MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Although severe weather conditions canceled the second day of last weekend's Perfect Game JUCO Invitiational, the Northwest baseball program came away with two solid victories at USA Stadium on Friday afternoon.
Thomas Mitchell and the Rangers got the better of Missouri State-West Plains in the first game of the afternoon, winning a 2-1 pitcher's duel. Northwest followed that up with a comeback in the bottom of the seventh inning, defeating 14th-ranked Iowa Central, 9-8.
With the wins, the Rangers moved to 7-3 on the season. Northwest is scheduled to travel to Raymond on Tuesday, taking on Coahoma and Hinds in a non-conference round-robin format. The games were originally scheduled to take place at Delta State University in Cleveland, but were moved further south due to below freezing temperatures.
Game 1 - Northwest 2, Missouri State-West Plains 1
In a game that saw both pitchers go the distance, it was Mitchell who came out on the winning end for Northwest.
Mitchell, a native of Hernando and a former Ole Miss signee, improved to 2-0 on the mound after issuing nine strikeouts and allowing just two walks, two hits and an earned run. The outing also marked the first complete game pitched by the Rangers this season.
Despite the low score, Northwest did get nine hits in the contest, led by a 3-for-3 effort from
Rob Hayes, which included a double. Freshmen
Meyer Maddox and
Tyler Sullivan also finished with identical stat lines, each going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
It wasn't until the top of the third when the Rangers finally broke open the scoreless game. Hayes led off the inning with a double to left field and Maddox followed with one the opposite way, scoring Hayes from second.
Neither team scored again until the top half of the seventh inning, when four straight base hits from Hayes, Maddox, Sullivan and
Austin Batts resulted in an Batts scoring from second on Sullivan's two-out single.
Despite trailing 2-0, Missouri State-West Plains made things interesting in the home half of the seventh. Tyler Belmont drew a walk with one out, but advanced to second on a line out to third base. A wild pitch then allowed him to advance to third and a bunt single brought Belmont across the plate and the tying run to first base.
However, the rally would be short-lived for the Grizzlies, as Mitchell completed his otherwise-stellar outing, striking out Garrett Hartman for the third and final out.
Brayden Hindes struck out five for Missouri State-West Plains, but allowed a walk, two earned runs and nine base hits in a complete game effort.
Game 2 - Northwest 9, #14 Iowa Central 8
Facing its first ranked opponent of the season, Northwest rallied back from a 6-3 hole to earn the comeback victory over No. 14 Iowa Central.
Seeded eighth in the weekend tournament, Iowa Central scored five runs in the top of the third, turning an early 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 advantage. The Rangers added a single run over the bottom of the third and fourth innings, only for the Tritons to add another in the fifth and two in the top half of the seventh, prior to the completed comeback.
Brady Stinnett allowed a pair of walks in the top of the first, but struck out the next two batters to leave Iowa Central scoreless. With two outs in the home half of the first,
Mason McMillin teed off on a solo homer to give Northwest the 1-0 lead.
As mentioned, things got dicey for the Rangers in the top of the third, as a leadoff single, a walk and a passed ball put a runner in scoring position. Despite getting two quick outs, a sacrifice fly tied the game and a wild pitch sent the go-ahead run across. A pair of walks then paved the way for a three-run homer from Spencer Pederson, giving the Tritons a 5-1 advantage.
Lake Reed helped Northwest get a run back in the following frame, thanks to a wild pitch. Later, Reed singled to left field, scoring
Hallas Lawson and closing the gap to 5-3.
Iowa Central tacked on another run with a bases loaded walk in the top of the fifth, and a two-run single in the top of the seventh from Colin Richie made it an 8-5 advantage for the Tritons.
After leading off the bottom of the seventh with a strikeout at the plate, the Rangers were down to their final two outs. That's when the magic began to happen, as Sullivan and Hayes smacked back-to-back doubles to the outfield. After Sullivan came around to score, Lawson and
Walker Maranto drew back-to-back walks to load the bases.
Now within 8-6, Reed drew another walk, allowing Hayes to score and yet another bases loaded walk to Maddox tied the score. Iowa Central made a pitching change and struck out Snopek, but McMillin walked it off with a single to the shortstop, scoring Maranto for the winning run.
Northwest finished with seven base hits, led by two apiece from Hayes and McMillin. The Tritons also finished with two base hits each from Pederson, Richie and Jake Busson.
A combined nine pitchers were used between the two teams, with
Gavin McCoy scoring a relief win for the Rangers. The sophomore from Saltillo pitched a complete top of the seventh, issuing three strikeouts against a pair of earned runs, three hits and no walks allowed.
Stinnett started on the mound for Northwest, lasting 2.2 innings with five strikeouts against five walks and three unearned runs given up.
Will Howell also tossed two complete frames, striking out three batters against three walks and one earned run.
Braxton Shaffer was issued the loss for Iowa Central, allowing the four final runs from the Rangers. He finished with three strikeouts and four walks in 1.1 innings, while starter Carter Giesen tossed four strikeouts against five walks in four complete frames.
