Moorhead, Miss. – Northeast Mississippi Community College's recent solid defensive play has given Bianca Chagolla an extra boost of confidence in the circle that is paying dividends. 

Chagolla hurled her second complete game in a row for the Tigers in a 10-2, run-rule shortened victory at Mississippi Delta Community College in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division opener for both teams.

The great pitching continued for Northeast in the second matchup of the doubleheader. Three Tigers combined to toss a two-hitter in a 13-0 win that completed the sweep on Wednesday.

A graduate of Poly (Calif.) High School, Chagolla (2-4) gave the credit for her strong outing solely to the eight other ladies in the field with her.

"I feel very confident in myself and having the defense behind me feels really good," she said. "When they make the plays it just makes me feel more comfortable out there and throw more strikes."

Chagolla did just that with 52 percent of her pitches crossing the plate as strikes. The sophomore allowed just three hits in the five-inning contest with three strikeouts.

"She's the type of kid that, being a sophomore and team captain, wants to put the whole team on her back," said Northeast head coach Jody Long. "You can't always explain why, but when she plays well then the rest of the team plays well."

Chagolla also found success at the plate and went 3 for 3 in the league lid lifter with three runs scored and two RBIs.

Two other Tigers, Chelsea Buntin and Haley Christian, joined Chagolla with multiple hits. Northeast (5-8, 2-0) totaled 10 hits in game one and scored in each turn at bat.

The Tigers took a quick 2-0 lead after two innings when Chagolla touched home plate on a dropped popup and a Shannon Goode sacrifice fly that plated the speedy Mirah Terry.

Northeast manufactured three more runs in the third. Chagolla led off the frame with a double to straightaway centerfield and later scored on a throwing error.

Pinch runner Audrey Goss advanced to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a Trenisha King groundout. The Tigers then pulled a rare double steal when Terry swiped second base and Avery Springer took home.

Mississippi Delta starter Emily Cox was forced out of the matchup following a Bre Agnew RBI double and Buntin's RBI single in the fourth. Cox gave up eight earned runs in 3.2 innings.

Terry came home on an errant throw and Chagolla belted a RBI single to round out Northeast's scoring in the fifth.

The Trojans (0-12, 0-2) tried to extend the contest in the bottom half after Cox doubled in a run with two outs. But Chagolla got Megan Prentiss to fly out to wrap up the game early.

The Tigers picked up where they left off in the nightcap and batted around off starter Sara Gunter in the first inning.

King, Agnew and Buntin put together three straight RBI singles to get the offense into motion. Christian added a sacrifice fly and Whittney Gee brought in another runner with a RBI groundout to put Northeast ahead 5-0.

Gee set the tone offensively for the remainder of the matchup with three base knocks. Two of her hits scored runs in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.

The Vardaman native overcame an illness earlier in the morning to compile one of her best days in a Tiger uniform. She added a nice running catch while playing left field and also saw time at third base.

"You have to pick it up and push on," said Gee. "It was a whole new world moving from outfield to the infield. It was crazy."

Gee was part of a Northeast squad that was errorless on the afternoon. After a rough start to the year in the field, the Tigers have now been mistake free in four out of their last six outings.

"We had some people step up," said Long. "We've made some changes, but anytime you can get offensive performances like that it makes the defense and pitchers relaxed a little bit."

Northeast loaded the bags in the fourth before Springer ripped a double into the right-centerfield gap to clear them. She then rounded the bases on a pinch-hit single by Erica Clifton that gave the Tigers a 10-0 advantage.

Gee's final RBI single during the fifth rounded out Northeast's tremendous day in the batters box.

Buntin (3-3) earned the start and was very impressive in three frames of work. She sat down all nine hitters she faced in order, six of them by strikeout.

Springer and Abigail Rish worked a scoreless fourth and fifth inning, respectively, to close the pair of big wins.

Chagolla was 4 for 5 in the two contests with seven runs scored while Agnew, Gee and Buntin had 4 RBIs apiece.

The Tigers continue a very busy week on Thursday (March 6) when they host rival Itawamba Community College for a set of makeup games. A 1 p.m. first pitch is scheduled at David Carnell Memorial Field.