SENATOBIA - Behind another incredible performance from
Gabby Dickerson in the opener and a late-inning push in Game 2, the No. 4 Northwest softball team picked up a sweep against East Mississippi, earning a pair of 3-0 and 6-1 decisions on Tuesday afternoon.
Dickerson had her fourth game with double-digit strikeouts, fanning 13 EMCC batters in the Game 1 victory, while
Kylee Brown went the distance in the nightcap with eight strikeouts.
Northwest struggled at the plate in the opener, but still managed seven base hits, including a 3-for-3 effort by freshman
Hayley Laurendeau.
Randi Johnson also went 1-for-2 with a triple, setting up the final run. The Rangers blasted 12 hits in the finale, led by McKaylee "K.K." Polk's 3-for-3 effort and a 2-for-3 outing from
Crista Wilson.
With the sweep, the Rangers improved to 29-3 on the season and 18-2 in the MACCC. East Mississippi dropped to 11-31 overall and 8-14 in conference play.
Northwest will close out the regular season home slate on Thursday, April 20 against Mississippi Gulf Coast for a 2/4 P.M. doubleheader. Thursday will also serve as Sophomore Day, with those ceremonies set to take place in between Game 1 and Game 2.
Thursday's games will be carried on
Ranger TV, with live stats also available
here.
Game 1 - #4 Northwest 3, East Mississippi 0
Scoreless after three innings, Northwest plated a run in each of the next three frames to take the 3-0 win against East Mississippi.
Dickerson started the contest throwing heat, issuing two leadoff strikeouts and totaling seven through the first three innings. Meanwhile, Laken Firth kept the Rangers without a hit until Laurendeau's leadoff single in the bottom of the third.
Northwest finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth with a leadoff walk drawn by Polk. A sac bunt from
Kara Johnson moved Polk over to second, before a two-out RBI-single from
Chloe Summerford scored Polk for the 1-0 lead.
Though the Lady Lions threatened with runners on the corners in the top of the fifth, Dickerson forced Layla Roper into a popup to second base for the third out, keeping EMCC off the board. Northwest responded in the home half with Polk's two-out single to third base, scoring
Amber Racca, who ran for Laurendeau after another leadoff single.
Working with a 2-0 advantage, Dickerson delivered two more strikeouts in the top of the sixth to hang another zero on the board. Meanwhile,
Randi Johnson led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple and scored off an RBI-groundout by
Shelby Payne, giving the Rangers the 3-0 lead.
East Mississippi reached base on a walk to Devyn Debardelaben with one out in the top of the seventh, but Dickerson was otherwise flawless, sending the rest of the Lady Lions down in order to seal the win.
Dickerson (14-0) finished with 13 strikeouts against a lone walk and six base hits, while Firth dropped to 6-15 in the circle for EMCC after tossing three strikeouts against three walks and three earned runs.
Sidney Argo led the Lady Lions with two of the team's six base hits, while Ki'arah Byrd and Carley Martin finished with a double each.
Game 2 - #4 Northwest 6, East Mississippi 1
Carys Goodwin kept the Northwest offense guessing through four innings, but the Rangers blew the game open with four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth, earning the 6-1 victory against East Mississippi.
Scoreless after two complete innings, a leadoff walk to Madalyn Dvorak came back to haunt Northwest in the top of the third, as Lana Atkins delivered a two-out single up the middle to give the Lady Lions the 1-0 lead.
Northwest loaded the bases twice in the third and fourth innings, but were left empty-handed each time. That all changed in the bottom of the fifth, as back-to-back doubles from Polk and
Kara Johnson tied the game up, followed by a sacrifice fly from Laurendeau that scored the go-ahead run.
Wilson helped widen the gap with an RBI-single to left field, scoring
Randi Johnson and a Summerford triple helped Wilson cross the plate for the 4-1 lead.
After Brown issued two strikeouts in the top of the sixth, Northwest went back to work at the plate. A leadoff walk to
Madeline Houk was followed by Polk's triple to right center, scoring the fifth run. The final blow came in the next at-bat, when
Kara Johnson's RBI-groundout to the shortstop scored Polk from third, pushing the lead to 6-1.
Brown got two quick outs in the top of the seventh, as Summerford chased down a foul ball to left field from Argo and
Kara Johnson fielded a foul popup for the second out. Atkins would reach on a walk, only for Debardelaben to groundout to Brown, ending the game.
Brown improved to 3-0 in the circle, finishing with eight strikeouts against four hits and a single earned run. Goodwin (4-6) got the loss for the Lady Lions, finishing with two strikeouts against three walks and three earned runs. Firth briefly entered in relief during the big fifth inning, giving up three earned runs on three hits before Goodwin re-entered.
Polk went 3-for-3 to lead the Rangers' batting efforts, while Wilson and
Kara Johnson finished with two base hits each. Celeste Study led the Lady Lions at the plate, accounting for half of the team's four base hits.
