Poplarville, MS – After keeping their season alive with a win over Meridian a day prior, #20 Northeast took on #5 Pearl River in the first round of the Region 23 Tournament with the Tigers hammering out two home runs in the contest but could not match the fire power of the Wildcats who took the win 10-2 to send Northeast to the consolation bracket. 

Chloe Skelton stepped up in the third spot of the lineup and gave the Tigers a hot start with a solo bomb to right center for a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Pearl River responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning off a pair of singles to quickly take over the lead 3-1 entering the second. Emma Abrams held the Wildcats scoreless in the second and third innings with a strikeout to send the game to the fourth where the Tigers loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a fielding error before falling short on finding home to keep the deficit at two. Pearl River stretched the difference out to five with another three runs in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of sacrifice flies and an RBI single swiftly upping the score to 6-1. 

AB McKay added one more run to Northeast's total with a solo homer beyond the left field fences in the top of the sixth to make it two runs on the scoreboard for the Tigers to trim the gap to four. However, the first-round matchup ended early with the Wildcats forcing a run rule decision in the bottom of the sixth after a 2-RBI single through the right side increased the deficit to six with another two run scoring hits making it a 10-2 result to finish the day. 

Key Stats:

• Northeast recorded only three hits against Pearl River with two coming off of Skelton's and McKay's home runs while the other came off a double from Adin Shelton. 

Northeast drops to 39-15 overall on the 2026 season and falls to the consolation bracket of the Region 23 Tournament with the Tigers scheduled to face #13 Itawamba in a do-or-die matchup with first pitch scheduled for 4:00 PM. Following the conclusion of the game, the winner will then face the loser of #5 Pearl River and #6 Jones with the winner advancing to Tuesday.