OXFORD, Ala. - Northwest came out swinging from the start and used a complete game in the circle from
Morgen Brewton to take down eighth-seeded Phoenix College, 6-1, on Monday afternoon.
As the No. 9 seed, the Rangers batted first and plated three runs in the top of the first inning and three more in the second, before defense took over for both teams. Northwest improved to 43-10 with the victory, while the Lady Bears dropped to 53-7 overall.
Ellie Fryar led off the game by drawing a hit-by-pitch and later stole second base, scoring on
Sommer Tyes' double to right-center.
Lulu Franks followed Tyes with a single to third and
Carleigh Calarco brought in Tyes on a single to center field, giving the Rangers the early 2-0 lead.
Addison Owen capped off the first inning scoring surge with a groundout to third base, allowing Franks to cross the plate, stretching the Rangers' lead to 3-0.
Phoenix College responded with a leadoff single in the bottom of the first and the Lady Bears quickly put a runner in scoring position with a stolen base and a wild pitch. However, Brewton and Northwest limited the opposition to a sacrifice fly to right field, limiting the damage with just one run allowed.
From there, the Rangers regained the momentum at the plate, as
Thenya Kennedy reached base on a one-out single. After advancing to second, Kennedy would cross the plate on a single to center field from
Carly Dunigan and Tyes' triple to right field later scored Dunigan, extending the Northwest lead to 5-1.
With two outs on the board, Franks delivered a single to right center, scoring Tyes to provide what would be the final run of the game.
Starting with the bottom of the second inning, the game became more of a battle between Brewton and Phoenix College's Yasmine Bernal. The Lady Bears were retired in order in the bottom of the second, but managed to threaten in each of the next five innings. Meanwhile, Bernal mostly held Northwest in check until the last two innings, when the Rangers threatened in the seventh off Dunigan's leadoff single, prompting a pitching change.
Aiming for the 21st complete game of her career, Brewton retired the Lady Bears in order in the bottom half of the seventh, capping off the Rangers' statement victory. The Mobile, Ala. native ran her season record to 25-3 and her career record to 39-9, striking out three batters and allowing a walk and an earned run.
At the plate, Northwest finished with 10 base hits, led by two apiece from Dunigan, Franks, Tyes and
Emma Jennings. For her two hits, Tyes finished with a double and a triple, along with two RBIs.
Bernal was handed the loss for Phoenix College, dropping to 26-5 on the season. She pitched the initial six innings for the Lady Bears, striking out a batter and allowing a walk, along with all six runs. Maddison Peter pitched the final inning in relief, delivering a strikeout and a walk.
J'kaia' Graves finished with two of the Lady Bears' four base hits and Katie Hofmann was credited with the lone RBI.
With the win, the Rangers will advance through the winner's bracket and will await the winner of top-seeded St. Johns River State College and No. 17 seed Mercer County. Both of those teams will meet at 10 A.M. on Tuesday, with Northwest playing the winning team on Wednesday at 1 P.M.
