Booneville, MS – After scheduling delays over the past week due to weather and travel, #19 Northeast was finally able to take on Coahoma in a doubleheader where big hits and lights out pitching put the nationally ranked Tigers ahead early and took control the rest of the way for another MACCC sweep.
Northeast jumped on Coahoma right away in game one with Leah Walker singling her way to first base, moved into scoring position off a single from Bailey Houston, and found her way home off a sacrifice fly from AB McKay to get on the board in the first inning. An error by Coahoma in the top of the second allowed Maggie Parchman to score her first run of the day while Kendall Bragg made her way to first and eventually rounded the bases to steal home for a 3-0 lead.
Bragg's next two bats resulted in 2-RBI doubles with a long bomb out to left field in the top of the fourth followed by another two-run dinger in the sixth to extend Northeast's lead to five. Sophie Gant added on one final run in the sixth with a single out to second base that drove home Walker to make it an 8-2 lead heading into the final inning where despite a late surge from Coahoma to score three more runs, Northeast was able to hang on and take an 8-5 win in game one.
Key Stats from Game 1:
- Gant improved her record in the circle to 12-1 on the season while striking out five batters through 6.1 innings.
- Bragg went 2-for-3 at the plate in game one with three runs, four RBI, and three stolen bases.
Game two was a quick five innings with Northeast scoring early and often to force a run rule decision to complete the series sweep over Coahoma. Walker and Gant both took advantage of Coahoma's errors to make their way around the bases to score a pair of runs in the first with Adin Shelton scoring in the second off a sacrifice fly from Bragg to take a three-run lead with another error in the third allowing Walker to steal home to make it 4-0 Northeast.
The top of the fourth was high scoring for the #19 Tigers who scored five runs in the inning led off by a pair of RBI singles with Chloe Skelton singling on a bunt and Bragg sending one out to right center to drive in two more runs. Skelton scored on a sacrifice fly by Houston while Bragg added to the score coming in off a double through the left side courtesy of Gant to extend the score to 9-0 entering the bottom of the inning where Coahoma bounced back with a three-run homer and a fielder's choice to close the gap down to 9-4.
Another flurry of runs in the top of the fifth put Northeast over the top with Bragg and Walker each hitting an RBI single followed by Houston hammering out a 2-RBI double to bring in Bragg and Jazzie Smithey to stretch the lead out to nine. Walker scored on a wild pitch to make it a double figures lead with Houston adding the final run off a sacrifice fly from Ava Elliott to give Northeast a 15-4 lead to enforce the run rule and complete the sweep.
Key Stats from Game 2:
- Emma Abrams recorded her 11th win in the circle with three strikeouts through 3.1 innings.
- Seven players for the Tigers recorded multiple hits in game two.
- Walker went 3-for-3 at the plate with four runs, one RBI, and three stolen bases / Houston went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI / Bragg went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs and three RBI.
Northeast now improves to 28-6 overall on the season with a conference record of 5-5. The Tigers will continue their road stint on Saturday when they face #3 Copiah-Lincoln in a doubleheader followed by Mississippi Delta on Tuesday. Northeast fans can catch the Tigers back at the Plex on Friday April 3rd against Hinds with first pitch of game one scheduled for 2:00 PM.