SENATOBIA - Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning of Saturday's elimination game against Hinds, No. 12 Northwest surrendered two runs in the third and three more in the fourth, as the Rangers fell 11-6 to the Eagles.
Both teams combined for 14 base hits, but Hinds forced Northwest to empty its bullpen, using five pitchers in the process. Freshman
Gavin McCoy (6-3) was handed the loss, allowing three walks and five earned runs with no strikeouts.
Mason Shropshire tossed 3.2 innings of relief, striking out six Hinds' batters before exiting with an injury.
Ryan Herbison (7-6) went 5.2 innings for the Eagles, striking out nine batters against six walks and two earned runs. Alex McGarrh picked up his second save of the season, tossing three strikeouts against 3.1 innings of relief.
Sophomore
Jacob Hill concluded his Northwest career on a high note, finishing 3-for-5 at the plate, while
Cy Craig,
Levi Lang,
Matthew Roncalli and
James Smith finished with two base hits apiece. Hinds was led by three hits each from Brice Ainsworth and Thomas Marsala.
Despite the loss, Northwest concluded its season at 37-17 overall, the most victories in a single season since 2007. In addition, several Rangers left their names in the record books for both single-season and career categories, including Hill's career record of 62 stolen bases. The Byhalia native also finished second in runs scored (101), second in career triples (7), third in career at-bats (352), fifth in career hits (125), fifth in double plays turned (40) and tied for sixth in games played (96), with Chad Wardlaw, David Herrington and teammate
Cade Greer.
Greer also concluded his stellar career in the record books as well, finishing tied for the highest career fielding percentage at 1.000, joining Wardlaw and
Peyton Martin as the only three Northwest players to finish with a perfect fielding percentage in their career with a minimum of 140 chances. The Olive Branch native also finished fourth in career sacrifice flies (11) with Gary-Scott Gabbert, tied for sixth in career doubles (26), tied for sixth in career hit-by-pitches (17), sixth in career on-base percentage (.486), eighth in career batting average (.380) and 10th in career base hits (115).Â
As for Martin, he finishes tied for third in career triples (6), joining Clint Sewell, Dex Herrington and Jamell Newson. The Madison native also finishes his Ranger career tied for eighth in stolen bases (44) and tied for ninth in career sacrifice flies (9). Sophomore
Cy Craig also finishes tied for 10th in walks, joining Gabbert with 50 career walks.
Sophomore catcher
Matthew Roncalli also leaves Northwest in the career record books for most runners caught stealing (22), joining Matt Smith for the top spot. The Saltillo native is also ninth for most putouts (388), just one behind
Hayes Davis, who ranks eighth with 437 career putouts.
Numerous Rangers also climbed the top 10 categories for single-season records, with Hill finishing second for 46 stolen bases. Dalton Dulin still holds the career record for single-season stolen bases, finishing with 46 in 2015. Martin also finished tied for fourth in that category with Caleb Hobson, compiling 33 stolen bases, while Greer finishes tied for 10th with Jon Bradley for 27 stolen bases.
Hill also finished tied for eighth with 57 runs scored, alongside Marcus Van Every, and tied for 10th for most hits in a single-season, joining Nathan Bowden, Kory Petri and Hunter Wilson.
Greer finished tied for most doubles in a single season, joining six other former Rangers with 17 doubles. He also finished third for most runs scored, earning 63 and finishing just two behind the current record-holder, Charlie Edwards. Greer also finishes tied for third in on-base percentage (.531), tied for seventh in most games played (52) and tied for 10th in walks (34).
Martin's seven sacrifice flies are now tied for fifth in a single season, while
Levi Lang's 35 walks are tied for sixth in a single season, joining Tom Carroll, Clay Casey and Ryan Lee.
Sophomore pitcher
Scott Sharp also finishes his sophomore season with the ninth-most innings pitched (73.2), while Roncalli's 14 runners caught stealing is tied for fourth with Justin Rose and Hunter White.
In single-season team records, the Rangers have recorded the most stolen bases (143), most stolen base attempts (166), most innings pitched (402.1), most sacrifice flies (38) and most walks (286). Additionally, Northwest ended the season with a .967 fielding percentage, joining the 2000 team for the highest fielding percentage.
Northwest also finished with the second-most at-bats in a single season (1,611), tied for the second-most games played (54), third-most runs scored (409), third-most hits (506), fourth-most strikeouts (339) and fifth-most wins (37).
