After last week’s conference-opening split at Southwest Mississippi, Northwest fell slightly in the latest NJCAA Division II Softball Rankings, but remained in the Top 10 for the third straight week.
Northwest (14-4, 1-1 MACCC) moved from No. 6 to No. 8 in the latest poll, released on Monday afternoon. The Rangers started the season unranked but receiving votes, before checking in at No. 7 in the first regular season rankings.
Joining Northwest in this week’s rankings are five other MACCC programs, led by No. 2 Pearl River. Copiah-Lincoln maintained its position at No. 4, while Jones College moved up from eighth to sixth, followed by 13th-ranked East Central and 14th-ranked Northeast.
Parkland College remains No. 1, while Louisburg (N.C.) and Murray State College (Okla.) round out the top five at No. 3 and No. 5, respectively.
Northwest will be put to the test once again this weekend, traveling to defending national champion and fourth-ranked Co-Lin. The Lady Wolves are 10-1, but have yet to play an MACCC game, hosting a pair of non-conference games on Monday afternoon before hosting Mississippi Gulf Coast on Wednesday.
Through the first 11 games of the season, Co-Lin is batting .371 as a team, led by eight players batting .300 or better. The Lady Wolves pitching staff has also combined for a 1.42 team ERA.
Meanwhile, the Rangers are batting .320 as a team, led by Kaylee Owens’ .521 average. The Fulton native leads the team in home runs (6) and runs batted in (18), while four other players are batting .300 or better.
In the circle, Northwest has been led by the duo of Morgen Brewton and Neely Cooper. Brewton, a freshman from Mobile, Ala., is 9-0 in the circle with 50 strikeouts against six walks, while the sophomore Cooper has tossed 46 strikeouts on the season.
Both pitchers have low earned run averages, while the Rangers’ pitching staff as a whole has combined for a 1.95 team ERA.
Saturday’s nationally-ranked clash is scheduled for 2/4 p.m. in Wesson.
