Booneville, MS – Thursday afternoon was do-or-die for Northeast who needed one win against Meridian to secure a spot in the Region 23 Tournament. After falling to the Eagles in game one 6-2, the Tigers bounced back with elite pitching from Otto Hyche who struck out seven batters and Matthew Osteen coming in to save the day for a 4-3 win and secure a playoff spot.
Northeast fell behind early in game one with Meridian loading the bases with the top of the order before driving all three in to score off a double to left field. Another run scoring hit for the Eagles made it a 4-0 deficit moving forward with Northeast blank on the board until the top of the third thanks to Kieran Coleman capitalizing on a throwing error to round the bases and make it a 4-1 score.
Meridian made good on the Tigers' mistakes as well with a wild pitch resulting in another run for the Eagles in the bottom of the third to make it a four-score difference again. Coleman flew out to the right field for a sacrifice fly that drove in Brett Haas to make it two on the score board for Northeast who was unable to score again with a final run from the Eagles in the bottom of the sixth locking up a 6-2 loss for the Tigers.
Key Stats from Game 1:
- Northeast pitching struck out six total batters with MJ Parimore striking out four in five innings on the mound and Clark Janzen striking out two in 2.1 innings.
- Haas went 3-for-3 at the plate with one run and a double while Coleman went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
Win and the season continues, lose and go home for good, that was the message in game two with the Tigers stepping up to the challenge to keep their playoff chances alive. Hyche retired three batters in the bottom of the first with all of them looking while holding the Eagles scoreless through three innings. Trae Cagle singled to right field to get on base while Drew Hollimon took one for the team with a hit by pitch to head to first and advance Cagle to second before both were driven home off a 2-RBI single from Easton Fesmire for a two-run lead.
A fielder's choice in the bottom of the fourth for Meridian cut the lead in half at 2-1 entering the fifth where Hank Eaton doubled the score for Northeast with a 2-RBI double to left center that extended the lead to 4-1. Hyche struck out a batter in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings to keep the Eagles behind by three before Osteen stepped in to relieve and struck out another batter to head to the seventh with the lead intact. A two-run homer by Meridian in the final inning trimmed the gap down to one but was not enough as the Tiger defense held strong to secure a 4-3 win and a playoff berth in the Region 23 Tournament.
Key Stats from Game 2:
- Hyche recorded his fifth win on the mound with seven strikeouts through 5.1 innings. Osteen recoded his first save of the year with a pair of strikeouts to help secure the win.
- Northeast recorded only five hits in game two with Fesmire and Eaton both going 1-for-3 at the plate but each recording two RBI.
Northeast finishes the season with a 26-27 overall record and a 13-15 record in MACCC action to secure the 10th seed in the Region 23 Tournament.