Fulton, Miss. – Avery Springer broke out of a recession on offense in grand fashion for Northeast Mississippi Community College on Monday against one of its biggest rivals.
Springer pushed across the winning run in the last inning of play to lift the Tigers to a 1-0 victory at nationally ranked Itawamba Community College in the lid lifter of a Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division doubleheader.
Bianca Chagolla got into scoring position with a double into the left-centerfield gap. Northeast had garnered just one hit before the two-bagger by Chagolla that put the Tigers in great shape to start the seventh.
Indians pitcher Hannah Johnson rebounded and got two straight outs on an infield grounder and a short fly ball to right field. Springer also fell behind against Johnson after fouling off the first pitch and taking strike two.
But the Houston native delivered for the Tigers with a sharp single past a diving Arriann Henry at first base. Chagolla, who advanced to third on a wild pitch earlier, scored standing up to put Northeast ahead 1-0.
"I've been in a slump, but I said 'If I'm gonna come out of this, it needs to be right now,'" said Springer. "I wanted to show that I could come through clutch when I needed to. It was just really awesome. It's what we work for."
Chelsea Buntin then sealed the triumph by sitting down the heart of No. 19 Itawamba's lineup in order with two popups and a groundout to Yasmeen Cooper.
The two adversaries entered the seventh still deadlocked in a scoreless tie thanks to an incredible battle in the circle between Buntin and Johnson, who combined to allow just eight balls to reach the outfield in the entire contest.
Northeast's Buntin shut down an Indian squad that was averaging 10.8 runs per matchup in conference play to earn the win in a complete game effort. The Alcorn Central High School product gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out two.
Buntin faced only two batters over the minimum amount possible and threw 64 percent of her pitches for strikes. The Tigers backed her up on defense and were errorless on the afternoon with Springer accounting for a game-high 12 putouts.
"I felt like everything was working when I got out there," said Buntin. "I was hitting my spots and getting ground balls and fly balls. I knew we had to come here and do our thing so it felt good."
Johnson (8-4) likewise recorded good numbers with three hits and one walk allowed and four strikeouts in the loss.
Northeast (13-21, 8-6) took a 1-0 advantage after four frames in the nightcap when Bre Agnew doubled off the top of the left field wall to plate Chagolla.
Chagolla started for the Tigers and worked into the fifth before Buntin entered out of the bullpen and got out of a jam on a nice backhanded snag at second base by Cooper.
The Indians, though, took the lead in the sixth. Kory Watterson led off with a single and touched home moments later on a wild pitch.
Emilee Henderson connected on a home run just over the fence in centerfield two batters later. The two-run shot helped Itawamba (19-10, 11-3) take the nightcap by a score of 4-1.
Cara Hopper (4-1) grabbed the win in relief while Buntin (7-10) was the hard-luck loser for Northeast after a brilliant performance in the opener.
"We kept probably the best offensive club in our league off balance for 12 innings," said Tigers headman Jody Long. "Our defense and pitchers played well. All the games in our league are going to be like this down the stretch.
"We're right in the hunt after today. In this crazy league, anything can happen and we've gotta keep winning ballgames."
Chagolla was 3 for 4 at the plate on the afternoon to pace Northeast on offense with two doubles and both runs scored. Springer had three hits and Trenisha King added two base knocks as well.
The Tigers return to Booneville on Wednesday to host Mississippi Delta Community College. A 1 p.m. first pitch is scheduled at David Carnell Memorial Field.