ELLISVILLE - Despite being swept at No. 5 Jones College on Tuesday, Northwest pitcher
Kylee Brown gave a strong effort in a close 4-3 loss in Game 2, striking out six Bobcat batters.
Jones College took the opener by a 10-2 final, run-ruling the 11th-ranked Rangers for the first time this season. Northwest dropped to 31-9 on the season and finished conference play at 20-8.
In Game 1, the Bobcats scored three runs in the second and third innings, before clinching the win with a four-run frame in the bottom of the fifth. McKaylee "K.K." Polk hit her 23rd home run of the season on a solo blast in the top of the third, while
Neely Cooper provided the only other run on a single in the fifth.
Northwest took a 3-0 lead in the nightcap, thanks to a three-run homer by
Kara Johnson in the third inning. However, the homer would provide one of the Rangers' only two base hits, as the Bobcats scored two in the second, one in the fifth and the walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh.
Brown went the distance in the circle, falling to 3-3 on the season despite holding Jones College to just five base hits,
Northwest will have to make the trip back to Ellisville next week for the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, scheduled for May 9-14. Tournament information and matchups will be posted when available on nwccrangers.com.
