SENATOBIA - A full day of baseball ended with two victories for Northwest on Tuesday, as the Rangers defeated Northeast and Itawamba by a pair of 4-3 and 9-5 finals at Jim Miles Field.

Northeast and Itawamba also played each other in between the two Northwest games, with the Tigers taking a 15-6 victory against the Indians.

Northwest combined for 16 hits on the day, eight in each game. Sophomore Jacob Hill led the Rangers' efforts at the plate, finishing 4-for-7 with a home run and an RBI. Cade Leatherwood also went 3-for-6 in both games, finishing with four RBIs.

On the mound, James Smith and Jackson Jenkins earned the wins for the Rangers, as Smith ran his season record to 2-1.

Next up for the Rangers will be a pair of games on Friday, March 1 at USA Stadium in Millington, Tenn. Northwest is slated to face Kansas City (Kan.) at 2 P.M. and top-ranked Heartland at 5 P.M.


Game 1 - Northwest 4, Northeast 3

Northeast scored all three of its runs in the top of the fourth inning, only for Northwest to respond with two runs in the home half of the inning and one in the sixth, setting up the walk-off winner in the bottom of the seventh.

Both teams missed chances to score early, as the Tigers stranded a runner in the top of the first and the Rangers left the bases loaded in both the first and third innings.

Northeast finally began to make some noise in the top of the fourth, as Kelly Crumpton was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Back-to-back singles followed for the Tigers and a bases loaded walk allowed the first run of the game to score. A single and an error helped Northeast plate two more runs, giving the Tigers a 3-0 advantage.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Hayes Davis reached base on a walk, then scored the Rangers' first run off Tyler Pearson's RBI-triple to right center. A two-out walk to Cade Greer helped pave the way for an RBI-single from Leatherwood, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

Mason Shropshire sent the Tigers down in order to start the fifth, but Northwest also went down quietly in the bottom of the fifth, aside from Matthew Roncalli's one-out double.

After Northeast went down scoreless in the top of the sixth, the Rangers responded on Leatherwood's sacrifice fly to right, tying the game at 3-3.

A walk was the lone blemish for Smith in the top of the seventh, as the sophomore helped keep Northeast off the board. Levi Lang led off the bottom of the inning with a single to center, followed by a base hit from Peyton Martin. A failed pickoff attempt advanced both Lang and Martin, and Roncalli's sacrifice fly to left field brought in the winning run for the Rangers.

Hill's two hits led Northwest while Ryan Moore accounted for two of the Tigers' base hits. Smith got the win on the mound for the Rangers, tossing one strikeout against a walk in the seventh inning.

As the Northwest starter, Shropshire threw six strikeouts against six walks and two earned runs through the first six frames. Jack Taylor started the game for Northeast, tossing four strikeouts against five walks in three full innings, while Brant Smith was handed the loss for the Tigers, giving up two walks and two earned runs in the final 1.1 innings.


Game 2 - Northwest 9, Itawamba 5

A five-run bottom of the sixth inning helped lift Northwest past Itawamba in Tuesday's nightcap.

Northwest led 2-0 after the first inning, but the Indians responded with four runs in the top of the third, kicked off by a leadoff double from Tyler Yearwood. A walk to Jaxin Settlemires and a single from Bo Rock loaded the bases for Itawamba, and Stone Collier got the Indians on the board with a single through the left side. 

Jarrett Morris followed with a two-run double, giving the Indians a 3-2 advantage, and a groundout from Bailey Ware plated another run for ICC.

Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the third, Hill led off the inning in a big way, delivering a solo homer to left field. Hill's first homer of the season was followed by a sacrifice fly from Martin, which scored Greer for the tying run.

Neither team scored over the next two innings, but the Indians broke the ice in the top of the sixth. Ware led off the inning with a single to center, advancing to second on a wild pitch and third on a sacrifice bunt. A passed ball allowed Ware to score from third, giving Itawamba the 5-4 lead. However, Northwest managed to limit the damage over the rest of the inning, as Jenkins came on in relief for the final two outs. 

Itawamba changed pitchers to start the bottom of the sixth, and the Northwest bats took notice. Leatherwood led off the frame with a single to right and Martin homered, allowing the Rangers to reclaim a 6-5 lead. 

However, the Rangers were far from done. With two outs in the inning, Pearson delivered a single to right and Austin Batts followed with an RBI-single to center field, boosting the lead to 7-5. Hill reached base with a single and a wild pitch scored Batts, before Hill delivered the final run off Greer's RBI-single to center.

Although Itawamba got a pair of singles in the top of the seventh, Smith struck out Kaylan Powell for the third and final out, slamming the door on a potential rally from the Indians.

Both teams combined for 17 base hits in the game, with Northwest totaling eight. Hill and Leatherwood finished with two each, while Itawamba was led by Collier's 3-for-4 effort.

Northwest used five pitchers in the game, with Jenkins (1-0) getting the win in relief. Both Jenkins and Smith combined to finish the final 1.2 innings for the Rangers, with both players recording a strikeout each.

Gavin McCoy started the first three innings, striking out a pair of batters against four walks and four earned runs. Carson Fox also pitched two innings in relief, issuing a strikeout and no earned runs allowed.

Eli Akins went five full frames for the Indians, striking out seven batters against two walks and five earned runs. Morris tossed the final inning for Itawamba, earning one strikeout. Read Full Article