SENATOBIA - Freshman
Jackson Jenkins tossed a strong seven-inning relief effort in the opener and sophomore
Mason Shropshire threw four innings in the nightcap, as No. 15 Northwest swept Mississippi Gulf Coast by a pair of 17-11 and 11-2 finals on Friday afternoon.
Northwest combined for 23 base hits in the sweep, led by a 3-for-5 effort from
Cade Greer in Game 1 and a 3-for-4 performance from
James Smith in the finale.
With the sweep, the Rangers moved to 35-13 on the season and 19-5 in the MACCC, keeping Northwest in third place. The Rangers also recorded the most wins in a single season since 2007, when Northwest finished 40-17 and made it to the NJCAA Division II World Series in
Mark Carson's second season as head coach.
Meanwhile, Mississippi Gulf Coast dropped to 25-19 overall and 11-13 in conference play.
Northwest will conclude the regular season on the road this week at Itawamba on Wednesday, April 24 at 3/6 P.M. and Saturday, April 27 at No. 2 Pearl River at 2/5 P.M.
Game 1 - #15 Northwest 17, Mississippi Gulf Coast 11
Northwest scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and broke an 8-8 tie with five-run frame in the fourth inning, earning the 17-11 victory in the series opener.
Both teams combined to use seven pitchers in the opener and both teams went to the bullpen in the first inning. Brandon Cain led off the game with a solo home run to left field, giving Mississippi Gulf Coast an early 1-0 lead
Northwest pitcher
Brennan Jones exited the game with an apparent injury following the homer, and
Carson Fox came in to pitch the next two innings. Meanwhile, Cain did not last a full inning on the mound for the Bulldogs, as the Rangers piled on eight runs in the home half of the inning.
Matthew Roncalli's triple to right field scored two runs for Northwest and a wild pitch allowed the Saltillo native to score, bringing the Rangers' lead to 3-1.
Tyler Pearson followed with an RBI-single through the left side, scoring
Levi Lang from third.Â
With the bases loaded,
Jacob Hill sent a grand slam to left field, bringing the score to 8-1 in favor of the Rangers. Relief pitcher Brayden Scott entered the game for Cain, finding the third out to prevent any further damage from Northwest.
In the top of the third, the Bulldogs rallied back for seven runs, forcing an early exit of Fox. Kaden Irving got the scoring started with an RBI-single to left field, while Jayden Mark and Landon Holliman followed with back-to-back singles, cutting the Northwest lead to 8-4.
A bases-loaded walk to Charlie Olsen trimmed the gap to 8-5 and Cain followed with a single that scored Holliman, and Olsen would also score on the throw, inching back within 8-7. Marc Stephens' sacrifice fly then scored the tying run for Mississippi Gulf Coast.
In the bottom of the fourth, Northwest broke the 8-8 tie with a five-run frame. A bases-loaded walk to Lang allowed the go-ahead run to score, while Pearson's sacrifice fly scored
Walker Maranto, pushing the Rangers to a 10-8 lead.
An RBI-single from
Cy Craig was followed by back-to-back wild pitches that allowed Lang and Craig to score, bringing Northwest to a 13-8 advantage.
Northwest never relinquished the lead from there, adding two runs on an error in the sixth and back-to-back RBI-doubles from Greer and
Peyton Martin in the seventh. Trailing 17-8, Dom Jackson's three-run homer in the eighth pulled the Bulldogs back within six runs, but that was as close as Mississippi Gulf Coast would come.
Jenkins threw seven complete innings for Northwest, improving to 2-0 on the season. The Senatobia native and Magnolia Heights product struck out four batters against two walks, three earned runs and four base hits.
Scott (1-2) was handed the loss for Mississippi Gulf Coast, finishing with a strikeout against three walks and five runs allowed in 2.1 frames. Adrian Byrd and Tyler Gunter finished off the final five innings for the Bulldogs, combining for seven strikeouts against seven walks and three earned runs allowed.
Aside from Greer's three-hit performance, the Rangers also got two hits each from Hill, Pearson and Roncalli. Mississippi Gulf Coast finished with 13 base hits, led by three from Jackson and two each from Cain, Holliman and Mark.
Game 2 - #15 Northwest 11, Mississippi Gulf Coast 2
Though Mississippi Gulf Coast took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, Northwest responded with four runs in the bottom of the first and scored at least one run in every inning but the second, as the Rangers cruised to the 11-2 victory.
Shropshire ran into trouble right out of the gate, giving up a leadoff single to Cain and a walk to Stephens. Jackson's sacrifice fly allowed Cain to score from third, and Stephens would score from third on the throw from a stolen base attempt at second.
After Hill led off the bottom of the first by reaching on an error, Greer followed with a single to third and an error allowed Hill to score from third. Roncalli's RBI-single up the middle tied the game at 2-2, while a sacrifice fly from Lang and an RBI-double from Pearson made it a 4-2 lead for the Rangers.
Lang's RBI-double to left field helped Northwest tack on an extra run in the bottom of the third, while the Rangers added two more runs in the fourth inning, thanks to a steal of home for Hill, which broke the program's all-time record for stolen bases (56). Smith then delivered an RBI-single, pushing the Rangers' lead to 7-2.
In the fifth inning, Lang's solo home run extended the Northwest lead to 8-2. The Rangers then added three runs in the sixth inning, as Martin's RBI-single and a two-run single from Roncalli brought the score to its final point.
Shropshire (2-3) shook off the first inning with five strikeouts over four complete innings.
Cooper Mitze tossed the final three innings in relief, striking out three batters against two walks and a base hit, earning his first save of the season.
Brody Swindle (3-1) was handed the loss for Mississippi Gulf Coast, scattering five strikeouts, one walk and six earned runs in 3.2 innings. Blake King pitched the next 1.2 frames, with three strikeouts and four earned runs allowed, while Cade Mattison finished off the last two outs.
Northwest finished with 12 hits, led by three from Smith and two apiece from Hill, Lang and Roncalli. The Bulldogs finished with seven base hits, led by two each from Cain and Mark.
