JACKSON - Three Northwest baseball players were chosen for Honorable Mention All-MACCC accolades on Tuesday.

Sophomore pitchers Brooks Rice, Brayden Sanders and freshman shortstop Jacob Hill were selected for recognition, as voted on by baseball coaches in the MACCC. 

Rice, a native of Madison, went 4-3 on the mound this season and collected 62 strikeouts. The Samford-bound sophomore pitched 65.2 innings with two complete games and one shutout, finishing his 2023 campaign with a 4.69 ERA.

One of Rice's best performances came in a March 7 shutout victory against East Mississippi, where he issued 15 strikeouts against three walks, with no runs allowed. He became the first Northwest pitcher to strike out 15 batters in a game since April 6, 2013, when Cody Reed accomplished the same feat in a home win against Coahoma.

Rice also had a strong outing in his curtain call on April 28 against Pearl River, dishing 10 strikeouts in seven innings of work. 

As the Rangers' primary closer this season, Sanders made 20 appearances in relief, striking out 37 batters and holding opposing hitters to a .120 batting average. The Memphis signee issued a season-best seven strikeouts in a relief effort at East Mississippi on April 18 and collected 10 saves, tying the single-season record set by J.G. Lipscomb (2017).

Sanders also left Northwest tied for second in the career saves category (11), joining Lipscomb, Nason Williams (1996-97) and Koby Busby (2015-16). He also tied for most career appearances on the mound (33), sharing the record with Tim Senter (2003-04) and Tyler Scholl (2013-14). Sanders had 20 appearances just this season alone, putting him tied with Senter for third most in a single-season, with both players trailing Lipscomb and Justin Goodrich (2002) by one.

Hill concluded his freshman season by leading the team in batting, sporting a .351 average and a team-best 10 doubles. The Byhalia native and Lewisburg High School alumnus posted four triples and 18 RBIs as well, while leading the Rangers with 20 stolen bases on 22 attempts.

In his everyday role at shortstop, Hill fielded .944 and helped turn 19 double plays, while posting 66 putouts and 101 assists.