After falling to No. 9 Pearl River in the opener of last week’s MACCC Tournament in Ellisville, the 13th-ranked Northwest softball team bounced back with a shutout of Mississippi Gulf Coast and an upset against No. 6 Itawamba, clinching another bid into this week’s NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.
For Northwest, it’s the Rangers’ second consecutive appearance in the region tournament, marking the first back-to-back Region 23 Tournament bids in program history.
Northwest ran into a buzzsaw in the tournament opener on Wednesday, as the nation’s leader in strikeouts, Brinson Anne Rogers, earned 15 strikeouts to help No. 9 Pearl River to a 4-0 victory. The Rangers were held to just two hits in the contest, both from sophomore Meredith Owen.
Facing elimination on Thursday afternoon, the Rangers had no intention of giving up against Mississippi Gulf Coast. In that contest, Northwest tacked on three runs to open the first inning and scattered three more during the third and fourth innings for a 6-0 lead. A four-run frame in the top of the seventh sealed the deal for the Rangers, as Northwest cruised to a 10-0 victory against the Bulldogs.
Northwest outhit MGCCC 13-3 in the contest, led by a 3-for-4 effort from Caylee Comer and two hits apiece from Kaitlyn Bednarek and Senatobia’s own McKaylee Polk. Gabby Dickerson went the distance in the circle, striking out seven Bulldog batters and allowing just one walk against three hits.
Needing a victory against Itawamba to qualify for the Region 23 Tournament and keep its season alive, Northwest did just that, outlasting the sixth-ranked Lady Indians 8-5 in a 10-inning showdown. The Rangers led 4-1 at the end of the second inning and withstood a furious rally from ICC to get three runs in the top of the 10th inning, successfully pulling away.
Despite being outhit 14-10 in the win, Northwest got a huge boost at the plate from Laila Armstrong’s 3-for-6 effort. Polk and Maddie Brower also came away with two hits apiece in the victory, while Dickerson went the distance once more, tossing nine strikeouts over 10 complete innings.
With the victory, the Rangers officially punched their ticket into the Region 23 Tournament, but the celebration was short-lived as Northwest needed to gear up for another battle against Northeast later that day. The battle between the Rangers and Tigers wound up being one for the ages, as the two teams played 12 innings in a five-hour marathon, wrapping up at 1:15 A.M. with a 19-18 victory for Northeast.
Northeast jumped out ahead early in the contest and took an 11-1 lead into the fourth inning. However, the Rangers showed no quit and battled back to an 11-4 deficit in the bottom of the fourth, before scraping across eight runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game up at 12-12.
From there, the two teams traded blows. Northeast jumped back ahead 14-12 in the sixth, but the Rangers responded in the bottom half of the inning to tie the contest at 14 apiece. With neither team able to score in the seventh, the contest went to extras and the battle was on.
Northeast jumped ahead in the ninth with a 16-14 advantage, only for Northwest to rally back to knot the score back at 16-16. The Tigers once again saw two runs cross the plate in the 10th inning, but the Rangers did the same in the bottom half of the inning, tying things up once more.
Northeast finally pulled the go-ahead run across in the top of the 12th, but the Rangers threatened to tie the game up once more in the home half of the inning. However, a swinging strikeout sent the Rangers down for the third and final out, securing the win for the Tigers. Northeast outhit Northwest 21-16 in the contest, but the Tigers committed four errors compared to two for the Rangers. Polk was the primary threat at the plate for Northwest, smacking three homers in the loss for five RBIs, while Koczka also finished with three hits for two RBIs in the loss.
Northwest enters this week with a 31-13 overall record, good for only the fifth 30-win season in program history. The record also marks the best overall mark for the Rangers since a 32-15 mark in 2010. Bracket details for the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament can be found online at nwccrangers.com.
