ELLISVILLE - Sophomore pitcher
Kylee Brown didn't miss a beat on Saturday morning.
Brown, a native of Bethel Springs, Tenn., picked up right where she left off from Friday night, throwing three strikeouts in the top of the fifth inning to earn her first career no-hitter and preserve the 8-0 run-rule win against East Central. The game began Friday evening at 6:15 P.M., but was halted in the bottom of the fourth inning by a weather delay that led to the game being paused for the evening.
In all, it was wild, wacky game for Northwest. After Brown retired the side in top of the first inning, the Rangers scored the game's first run on an RBI-double by
Kara Johnson. With two outs in the inning,
Kaylee Owens smashed a two-run homer to extend the lead to 3-0.
Despite reaching base on a leadoff walk, East Central was unable to get anything going in the top of the second, as Brown ended the inning with her third strikeout of the evening.Â
Facing two outs in the bottom of the second,
Bailey Russell drew a walk to bring McKaylee "K.K." Polk to the plate. Similar to her first at-bat, Polk was walked, placing two runners on base.
Reese Vanlandingham then drove in Russell on a single to the shortstop, pushing the lead to 4-0.
When
Kara Johnson came to the plate, things got interesting. Johnson hit what seemed to be a three-run homer that stayed just barely on the fair side of the left field foul pole, stretching the Rangers' lead to 7-0. That set off a chain of events that led to a pair of ejections and an eventual overturning of the home run after a 13-minute delay of deliberations.
With the home run now ruled a foul ball and two runners back on base, Johnson stepped up and did it again, this time sending the homer off the billboard in left center field, officially hitting her sixth home run of the season and officially putting the score back at 7-0.
Johnson followed up the homer with a solid defensive play in the top of the third, as the freshman from Senatobia chased down a ball behind first base, making a diving grab to deny the bloop single for East Central. The Lady Warriors left the frame empty-handed, but also kept Northwest off the board in the bottom of the third, despite allowing a leadoff double by
Crista Wilson.
With East Central still unable to get any runs on the board after the top of the fourth inning, Northwest started things off with another leadoff walk issued to Polk, her third of the game. That led to a single from Vanlandingham and two outs later, an RBI-single from Owens to give the Rangers the 8-0 advantage.
With two outs and two runners on, the game was then halted for the remainder of the evening due to lightning and inclement weather. The contest resumed from that point on Saturday morning, with East Central issuing a walk to Wilson and loading the bases, only to get out of the jam by forcing a popup to the outfield for the third out.
That's when Brown polished things off, issuing three quick strikeouts and finishing with nine total, helping the Rangers stay alive in the postseason.
Aside from Brown's career performance, Northwest also collected seven base hits, highlighted by two each from Johnson, Owens and Vanlandingham. East Central starter McKinleigh Evans took the loss, allowing seven of the Rangers' eight runs. Emily Collins pitched two solid innings of relief for the Lady Warriors, issuing four strikeouts.
Northwest improved its record to 32-10 with the win. The Rangers will play again at 8 P.M. tonight and will await their next opponent, which will be the loser of No. 2 seed Copiah-Lincoln and third-seeded Pearl River, with those teams scheduled to play at 3 P.M.Â
