SENATOBIA - Despite falling in a 5-1 decision in Saturday's Game 1 against No. 6 Jones College, Northwest sophomore
Shelby Payne played the hero role late in the finale.
Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Payne faced a 1-1 count and delivered a two-run homer to left field, providing the Rangers with the 2-1 walk-off victory. It marked the second homer of the season for the Guntown native, helping Northwest improve to 19-13 on the season and 6-10 in the MACCC.
Up until the seventh inning, Northwest had been held to just one hit against Jones College ace Jayden Sawyer. With two outs,
Hanna Grace Gillean delivered a single to left field and
Carly Dunigan entered as the pinch runner, later stealing second. Payne, who broke up the no-hitter earlier with a single in the fifth inning, then stepped up and delivered the memorable finish.
In the circle,
Morgen Brewton collected her 12th win of the season, striking out five batters. In the opener,
Neely Cooper pitched a solid five innings despite taking the loss, while
Abby Rogers tossed two strikeouts over the final 1.2 frames.
Game 1 - #6 Jones College 5, Northwest 1
Aside from a solo homer from
Ellie Fryar in the first inning, Northwest was no match for Reanna Nieman and the Jones College Lady Bobcats, as the visiting pitcher struck out a career-high 14 batters in the Rangers' Game 1 loss.
Cooper tossed a scoreless frame in the top of the first and Fryar led off the game with a solo shot to left, putting Northwest ahead early. However, Jones College responded with two runs on a throwing error to third base in the top of the second, gaining a 2-1 lead.
Though
Kara Johnson led off the bottom of the second with a single up the middle, Nieman soon settled in, keeping Northwest off the scoreboard the rest of the way. For her part, Cooper also held the Lady Bobcats scoreless until the top of the sixth, when Jones College strung together a single, an RBI-double and a two-run homer, stretching the lead to 5-1.
Northwest tried to respond in the bottom of the sixth, with Fryar leading off the inning with a single. Rogers then reached base with a walk, only for Nieman to deliver back-to-back strikeouts, leaving the Rangers stranded.
Payne led off the bottom of the seventh with a single to third base, but the Rangers were ultimately unable to spark a rally.
Fryar accounted for three of the five base hits for Northwest in Game 1, finishing 3-for-3 at the plate. Meanwhile, Jones College accounted for 11 base hits, including two apiece from Sawyer, Makynlie Jones and Kaleigh Steverson.
Cooper (6-9) took the loss, despite issuing four strikeouts against one walk and three earned runs.
Game 2 - Northwest 2, #6 Jones College 1
Northwest got the better of a pitcher's duel between Brewton and Sawyer, thanks to Payne's walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Jones College scattered three base hits across the first three frames, but Brewton kept the Lady Bobcats off the board. Meanwhile, Sawyer made sure the Rangers got nothing, throwing a no-hitter until the bottom of the fifth, when Payne delivered a one-out single to center.
After Jones College broke the scoreless draw by scoring on a throwing error in the top of the fifth, Northwest tried to respond, but the Rangers went down in order in the bottom of the sixth. The Lady Bobcats looked for insurance runs in the top of the seventh, but even a pair of singles were unsuccessful in putting more runs across the plate.
Johnson and
Kaylee Owens went down swinging in the bottom of the seventh, but Gillean gave the Rangers a chance with her single to left field. Then came the walk-off homer on a 1-1 count from Payne, salvaging the split for Northwest.
Jones College scattered five hits across the lineup, with Payne accounting for two of the three base hits for Northwest.
Brewton (12-4) struck out five batters against two walks and one unearned run. The Mobile, Ala. native also finished with her eighth complete game of the season, the most by any Northwest pitcher this season.
