NWCC Rangers split a pair with Holmes
Sophomore Kory Petri collected three hits, including his second home run of the season to propel the Northwest Mississippi Community College Rangers to a 13-3 rout of the Holmes Bulldogs in the first game of a doubleheader April 1 in Senatobia.
Holmes rallied from a 7-4 deficit to claim the nightcap 16-8.
Northwest, 14-12 overall, maintained its hold on second place in the MACJC north division with an 8-4 mark. The Rangers are a game ahead of both Holmes and Northeast who are tied for third place with 7-5 division records.
Petri, of Oxford, picked up two doubles in the first game. He also had three RBIs and scored three runs.
Northwest struck for four runs in the first inning thanks to an RBI-double by Petri and three consecutive RBI-singles from Rick Russell of Olive Branch, Joel Rich of Southaven, and Alan Mathis of Memphis.
Ranger shortstop Matt James of Nesbit picked up his team-leading 25th RBI of the season with a run-scoring triple in the second to push the lead to 5-0.
Northwest added three more runs in the fourth frame on Petri’s solo home run and a two-run homer by Rich.
The Rangers ended the contest early by scoring five additional runs in the fifth to run-rule the Bulldogs.
Russell collected a two-run single in the frame, while Petri added his second RBI-double of the game.
Northwest sophomore pitcher Jeffrey Vance of Water Valley improved his record to 4-2 by throwing all five innings and giving up just one earned run. Vance struck out three and walked one.
The Rangers led 7-4 after five innings in the nightcap, but things went sour after that.
Northwest used a three-run homer by Seth Walker of Covington, Tenn., and a two-run double by Mathis to grab the advantage, but Holmes struck for 12 runs in the top of the sixth to kill the Rangers’ hopes for a sweep.
The Bulldogs scored nine of their 12 runs with two outs in the inning.
Northwest freshman pitcher Matt Shaw of Oxford, who was one of five Rangers to take the mound in the contest, was shouldered with the loss to drop his record to 1-1.
Northwest will host Mississippi Delta Saturday, April 4 in Senatobia. The north division doubleheader starts at 1 p.m.
