Memphis, Tenn. – Northeast Mississippi Community College broke out the big sticks to claim its initial sweep of the 2014 campaign.
The Tigers downed Southwest Tennessee Community College by scores of 13-11 and 11-3 on Tuesday with the top of Northeast's lineup accounting for a large portion of the damage dealt.
Leadoff hitter Yasmeen Cooper, Haleigh Moffett and three-hole batter Bianca Chagolla combined to go 13 for 23 in the doubleheader with eight extra base hits and 10 RBIs.
Moffett got game two started on the right note with a RBI double to left field that scored Cooper, who led off the contest with a double as well.
Chelsea Buntin then plated Moffett with a line drive single to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead after a half inning.
Northeast extended its advantage in the third when Moffett connected on a solo home run to left. The long ball from the West Lauderdale High School product signaled a huge shift in momentum for the Tigers.
Chagolla lifted her squad ahead 6-1 in the next frame on a double that brought home Whittney Gee and Cooper.
The Saluqis did add two runs in the bottom half off a Northeast error, but the Tigers scored five in the fifth inning to end the matchup early due the run rule.
Avery Springer doubled to advance Audrey Goss, who was courtesy running for Buntin, to third. Gee then dropped down a beautiful bunt to load the bases.
Pinch hitter Bre Agnew followed with a RBI single that allowed Goss to touch home. Then with two outs, Cooper and Chagolla sandwiched doubles between a Moffett walk.
The two-base hits by Houston's Cooper and Chagolla, a native of Riverside, Calif., tallied two more runs apiece to give Northeast an 11-3 lead.
Chagolla (1-4) worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth to get three straight outs and finish the first complete game by a Tiger pitcher this season. An all-state selection as a freshman in 2013, she gave up just one earned run in the shortened contest with four hits and one strikeout.
Lauren Ray and Taylor Thomas combined to allow 14 Northeast hits and eight earned runs for Southwest Tennessee.
The Tigers banged out a season-high 15 base knocks in the opening matchup of the afternoon, but had to hold on after the Saluqis attempted a comeback.
Northeast scored in each of its initial four plate appearances and built a 13-3 lead by the middle of the fourth inning.
Haley Christian and Buntin got the day started on a positive note with back-to-back RBI singles to put the Tigers (3-8) up 3-0 early.
Cooper's first of four extra base hits on the afternoon plated Gee in the second. Chagolla then brought Cooper around the bases with a liner to centerfield that gave Northeast a 5-0 advantage.
Southwest Tennessee touched the scoreboard in the bottom half. Cooper, however, all but erased that with a two-run shot for the first home run of her collegiate career.
A five-run fourth highlighted by Christian and Moffett RBI singles seemingly put the game out of reach for the Saluqis, but a homer in the bottom of the fifth by Alex Turner kept the contest going.
Dallas Chipman began the sixth with a solo home run. Southwest Tennessee (1-11) notched two more on a sacrifice fly by Kayla Wright and a Marissa Davis bunt single to make it 13-11.
But Trenisha King sat the Saluqis down in order during the seventh with two groundouts and a fly ball to Gee in leftfield to close the contest. King recorded the inaugural save of her career with 2.1 innings of relief work.
Buntin (2-3) garnered the start and went four frames to grab the win. The Alcorn Central High School alumnus struck out four and gave up six hits.
The Tigers now shift their focus to the start of Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division play on Tuesday, March 4. Northeast visits Mississippi Delta Community College for a 1 p.m. first pitch in Moorhead.