal's .404 batting average, 19 doubles and 23 RBIs. Madison Diaville leads the team in home runs (7) and total RBIs (45). 

Maci Baldwin leads the team with 30 stolen bases, followed by 20 from Madison Prejean. In the circle, the Lady Bengals have a 4.80 team earned run average, led by Chloe Bennett's 196 strikeouts, 19-6 record and 13 complete games. Additionally, LSU Eunice is helped by Emma Shepherd's 55 strikeouts and Cendall Barton's three saves.

Updates will be available throughout the tournament on Twitter (@NWCC_Rangers), while all live broadcasts will be handled by Copiah-Lincoln at https://www.colinathletics.com/general/live_stream. 

Individual tickets (good for all games that day) will be sold for $10 per person (cash or check only). Children under 12 are admitted at no charge. Teams wishing to watch other games are admitted free of charge. All scouts will also be admitted at no charge.