Northeast Mississippi Community College's pitching duo of Bianca Chagolla and Erin Dixson made sure the Lady Tiger softball team continued their hot start to the 2013 season.

After opening up the Rush Invitational Tournament in Meridian on February 15-16 2-1-1, Chagolla and Dixson led Northeast to a 3-1 record over the weekend in the annual TigerFest Tournament.

Northeast knocked off the tenth-ranked team in the country – Muskegon (Mich.) – 7-2 to start the two-day tournament but suffered its only setback of the weekend in the nightcap of the first day as Baton Rouge (La.) took advantage of a pair of Lady Tiger miscues in capturing a 4-3 win.

Northeast (5-2-1) responded with a clean sweep to finish the tournament. Jody Long's Lady Tigers dispatched Lincoln Land (Ill.) 8-0 in five innings before rallying back to knock off Southwest Tennessee in the final game of the tournament 10-5.

"I've been very impressed with our team offensively during this early part of the season," Long said. "We have had some young kids step in and grow up. I am pleased with some of our individual and team performances. We have some hole and gaps to shore up but I am excited to see the potential this team has."

Final records for the tournament saw Baton Rouge (La.) finish 4-1 with Northeast Mississippi following a 3-1 mark. Calhoun (Ala.) had a 2-1 record during its only day of competition in the tournament while Three Rivers (Mo.) went 3-2. Muskegon (Mich.) finished 2-2 over the tournament while Northwest Mississippi – a late addition to the eight-team tournament – opened its season 1-1.

Pearl River finished 1-2, Lincoln Land (Ill.) went 1-4 and Southwest Tennessee finished the tournament 0-3 after playing three games on Sunday, February 24.

Dixson and Chagolla got the ball rolling early against the tenth-ranked team in the country.

After Muskegon battled back to tie the contest at 2-2 in the third inning, Chagolla and Dixson made sure the Lady Jayhawks did not take the lead.

Dixson held Muskegon's bats in check limiting the Lady Jayhawks to just three hits all day – all singles while the duo provided the offensive punch for the Lady Tigers as well.

Dixson gave Northeast a 3-2 lead with a one-out solo home run to left center in the bottom of the fourth and Chagolla followed suit with an 0-2, two-out homerun that landed on Third Street that chased home courtesy runner LeeAnna Nelms and Dana Glissen.

While Dixson was holding the Lady Jayhawks in check, Northeast bashed out 10 hits with Ellen Tarrant and Chagolla leading the way with two hits apiece. Tarrant collected a pair of singles while Chagolla went for a double and a home run in the contest.

Mooreville's Victoria White had a double in the contest while Dixson added her solo home run to the mix.

In the opening-day nightcap, Northeast looked to have its second win sealed up until a pair of miscues cost the Lady Tigers in the sixth inning.

After leading 3-2 for most of the game, Northeast saw Baton Rouge rally back for a 4-3 win after a pair of errors handed the Lady Bears two runs.

However, up to that point, it was a pitcher's duel. Haley Grantham went the distance for Baton Rouge limiting the Lady Tigers to just four hits while striking out 10 as Chagolla and Dixson combined for a four-hitter of their own while striking out nine Lady Bears.

Northeast opened the game with a 3-0 lead in the first thanks to Haleigh Moffett when the West Lauderdale freshman connected on a Grantham offering for a three-run home run to left that chased home Glissen and Chagolla, who had double and walked, respectively, earlier in the frame. Moffett made Grantham work on the at bat and finally got a pitch on the ninth pitch of the at bat after fouling off three pitches.

Northeast made short work of its first game on Sunday as the Lady Tigers dispatched Lincoln Land (Ill.) 8-0 in five innings in part to a five-run second inning.

Glissen capped the frame with a two-out, two-run home run to center that scored Gracie Michael and herself while Dixson collected her third RBI of the tournament in the frame.

Andrea Cutts got the ball rolling for the Lady Tigers with a two-out single to right and Dixson scored the Ackerman native with her double off the wall in right center an at bat later.

Walnut's Becky Robinson added to the offensive outburst when the Lady Tiger legged out a bobbled ball to second and allowed Dixson to score and Michael kept the inning going with a double to left that set up Glissen's home run.

While the Lady Tigers bashed out 10 hits for the second time in three games, Chagolla was keeping the Lady Loggers' bats in check. Chagolla limited Lincoln Land just one hit and struck out six over her five innings of work.

In the tournament finale, Northeast knocked off Southwest Tennessee 10-5 en route to its 3-1 record over the weekend.

Dixson set the stage for the comeback against the Lady Saluquis with a one-out, solo home run to dead center in the third inning and Moffett and Tarrant provided two more runs that gave Northeast a 5-4 lead after both scored on Southwest Tennessee miscues in the inning.

Southwest Tennessee would rally back in the fifth as Makayla Rice scored on a passed ball that knotted the game at 5-all but Northeast broke loose for five runs in its part of the inning as the Lady Tigers sent eight batters to plate.

Emily Horn and White set the Lady Tigers up for the big inning as the duo collected singles in the first four at bats of the frame and Glissen's two-out shot down the right field line gave Northeast the lead for good when Robinson scored after subbing for White.

Cutts added a pair of insurance runs when the Lady Tiger sophomore scored two with her triple to right and Dixson tacked on one more with her single to left center.

Northeast returns to action on Wednesday, February 27 as the Lady Tigers travel to Memphis, Tenn., to take on Southwest Tennessee in a scheduled doubleheader. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.

CUTLINE

Northeast Mississippi Community College catcher Erin Frazier of Corinth connects on a pitch against Southwest Tennessee in the Lady Tigers 10-5 win over the Lady Saluquis at the annual TigerFest Tournament held in Booneville on Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24