SENATOBIA - There were plenty of pros and plenty of cons for Northwest baseball in Friday's season-opening doubleheader against Jackson State (Tenn.).
Northwest took the opener via run-rule, 11-1, but fell 14-6 in the nightcap, opening the season with a 1-1 mark.
Sophomore
Scott Sharp delivered a sharp performance in the opener, tossing all five innings and issuing five strikeouts on the mound. The Rangers also got strong performances at the plate from several batters, most notably
Hayes Davis, who combined to go 4-for-6 with five RBIs and a home run.
With this weekend's road doubleheader at Jackson State (Tenn.) postponed, Northwest will now gear up to host Arkansas State Mid-South on Tuesday, February 13. Originally scheduled as a single nine-inning game, Tuesday's matchup will now be a 1/4 P.M. doubleheader at Jim Miles Field.
Game 1 - Northwest 11, Jackson State (Tenn.) 1 (5 inn.)
A seven-run first inning set the tone for a strong season-opening win for Northwest.
A leadoff walk to
Jacob Hill set the wheels in motion, as
Cade Greer followed with a bunt single to the pitcher. Both players would steal base in
Cade Leatherwood's at-bat, placing both veterans in scoring position.
Leatherwood then delivered a single to the shortstop, scoring Hill from third. Freshman
Levi Lang followed with a crushed double to left field, scoring Greer and giving the Rangers an early 2-0 advantage.
A walk to
Peyton Martin would then load the bases for Northwest, which was immediately followed by a walk to
Cy Craig, helping Leatherwood score from third. Davis made the GreenJays pay for that with a grand slam to right center, quickly making it a 7-0 game.
Jackson State eventually got out of the first inning without incurring further damage, but the GreenJays were unable to get anything across the plate over the next three frames. After Northwest sat scoreless in the second and third innings, the Rangers cranked out four additional runs in the fourth inning, taking an 11-0 advantage.
Greer led off the fourth with a single to the shortstop and Leatherwood followed with a double to right field. Martin would drive home Greer on a groundout to the shortstop, and Davis' single up the middle made it a 9-0 lead for the Rangers.
Tyler Pearson delivered a parting blow to Jackson State with two outs, singling down the left field line, scoring both Craig and Davis.
Back-to-back two-out doubles helped the GreenJays spoil the shutout in the top of the fifth, but a flyout to center field ended the game with a run-rule Rangers' victory.
Northwest out-hit the GreenJays 10-3 in the win, led by four two-hit efforts from Davis, Greer, Leatherwood and Pearson. Lang and
Matthew Roncalli also finished with one hit each.
On the mound, Sharp struck out five batters and allowed just one earned run. The sophomore only surrendered three hits and a pair of walks.
Three different players finished with one hit apiece for Jackson State, while starting pitcher Dawson Ellis surrendered six runs and failed to record an out. Jason Hamm helped the GreenJays with five strikeouts in relief, but still gave up five earned runs and four walks.
Game 2 - Jackson State (Tenn.) 14, Northwest 6
A scoreless first inning soon gave way to a whopping six-run frame from Jackson State, and the GreenJays pulled away with another run in the third, four in the fifth, one in the sixth and two more in the seventh inning.
With one out in the top of the second, three walks and a balk put Jackson State in a good position to strike first. Jacob Bryant did just that, slugging a two-run single to right field, followed by an RBI-single from Harrison Freeman. The 3-0 deficit got worse for Northwest, when Jack Hearn delivered a three-run homer to left field, giving the GreenJays a 6-0 advantage.
Three singles from Lang, Craig and Davis helped Northwest threaten in the bottom of the second, and
Baker Walker's lineout to right field allowed the Rangers to break up the shutout. However, that was the only run Northwest would get in the inning, as Jackson State went into the third with a comfortable 6-1 advantage.
A solo homer from Connell Hardin extended the GreenJays' lead to 7-1 in the top of the third, but Northwest would stage a three-run rally in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of leadoff walks paved the way for an RBI-double from Pearson and a wild pitch helped Walker to score, as the Rangers closed the gap to 7-3.
Another wild pitch scored Pearson from third, bringing Northwest back within three runs. However, a strikeout to Greer and a lineout to right from Leatherwood ended the threat.
Whatever momentum Northwest had was crushed by Jackson State in the top of the fifth inning, as the GreenJays scored four more runs. An error helped send home a run, and a fielder's choice allowed another run to score, giving JSCC the 9-4 advantage. Later in the same inning, Kylon Joyner sent a two-run homer to right field, making it an 11-4 deficit for the Rangers.
A passed ball in the top of the sixth inflicted further damage, moving the score to 12-4. Northwest got one last spark in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a double from Greer and a triple from
John Blockmon, but a two-run top of the seventh sealed the Rangers' fate.
Northwest finished with 11 hits despite the loss, compared to eight from Jackson State. Craig, Davis and Greer combined for six of the Rangers' hits, with each player finishing with two apiece.
Bryant's 3-for-4 effort highlighted the GreenJays' hitting performance, while Freeman accounted for two hits.Â
Both teams emptied their bullpens in the nightcap, but Freeman got the victory as the starting pitcher for Jackson State, striking out three batters over three full innings. For Northwest,
Brennan Jones was handed the loss after allowing six earned runs in the first two frames.
Gavin McCoy shined in relief for the Rangers, issuing three strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work.
