GOODMAN - Hits were hard to come by for Northwest in Sunday's Game 1 loss to Southwest Mississippi, but the Rangers made up for the 7-1 shortfall with an 8-2 victory in the nightcap.
Both games were moved from Senatobia to Charlie Donald Field on the campus of Holmes Community College, due to weather conditions in north Mississippi.
With the split, Northwest moved to 24-13 on the season and 7-9 inside the MACCC. The Bears dropped to 15-26 overall and 6-8 in conference play.
Next up for the Rangers is a home doubleheader against Coahoma, scheduled for 3/6 P.M. on Wednesday, April 9. The Tigers (8-25, 3-11 MACCC) were most recently swept by Jones College last Friday.
Both games will be carried on
Ranger TV.Â
Game 1 - Southwest Mississippi 7, Northwest 1
Northwest was held to just four base hits and didn't score until the bottom of the eighth inning, as Southwest Mississippi captured the opener.
SMCC scored the first run of the game in the second inning and added two more in the fourth. The Bears struck again in the sixth, stretching the lead to 5-0, before scattering three additional runs over the final three innings.
Lake Reed drove in the lone run of the game for the Rangers, thanks to a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth.
Rob Hayes provided the only extra base hit for Northwest, delivering a double.
Eli Deberry (4-1) was handed his first loss of the season, pitching five full frames with four strikeouts against four walks and three earned runs.
Gavin McCoy and
Jace Robinson combined for four innings of relief, with Robinson issuing a strikeout in the final 2.1 frames.
Gage Hinnant led the Bears at the plate, finishing 3-for-5, while Davis Knight and Cody Presley each knocked in a double, with Knight accounting for a pair of RBIs.
Brodey Walker (2-3) picked up the win for Southwest Mississippi, striking out two batters against four walks in five complete innings. Knight pitched the final four frames in relief, allowing an earned run and three walks.
Game 2 - Northwest 8, Southwest Mississippi 2
Northwest overcame an early 2-0 deficit, scoring all eight of its runs in the second and third innings, as the Rangers denied the sweep for Southwest Mississippi.
A stolen base and a single to left field allowed the Bears to jump on top early, but Northwest stormed back with a four-run frame in the home half of the second.
Austin Batts got the Rangers on the board with a sacrifice fly to right field, followed by a single from
John Whit Snopek and a triple from
Mason Gillentine.
Northwest picked up where it left off in the bottom of the third inning, tacking on four more and forcing Southwest Mississippi to make three pitching changes. With the bases loaded,
Tyler Sullivan lifted a sac fly to score
Levi Lang and Batts followed with a two-run double to right field, pushing the lead to 7-2.Â
A walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases again for the Rangers and
Mason McMillin drew a bases-loaded walk, stretching the gap to 8-2.
Though neither team scored the rest of the way, the combination of Sullivan,
Thomas Mitchell and
Brady Stinnett gave up just one earned run while combining for six strikeouts. Mitchell (3-1) picked up the win in his first start since Valentine's Day, striking out two batters against three walks in four complete innings.
Sullivan moved from right field to pitch the fifth and sixth innings, while Stinnett tossed two strikeouts in the seventh.
At the plate, both teams finished with five base hits each, with
Mason Gillentine finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of triples and an RBI. Snopek went 1-for-2 at the plate with two RBIs, while Batts finished with a double for his lone base hit.
Jake Meilstrup led the charge for the Bears, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a double. Rhyson Carroway (3-2) was one of five pitchers used for Southwest Mississippi, taking the loss after allowing eight runs with two strikeouts in 2.2 innings of work.
