Jones and Northwest split pair of extra-inning games to close regular season
ELLISVILLE — A weather-disrupted two-day series resulted in a split between No. 11 Jones College and No. 23 Northwest. The teams played two extra-inning games, with Jones winning the opener 3-2 in 11 innings and Northwest taking the second game 6-3 in nine innings. The series concluded the regular season for both teams, with Jones finishing 35-16 overall and 18-10 in the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC).
Jones secured the fourth seed in next week’s Region 23 tournament, set for the Poplarville bracket. The Bobcats will face fifth-seeded Copiah-Lincoln on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Southwest and Hinds will play a play-in game Monday, while East Central hosts a four-team pod that includes Itawamba, Northwest, and the winner of East Mississippi versus Northeast.
In the first game, Northwest scored two runs in the fourth inning on a two-RBI single by John Whit Snopek. Jones responded in the bottom half, capitalizing on a wild pitch and a throwing error to score a run and cut the deficit to 2-1. Both teams’ pitchers settled in after that, with neither side scoring again until the 11th inning. Sanders Ainsworth delivered a game-tying RBI-double in the seventh and later scored the game-winning run on a single in extras, giving Jones the 3-2 victory. Colton Smith pitched nine innings for Jones, allowing two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts. Trevor Hodges earned the win with two scoreless innings.
The nightcap was delayed almost immediately due to lightning and a tornado warning. The game was moved from Community Bank Park to Smith-Wills Stadium. Jones took an early 1-0 lead on Chase Russell’s 13th home run of the season in the fourth inning. Northwest responded in the fifth, using walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a sacrifice fly to score three runs and take a 3-1 lead. Jones tied the game in the bottom half with RBI hits from Gage Reeves and Kelan Guidry. The game remained tied into the ninth inning, but Northwest scored three runs on three consecutive RBI-singles after a leadoff walk and hit batter. South McCoy earned the win for Northwest in relief, while Canyon Reeves took the loss for Jones after allowing the go-a-ahead runs in the ninth.
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