SENATOBIA - Wednesday's battle between two NJCAA top 10 teams lived up to the hype, as No. 2 Northwest and No. 8 Northeast split victories in what served as a potential postseason preview.

Northwest rallied from a 2-0 deficit in Game 1, tying the game in the bottom of the seventh on Kara Johnson's solo homer. The Rangers would later win the opener, 4-3, in a nine-inning thriller, before rallying back from an 8-1 deficit during a 9-7 loss in the nightcap.

With the split, Northwest moved to 25-3 on the season and suffered its first home loss, while remaining tied for first place with a 14-2 conference record. The Tigers moved to 34-6 and 12-4 in the MACCC.

Northwest will turn its attention to its next doubleheader, as the Rangers will host Meridian on Friday, April 14. The two teams were initially scheduled to play on Saturday, but inclement weather forced the games to be moved up a day.

Meridian (11-26, 6-12 MACCC) enters this weekend's matchup on a four-game losing skid, most recently losing 5-2 and 10-3 to Copiah-Lincoln. However, the Lady Eagles have split with East Central and No. 18 Itawamba earlier this season, while also sweeping Southwest Mississippi and Coahoma.

Friday's games are set for 2/4 P.M., with both games available to watch on Ranger TV.


Game 1 - #2 Northwest 4, #8 Northeast 3 (9 inn.)

For the first time since last season's 12-inning battle in the MACCC Tournament, Northwest went into extra innings against the Tigers, eventually earning the 4-3 victory in a gutsy pitching duel.

Gabby Dickerson remained unbeaten in the circle, improving to 12-0 after throwing nearly 140 pitches, earning seven strikeouts against three walks and three earned runs allowed. On the other side, Cassidy Duskin (9-2) went a full eight innings, striking out three batters and allowing two walks.

Dickerson's lone blemish in the first inning came on an 0-2 count to Duskin, who smacked a triple to the fence in right center. Charly Clanton then scored Duskin on a sac fly to center, giving the Tigers the first run.

Duskin kept Northwest without a hit through the first four frames, retiring the side in the second, third and fourth innings. Meanwhile, the Tigers added another run in the top of the fourth, as a leadoff double from Clanton was followed by an RBI-double from Brianne Locke.

Trailing 2-0 with no hits, Madeline Houk finally got the Rangers going in the bottom of the fifth, delivering a leadoff single to shallow right field. After the freshman stole second, Shelby Payne's sac bunt advanced her to third, where she then scored off a wild pitch in Allyson Harrison's at-bat.

Duskin settled in and retired Northwest in the sixth, while Dickerson sent the Tigers down in order in the top of the seventh. Down to the final two outs, Johnson delivered a solo homer, tying the game at 2-2 and setting up extra innings.

Northeast threatened in the top of the eighth with Alexie Griffin's leadoff double, but Dickerson left two runners stranded to keep the game tied. The Rangers were retired in the bottom of the eighth, as Duskin forced all three batters into infield groundouts.

Although Sarah Hindman's go-ahead homer put Northeast ahead 3-2 in the top of the ninth, the late-inning magic came back into play for the Rangers. Kaylee Owens drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth and McKaylee "K.K." Polk followed with a single to right field, advancing Chloe Summerford to third (pinch runner for Owens). 

With runners on the corners and no outs, Northeast committed a costly error at second base, as a lineout was dropped out of the glove of the Tigers' second baseman on Kara Johnson's at-bat, allowing Summerford to score the tying run from third. Northeast then elected to intentionally walk Houk, putting two runners on and still no outs.

With Payne at the plate, the freshman delivered a fielder's choice to the shortstop, who tried to throw out Randi Johnson, the lead runner from third. However, the throw was off-target and not on time, allowing Johnson to help Northwest to the walk-off win.

Northeast outhit Northwest at the plate, with Houk accounting for half of the Rangers' four base hits. Griffin and Hindman delivered two base hits apiece, combining for four of the Tigers' seven hits. Additionally, six of the seven Northeast base hits were for extra bases.


Game 2 - #8 Northeast 9, #2 Northwest 7

Facing a rare 8-1 deficit after the top of the third inning, Northwest refused to give in, rallying all the way back to make things interesting in the 9-7 loss to Northeast.

A pair of leadoff walks helped set up the Tigers' first run in the opening frame, as Griffin scored from third on a wild pitch. Locke then delivered a double to right-center, scoring Duskin from third, making it a 2-0 lead for Northeast.

Northwest answered with a run in the bottom of the first, as Johnson's two-out single up the middle scored Owens from second, slicing the deficit to 2-1.

Harrison successfully retired the Tigers in order in the second inning, only for Northeast to score a whopping six runs in the top of the third. After getting the lead out, a Northwest error at second base put Duskin on base and a single from Clanton advanced her to second. Locke then scored both runners on a double to left-center, pushing the lead to 4-1.

A groundout from Harmon allowed Locke to score from third unearned, stretching the deficit to 5-1. Ava Meeks would then follow that up with a two-run triple to right-center and Natalie McKinney's RBI-single made it an 8-1 lead for Northeast.

Fortunately, the Rangers immediately chipped away at the deficit in the bottom of the third. Crista Wilson drew a leadoff walk and a sac bunt from Anna Nickens moved her to second, setting up an RBI-single by Reese Vanlandingham. Owens then blasted a two-run homer to center field, bringing Northwest back within an 8-4 margin.

Neither team did much at the plate over the next two innings, but Northeast did gain an insurance run in the top of the sixth, as Duskin's single to left and an ensuing error allowed India Ivy to score from second, making it a 9-4 lead for the Tigers. 

Once again, the Rangers immediately battled back in the home half of the sixth, scoring off a solo homer from Polk and an RBI-single from Houk, which scored Johnson after her triple to right-center. 

Trailing 9-6 entering the bottom of the seventh, Northwest continued to claw away at the deficit. Wilson led things off with a double to right-center and Owens reached on an error, allowing Randi Johnson to score from third after running for Wilson. Polk reached on the hit-by-pitch with two outs to put the winning run at the plate, but Kara Johnson grounded out to third, ending the Rangers' rally.

Northeast once again outhit Northwest, 10-8, in the Game 2 victory, led by two hits apiece from Locke, McKinney and Elisa Claire Young. Four of the Rangers' eight base hits were for extra bases, including the homers from Polk and Owens. 

Harrison dropped to 8-2 in the circle after giving up eight runs in 2.2 innings pitched, but only three of those runs were earned. The sophomore also tossed three strikeouts in the losing effort, while Kylee Brown pitched 4.1 solid innings of relief, issuing four strikeouts with no walks or earned runs given up.

Emma Dempsey (12-3) earned the win for Northeast, tossing a strikeout and allowing six earned runs in five total frames. Duskin reappeared in the circle in the seventh, earning her fifth save of the season. Read Full Article