That winning streak continued Friday night as Lady Texans came through with clutch hitting and shocked No. 3 Keller 4-0 in a rematch.
NHS pitcher Erinn Jayjohn, who was solid in the first meeting but didn't get any run support, was even better this time. The Mississippi State signee held one of the best teams in Texas to just two hits in seven innings.
The Lady Texans erased the scoreless game in the third inning, but it was the effort in the fourth that put the icing on the cake. A pair of hits and a close call at home plate allowed Northwest to score three times and give Jayjohn a lead that she easily protected.
The win allowed Northwest to share the District 5-5A lead at 11-1 in league play and 17-9 for the year. Keller lost for the first time to slip to 11-1 and 23-5-1, respectively.
After two scoreless innings, Jayjohn helped her own cause by setting up the only run Northwest needed to win the game. Lauren Bixler led off with a single, worked her way to third base on a steal and scored on a hard grounder to second base by Jayjohn to make it 1-0.
The Lady Texans opened up things in the fourth inning with clutch hits and gutsy base running. Bailey Armstrong patiently drew a walk and immediately scored when two-year letterman Bailee Mauldin smashed a triple to deep right field to make it 2-0.
Northwest caught the Indians off guard when Nic Starkey laid down a spectacular bunt. Pinch-runner Brianna Szymanski sprinted home from third base where it appeared catcher Mallory Wyatt made the tag, but the ball rolled out of her glove and the run counted.
Starkey found her way back to the dugout when Bixler came through again, only this time she planted a double down the right-field line to knock in the fourth and final run of the night.
Jayjohn took care of the rest of the work to pick up her 17th win of the season. She struck out five batters along the way and collected her third shutout in two weeks.
Northwest, which has won 13 of its last 14 games, has two games left to hold on for the district title.
District 5-5A standings
Team Overall Dist. Keller 26-3-1 11-1 Northwest 19-9 11-1 Grapevine 17-10 7-5 Central 11-12 4-5 Trinity 13-13 6-6 Colleyville 9-16 4-8 Bell 7-21 2-10 Fossil Ridge 5-17 1-10
