SENATOBIA - A pair of strong outings from sophomore pitchers
Logan Eldridge and
Brooks Rice made Sophomore Day a thrilling one, as Northwest garnered a split with defending national champions Pearl River on Friday afternoon.
Northwest took a 3-2 win in the opener, behind a 10-strikeout effort from Eldridge, before the No. 3 Wildcats clawed back for the 4-2 victory in the finale. The Game 2 loss marked the official end to the Rangers' postseason hopes, ending the season at 23-26 overall and 11-17 in the MACCC.
Despite the loss, Rice went the distance for a gritty outing that went well over 100 pitches, highlighted by 10 strikeouts. Northwest also combined for 14 base hits in the doubleheader, led by a 2-for-2 effort by
Matthew Roncalli in the opener and 3-for-4 performance by
Jacob Hill in Game 2.
Although the Rangers will miss out on the postseason for the first time since the 2008 season, this year's team still racked up several accomplishments, both in single-season team and individual records. Sophomore closer
Brayden Sanders ended his Northwest career with 10 saves, tied for the single-season record with J.G. Lipscomb (2017) and tied for second in the career saves category with Nason Williams (1996-97) and Koby Busby (2015-16).
Additionally, Sanders finished tied for first in career appearances on the mound (33), sharing the record with Tim Senter (2003-04) and Tyler Scholl (2013-14). Scholl also remains tied with Lipscomb for the most career saves, with both players posting 11 each in their respective Northwest careers. Sanders had 20 appearances alone this season, putting him tied with Senter for third most in a single-season, with both players trailing Lipscomb and Justin Goodrich (2002) by one.
Fellow Northwest pitcher
Zach Beasley also concludes his two-year career with 31 total appearances, tied for fifth in the program record books with Craig Yancey (1982-83), Busby (2015-16) and Jarod Wright (2016-17), the latter a current member of the Chicago Cubs' organization.
Sophomore C.J. Lofton finished with five complete games on the mound this season, helping him tie for ninth in single-season complete games. Lofton joins Josh Barton (2002) and Cody Reed twice (2012, 2013) for the same mark.
Eli Selby, who spent the season primarily at catcher, also finishes tied for ninth in fielding percentage (.984), joining Brandon Kizer (1999-2000). The minimum requirement in that category in 140 chances, which Selby surpassed at 249.
At the plate,
Jacob Hill's four triples helped the freshman tie nine other players for fifth most in a single season. Hill's fourth triple came in Game 2 against Pearl River.
As a team, the Rangers' pitching staff issued 375 strikeouts on the season, good for third all-time, trailing only the 2022 squad (428) and the 2019 team (379). The unit also totaled 365.1 innings pitched, seventh most all-time, while holding opposing teams to a .251 collective batting average, the second-lowest opponent batting average. Only the 2019 Northwest pitching staff (.251) ranks ahead of this year's group.
Collectively, Northwest has 13 saves, tied for the most all-time with the 1999 and 2015 squads. The Rangers' pitching unit only surrendered 28 home runs this season, tied for ninth for the fewest homers allowed, joining the 2001 team.
At the plate, the Rangers finished with 1,422 total at-bats, ranking ninth all-time. The team's 14 triples are tied for fourth most in a season, joining the 1977 and 2022 teams. Defensively, Northwest fielded .957 as a team, ranking sixth for best team fielding percentage.
Lastly, coach
Mark Carson collected his 500th victory in Game 1 of the Rangers' sweep against Coahoma on April 4, becoming only the second Northwest baseball skipper to reach the milestone. Carson wraps up his 18th season in command with a career record of 502-341-2, a winning percentage of .595. Against conference and former division opponents, Carson moves to 264-151 all-time, a winning percentage of .636.
