WESSON - In a pair of non-conference matchups against Mississippi Gulf Coast and Copiah-Lincoln, Northwest earned a 10-7 win against the Bulldogs before dropping a close 4-3 loss to the Wolves on Tuesday afternoon.
Northwest combined for 19 hits in the split, including 13 against Mississippi Gulf Coast, as the Rangers moved to 13-5 on the season. Five players finished with multiple hits, including
Cade Greer's 2-for-4 effort with three RBIs.
Payton Sanders earned the win against the Bulldogs, striking out three batters in three relief innings.
Scott Sharp also started the first two innings, earning five strikeouts against one walk.
Northwest will return to Jim Miles Field on Saturday, hosting Southwest Mississippi to open MACCC competition. The doubleheader is scheduled for 2/5 P.M., with both games being carried on
Ranger TV.
Game 1 - Northwest 10, Mississippi Gulf Coast 7
Northwest led 10-4 entering the bottom of the seventh, but had to hold off a late rally from Mississippi Gulf Coast to preserve the 10-7 victory.
Trailing 3-0 after the first inning, the Rangers tacked on three runs in the top of the second and added four more in the third, taking a 7-4 lead. From there, Northwest kept the Bulldogs off the board over the next four frames, while adding three runs along the way.
MGCCC battled back to add three runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Rangers held on for the three-run win.
Marc Stephens led the Bulldogs with a 3-for-5 effort, adding two RBIs. Mississippi Gulf Coast used five pitchers in the loss, with Will Whittington falling to 0-1 after throwing two strikeouts against three walks and three earned runs.
Game 2 - Copiah-Lincoln 4, Northwest 3
Despite rallying back from a 3-0 deficit and tying the game in the top of the sixth inning, Northwest surrendered the eventual winning run to Copiah-Lincoln in the bottom half of the inning, as the Rangers fell to the Wolves in the nightcap.
Co-Lin struck first in the opening inning and added a second run in the third inning, taking a 2-0 lead. The Wolves made it a 3-0 game after the fifth, only for the Rangers to score three runs in the top of the sixth, tying the contest.
Both teams finished with six hits apiece, with
Peyton Martin finishing 3-for-3 with a double and a home run to lead Northwest.
Jacob Hill also went 2-for-4 with a double.
Gavin McCoy (1-1) lasted five innings on the mound for the Rangers, striking out three batters against two walks and three earned runs.
Carson Fox finished off the last frame, delivering a strikeout.
Coby Gollott went the distance for the Wolves, striking out nine batters with no walks. Hagan Coumbe led Co-Lin at the plate, finishing 2-for-2 with a double and a pair of RBIs.
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