POPLARVILLE - A walk-off homer in the opener and a two-run blast midway through Game 2 hurt fifth-ranked Northwest in Friday's conference twinbill at No. 9 Pearl River.
Northwest dropped Game 1 by a 2-1 final, before falling 5-3 in the nightcap, marking the first time the Rangers have been swept this season. The losses also stretched a rare losing streak to three games, dropping the Rangers' overall record to 31-7 and 20-6 in the MACCC.
Meanwhile, Pearl River improved to 38-11 on the season and 20-6 in the conference, tying the Lady Wildcats with the Rangers for third in the MACCC standings. Both teams will have regular season finales on Tuesday, May 2 against conference foes.
Northwest will conclude the regular season at No. 7 Jones College at 3/5 P.M. in Ellisville. The Lady Bobcats (38-6, 22-2 MACCC) have won 17 straight contests, most recently scoring a sweep against Pearl River back on April 25.
Fans unable to make the trip to Jones College can watch the games on
Bobcat TV. Tickets can also be purchased online by clicking
here.
Game 1 - #9 Pearl River 2, #5 Northwest 1
Sophomore pitcher
Kylee Brown kept Pearl River off the board for five complete frames, but Pearl River tied the game up in the bottom of the sixth, later winning the game in the seventh on Morgan Lavergne's solo homer.
Northwest picked up its only run of the game in the top of the first, after McKaylee "K.K." Polk sent a double out to right field in her first at-bat. In the next at-bat to
Kara Johnson, a pair of errors on the basepaths allowed Polk to cross the plate, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Northwest held the slim lead all the way until the bottom of the sixth, when the Lady Wildcats reached base on a leadoff single and a hit-by-pitch. Cassidy Cartwright delivered a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, which was followed by an error that allowed Kallie Hunt to score the tying run from third.
With the Rangers unable to provide an answer in the top of the seventh, Pearl River capitalized at the plate quickly. With Lavergne leading off the bottom of the seventh, the sophomore smacked the walk-off blast to left field to win the game for the Lady Wildcats.
Brown (3-2) delivered three strikeouts against a pair of walks and two earned runs, while Natalie Herrington (13-5) issued nine strikeouts for Pearl River, allowing only a single unearned run.
Both pitchers kept the offense low, with only seven base hits combined. Northwest was held to three, led by Polk's 2-for-3 effort, while the Lavergne accounted for half of the Lady Wildcats' four hits.
Game 2 - #9 Pearl River 5, #5 Northwest 3
Northwest led 3-0 going to the bottom of the fourth, but Pearl River answered back with a two-run homer, sparking five unanswered runs in the 5-3 loss.
Before the Lady Wildcats' rally, it was Northwest setting the tone early. After a leadoff walk was issued to
Reese Vanlandingham, Polk smashed her 22nd homer of the season to give the Rangers a quick 2-0 advantage.
Though
Gabby Dickerson kept Pearl River off the board through the first three innings, Brinson Anne Rogers did the same over the second and third innings for the Lady Wildcats. With two outs in the top of the fourth, Northwest broke through with a double from
Madeline Houk and an RBI-single from
Crista Wilson, stretching the Rangers' lead to 3-0.
However, Cartwright quickly erased the zero on the board in the home half of the inning, hammering a two-run shot after a leadoff walk, bringing Pearl River back within 3-2.
Polk delivered a two-out double in the top of the fifth, but the Rangers were unable to add a run. Pearl River countered with three hits in a row to lead off the bottom of the fifth, including Bryn Daughtery's tying single and back-to-back RBIs from Dallyn Nance and Marisa West, giving the Lady Wildcats the 5-3 lead.
Northwest was retired in order in the top of the sixth and mustered only a leadoff single from Wilson in the top of the seventh, dropping the finale.
Dickerson (15-2) delivered three strikeouts in five full innings, but allowed five earned runs against four walks.
Allyson Harrison tossed the final inning in the circle, allowing a base hit but no runs or walks.
Rogers delivered 10 strikeouts for Pearl River in a complete game outing, allowing three earned runs on six total hits.
Polk and Wilson accounted for five of the Rangers' six base hits in the loss, with Polk going 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Wilson finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Nance went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead Pearl River, while Destiney Gary also finished with a double.
