NORTHEAST ADVANCES WITH PLAY-IN WIN OVER MERIDIAN Poplarville, MS – Saturday kicked off the Region 23 Tournament with #20 Northeast and #18 Meridian completing in a play-in game to advance to the main bracket. Strong defense for the Tigers held the Eagles scoreless until the sixth inning with their relentless offense connecting on 11 hits for a 9-1 win to advance to the first round of the tournament tomorrow.

Leah Walker opened the game with a walk for her first at bat before advancing on a sacrifice bunt and rounding the bases on an RBI single from Chloe Skelton to get the first score on the board for a 1-0 lead. Meridian in the bottom of the inning looked to put themselves on the board with a single to left side but lined into a double play courtesy of Walker and Adin Shelton to head to the second inning. Walker again made a big time play for the Tigers in the top of the second, taking one for the team on a sacrifice fly to bring home Tatum Berry to make it a two-run advantage entering the third.

Shelton hammered out a three-run homer that bounced off the top of the left field wall to push Northeast ahead by five with a solo bomb in the fifth by Skelton made it 6-0 entering the sixth. Meridian managed to put themselves on the board with a run in the bottom of the sixth inning off a ground out cutting the lead to five which the Tigers extended again in the seventh with three runs on four hits. Skelton doubled to center field with AB McKay reaching base on a hit by pitch before Jeoreia Henry came into pinch hit and drove both runners in on a 2-RBI single with another run scoring hit coming from Ava Elliott in the next at bat to make it a 9-1 ball game.

With three outs left Emma Abrams entered the contest and helped to retire the batters in order with a foul out, a ground out, and a strike out in her three batters faced to clinch the win and advance Northeast to the next round of the Region 23 Tournament.

Key Stats:

• Berry recorded her fifth win of the season with five innings pitched, three hits, and one run allowed.

• Skelton went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs, a double, a solo homer, and two RBI.

• Shelton went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs, a three-run homer, and three RBI.

• Elliott went 3-for-4 at the plate with the final RBI of the game.

#20 Northeast improves to 39-14 overall on the season with the Tigers advancing to the first round of the Region 23 Tournament tomorrow against #5 Pearl River with first pitch in Poplarville scheduled for 2:00 PM.