WESSON - A lead-off solo home run from
Ellie Fryar set the tone for a 13-hit effort from Northwest in Sunday's 7-4 win against Northeast in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament opener.
Fryar was one of three Rangers to finish with homers, including a team-high 17th blast from
Sommer Tyes and
Marleigh Mancini's first collegiate home run. Mancini, the sophomore from Cleveland, went 4-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs to lead Northwest.
In the circle, the Rangers used a combined effort from
Morgen Brewton and
Abby Rogers, with Rogers (9-5) picking up the win in 3.2 innings of relief. The duo combined for seven strikeouts, as Northwest improved to 41-8 on the season.
Fryar's solo blast to left field got the bats going for the Rangers, and a stolen base for Tyes baited Northeast into making an errant throw into left field, allowing the sophomore slugger to score and push the lead to 2-0.
Though the Tigers reached base on a leadoff walk, Brewton retired the remainder of the order in the bottom of the first. From there, a dropped foul ball by the Northeast shortstop with two outs paved the way for Mancini's solo bomb, which hit over the scoreboard and extended the Northwest lead to 3-0.
With one out, the Tigers put a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the third inning, but two fly-outs to
Thenya Kennedy in right field ended the threat. Between innings, two Northeast coaches and a player were ejected, which eventually added some momentum fuel for the opposing dugout.
After pitching a scoreless top of the fourth inning, the Tigers drew a leadoff walk and Sophie Gant singled to right field. A double from Adin Shelton broke up the shutout and Madelyn Savage's RBI-single to left field trimmed the deficit to 3-2.
On the same play, an error at third base allowed the tying run to score and a sacrifice fly to right field brought in the go-ahead run for Northeast.
Although the Tigers captured the brief 4-3 lead, that all changed two batters into the fifth inning, as Tyes sent one over the wall in deep center field, tying the game. In the top of the sixth, a leadoff double off the bat of
Emma Jennings set up Mancini's RBI-single, allowing the Rangers to regain a 5-4 advantage.
Insurance runs were added for Northwest in the top of the seventh inning, as
Kaylee Reed reached base on a two-out error. Jennings followed with a double down the line in right field, stretching the lead to 6-4, and Mancini sent an RBI-base hit the opposite direction, giving the Rangers a three-run lead.
Rogers then retired the side in the bottom of the seventh, issuing all three strikeouts to keep Northwest in the winner's bracket. The Brandon native struck out four and surrendered a walk in 3.2 scoreless frames, while Brewton struck out three batters in the first 3.1 innings.
Aside from Mancini's electric performance at the plate, Jennings, Kennedy and Tyes each finished with two base hits.
Meanwhile, Ramsey Montgomery (23-2) was handed just her second loss of the season for Northeast, collecting four strikeouts against three walks and three earned runs. At the plate, the Tigers were limited to just five base hits, including a 2-for-3 effort from Savage.
With the win, the Rangers will now face top-seeded Copiah-Lincoln on Monday at 1 P.M. The winner of that game advances to the region semifinal series, while the losing team will drop into the loser's bracket, facing the winner of the Itawamba-Northeast matchup at 7 P.M. on Monday.
