WESSON – The #14 Northwest Mississippi Community College softball team (26-17) got off to a loud start in their Region 23 Tournament opener against #9 LSU-Eunice (34-15), using a constant stream of base hits to put pressure on the Bengals on the way to a 10-8 victory that advanced them to the bracket semifinal with a chance to secure a spot in the championship game on Tuesday afternoon.
"It was much needed," Head Coach Chelsea Bramlett said of the offensive production. "We were battling a little bit. Meredith did really well in fighting a tight zone, but she figured it out, we figured it out at the plate, didn't swing at stuff that was outside of the zone, so I was proud of them."
Northwest got the top of the first inning off with a bang, striking for three runs in a hurry, plating a pair on a two-run homerun by Lillianna Cates, which was followed on the next pitch by a homer to left field from Carleigh Calarco.
"As a team, we really need to jump out ahead on them, so we gave Meredith some insurance and Handly did her job by moving Ava over, and I think Calarco and I really did a good job scoring, which is what our part of the lineup is for," Cates said.
Unfortunately for the Rangers, the offense was hot to start things off for LCU-Eunice as they surged out to four runs in the bottom of the frame, aided by some control issues for Dearman, who threw 43 pitches in the inning, and an error at first saw three of the four runs come across as unearned.
Both teams worked through scoreless innings in the second and third as the game settled into more of a pitchers' duel, and the only run for the Rangers in the top of the fourth inning came on a sacrifice fly to tie the game at four.
I think it helped (Meredith) a lot to know that there were people behind her backing her up and everyone was doing their job, so she felt comfortable to throw the risky pitches," Cates said.
The Rangers really saw the offense pick back up in the game after a hit batter got Emma Jennings on the bases, and she was sacrificed into scoring position. The Rangers loaded the bases and brought home Jennings and Ava Claire Rhoden with singles by Cates and Calarco.
That forced a pitching change, and after a long at-bat, Sela Mancini dropped the hammer and sent a fly ball over the center field fence for a grand slam, and a six-run Rangers lead at 10-4 going into the bottom of the fifth.
"I think that the three of us have worked a long time together, and it was really nice for us to get over the little hump that we were in, and to all start hitting together. It was all three of us this game putting runs down together," Cates said.
Eunice had a chance to really answer back in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases with none out, but Dearman used her dominance of the bottom of the order, who she held to just 1-9 in the game, to pick up three quick outs and keep the lead at 10-5.
Another scoreless inning went by for the Rangers, allowing for Eunice to get a slight toehold. They rolled that into a two-out rally in the bottom half that was keyed by walks and miscues by the Rangers, but a throw out of a runner in a double steal by Lindsey Gillis helped to get Northwest back to the dugout with a two-run lead intact at 10-8.
Dearman was able to get the first two batters in the seventh inning, and after a double to left, closed out the game with a called strike three to secure a spot in Monday's 1 P.M. championship semifinal.
A season-best three home runs powered the win and saw the defense get out of multiple innings stranding Bengals in scoring position.
Northwest will take on the host #4 Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Monday's 1 P.M. opener. The winner will automatically advance to the championship game on Tuesday at 4 P.M., while the loser will play in an elimination game scheduled for 7 P.M. on Monday.
For updates on the Rangers schedule and more, visit nwccrangers.com or follow along on Northwest social media accounts.
