MERIDIAN - Behind a 10-strikeout effort from
Morgen Brewton in Friday's opener at Meridian, and a combined shutout from
Abby Rogers and
Catelyn Brown in the finale, No. 13 Northwest left with a 3-1 and 6-0 sweep.
Brewton improved to 21-2 in the circle with her strong Game 1 effort and the Rangers combined for 16 base hits at the plate.
Carly Dunigan finished 3-for-3 at the plate with a triple in the finale, while
Thenya Kennedy went 2-for-3.
With the sweep, Northwest improved to 36-8 overall and 17-7 in the MACCC. The Rangers will visit Itawamba for the regular season road finale on Wednesday, April 23 at 2/4 P.M. The Indians (27-17, 12-11 MACCC) are coming off a recent sweep of Hinds and are riding a four-game conference winning streak.
Game 1 - #13 Northwest 3, Meridian 1
Despite giving up a solo home run in the sixth inning, Brewton pitched a solid game for Northwest in a 3-1 victory at Meridian.
Both sides engaged in a pitcher's duel for most of the opening game, but the scoreless tie was finally broken up in the fourth inning, thanks to a sacrifice fly off the bat of
Carleigh Calarco. In the top of the sixth, the Rangers pushed the lead to 2-0, thanks in part to leadoff triple from Dunigan.
Sommer Tyes followed with a sac fly, scoring Dunigan.
After the Lady Eagles cut the lead down to 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, a throwing error in the top of the seventh allowed Northwest to gain an insurance run. Brewton then retired Meridian in the bottom of the seventh, sealing the win.
Brewton struck out 10 batters and allowed no walks, while Hannah Capello (5-11) took the loss for the Lady Eagles, allowing three earned runs in 6.1 innings. Julie Amacher also tossed 0.2 frames of relief, allowing no runs or walks.
Northwest scattered six hits throughout its lineup, highlighted by Dunigan's triple and Calarco's double. Tyes,
Thenya Kennedy,
Marleigh Mancini and
Kaylee Reed each finished with a base hit.
All four of Meridian's base hits came from
Dakota Haynsworth and Rylee Turner, with Turner finishing with a double and a home run.
Game 2 - #13 Northwest 6, Meridian 0
Northwest pushed together two runs apiece in the third, fourth and seventh innings, as the Rangers scored the shutout against Meridian.
Rogers (7-5) pitched six scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks allowed in six complete frames. Brown also pitched the final inning in relief, tallying a strikeout.
Northwest finished with 10 base hits, led by three from Dunigan and two from Kennedy.
Lulu Franks also finished with a double and an RBI.
Turner once again led the Lady Eagles with two of the team's four base hits, while Mary Coumbe finished with a double and Haynsworth added a base hit. Haynsworth, the former Lady Ranger, was handed the loss in the circle, allowing four earned runs in four innings.
Marlee McCalister and Sarah Watson pieced together three innings of relief, combining for two strikeouts. McCalister also pitched two scoreless frames for Meridian.
