Booneville, MS – #20 Northeast kicked off the final week of the 2026 regular season with a home doubleheader against the Lions of East Mississippi where Chloe Skelton hammered out hit after hit to drive in runs for the Tigers who took game one 7-1 before run ruling the Lions in game two 10-2 in five innings.
East Mississippi struck first in game one with a sacrifice fly in the top of the second to score the first run of the day to move ahead by one before a 2-RBI double to right field by Skelton quickly shifted momentum to Northeast for a 2-1 lead. Sophie Gant followed up with an RBI-single through the right side to drive in another run in the third to increase the Tigers' advantage to two runs heading into the fourth inning. Despite the bats going silent through the next few innings, Northeast was able to turn up the noise in the sixth with Adin Shelton hitting a single to third base to advance AB McKay to second and quickly found her way home off a RBI-bunt single from Tatum Berry to extend the lead to three. Kendall Bragg singled out to center field to drive in another Tiger run while Leah Walker sent one out to right field to drive in a pair and sped her way to third for a 2-RBI triple to make the score 7-1 in the game one win for Northeast.
Key Stats from Game 1:
- Gant picked up her 15th win of the season while pitching another complete game for her 11th of the season. She allowed only one run in the game while striking out a pair of batters with 68 of her 102 pitches resulting in strikes.
- Skelton went 2-for-3 at the plate with one run, two doubles, and two RBI against East Mississippi.
Northeast fell behind early in the first inning with the Lions scoring a pair of runs off a double and single to right field, putting the Tigers in a two-run hole that they quickly dug out of with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. A fielder's choice allowed Walker to make her way home for run number one while Berry stepped back up and sent a single up the middle to drive in McKay and Gant for the other two to take a 3-2 lead entering the second. Another double from Skelton sent home another score for Northeast to double up the Lions and in the following inning she hit a single to drive in two more before a 2-RBI double from Gant made it a 9-2 ball game. Emma Abrams held off the East Mississippi batters with a pair of strikeouts in the top of the fifth to give Northeast a chance to force a run rule that indeed took place as Skelton once again connected on a hit out to left center and drove in the game winning run to complete the sweep 10-2.
Key Stats from Game 2:
- Abrams recorded her 16th win of the 2026 season while pitching in the innings and allowing zero hits, zero runs, and striking out three batters.
- Skelton went 3-for-3 at the plate in game two with one run, a double, and four RBI including the game winning run that she drove in off her final hit of the contest.
- Berry went 2-for-3 at the plate with one run and two RBI while Gant recorded three RBI of her own.
Northeast improves to 37-13 overall on the 2026 season and 14-12 in MACCC action heading into their season finale on Saturday. The Tigers will travel to Southwest to finish the regular season against the Bears in a doubleheader with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 PM.