WESSON – It was a tough day for #14 Northwest Mississippi Community College as they saw their time at the Region 23 Tournament come to a close with a pair of losses, first falling to #4 Copiah-Lincoln Community College 5-3 in the championship semifinal before dropping a tightly contested 9-7 game to Southwest Mississippi Community College in an elimination game.
The Rangers will now have to leave it to the selection committee to decide whether they will be picked for a spot at the 2026 NJCAA Division II World Series, with announcements expected in the early part of next week.
GAME 1 - #14 NWCC 3 – #4 Copiah-Lincoln 5
It was the Wolves that took the opening advantage in the bottom of the first when a pair of leadoff singles were brought home on a sharp line drive double to center field, and a single on the heels of that made it 3-0 going to the second inning against starter Catelyn Brown who was trying to keep her success against Co-Lin going.
Much like their first battle against the Wolves, hits were hard to come by for Northwest, and the first five to the plate would be retired before an infield single by Mary Madison Kelley got the Rangers their first baserunner.
The Wolves added another run on an RBI double in the bottom of the second to make it 4-0, but Northwest found a sign of life with the bats in the top of the third when a leadoff double from Londen Armstrong was brought home with a single by Lindsey Gillis, and Gillis would come home two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Handley McAtee to cut the lead to 4-2.
A run in the bottom of the third from the Wolves rebuilt the lead to three, but the Rangers' defense came up with a pair of sterling plays, one on an outfield assist on a double over the head of Armstrong, and another on a fielder's choice to third that got them out of the inning.
Mancini made sure that the momentum came right back to Northwest with her second homerun of the tournament on a line drive to center field to close it back to a 5-3 game.
Northwest had chances to strike with runners on base in both the fifth and sixth innings, but, like the Rangers' defense, key plays by the Wolves kept them from closing the gap.
Dearman entered the game to close out the final two innings in the circle for Northwest, and while she didn't allow any runs to be scored, the Ranger offense just couldn't bring home any more runs themselves, falling by a final of 5-3.
GAME 2 - #14 NWCC 7 – Southwest Mississippi 9
The Rangers found themselves on their back heels almost immediately after a two-run homerun capped a four-run first inning against Brown, who was back out for her second start of the day, putting Northwest into a comeback mentality right away.
Northwest did get into a bases-loaded situation in the bottom half of the inning, but a lineout double play left them hungry in the attempt.
Another run for the Bears scored on a bloop single to left field to make it 5-0, putting the Rangers in desperate need to score a run. A second rally in the bottom of the second was just the spark needed, taking three singles from the first four batters to bring home the opening run before loading the bases with one out.
A sacrifice fly made sure the opportunity saw more than just one run come out of it, but for a second inning in a row, the Bears had escaped with no major damage done by NWCC, and that would become a trend for the game.
Both sides added zeros in the third inning, although the Rangers did threaten again with runners on the corners and only one out before a double play on a double steal got the Bears through cleanly.
Northwest loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth and finally cracked through with a one-out single from Handley McAtee to close it back to a one-run game at 5-4, but Northwest again left them loaded with another missed opportunity for the big inning to take control.
The Bears came roaring back in the top of the sixth with a two-run two-out single bringing home some insurance to push the lead back to three, and one inning later, a two-run homerun from would pad their lead back to five runs, making it 9-4 going into the bottom of the seventh.
Jennings would blast her second homerun of the season to lead off the seventh for Northwest to make it 9-5, and with one out, a double from Mary Madison Kelley would force another pitching change for the bears, their fourth of the game, which was quickly followed by Gillis launching a homerun to dead center field to make it 9-7.
That only changed the final score, but not the outcome, as the five runs were too much for the Rangers to cover in the final inning, and they would fall and be eliminated by Southwest.
UP NEXT –
Now it becomes a waiting game for the Rangers, who will have to see if their name is called as one of the at-large bids for the 2026 NJCAA Division II World Series in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
