East Mississippi Lions fall twice at home to Hinds CC in Wednesday baseball activity

SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Community College Lions were forced to play catch-up both games to visiting Hinds CC but ultimately dropped a baseball doubleheader, 4-2 in nine innings and 12-7, to the Eagles Wednesday afternoon at EMCC's Gerald Poole Field.

In the opener, Hinds reached EMCC starting pitcher Blake Thomas for a pair of first-inning runs to take a quick 2-0 lead.  After Akiko Thompson and Daniel Gilbert led off the game with a single and double, respectively, they were brought home by Justin Smith's ground out and a sacrifice fly by Tyler Akins.

The Lions finally got to Hinds starter Alex Gunn in the fifth inning when Ismael Reyes' ground out plated lead-off hitter Jason Yarbor, who had singled and later moved to third on Zane Migues' double.  With the Hinds hitters being held in check through the middle innings by EMCC's middle relief corps, the Lions were able to push across the tying run in the bottom of the seventh inning.  The unearned run resulted when lead-off batter Alex Chick reached on an infield error, advanced around to third on a sacrifice bunt and subsequent wild pitch, and then raced home on a swinging third strike to Holden Watts that got away from the catcher.

While holding the Lions hitless over three innings of relief work, Akins helped his own cause as the winning pitcher by driving in the eventual winning runs with a two-run single off EMCC reliever Dillon Hawkins in the top of the ninth inning.

Freshman Corbin Johnson absorbed the loss for the Lions as their fourth of five pitchers used in the opener.  At the plate, Migues accounted for two of EMCC's five hits in game one.

As they did in the opening contest, the Eagles struck early with three first-inning runs off EMCC sophomore transfer Blake Roberts.  After the teams traded solo tallies in the second, the Lions chased Hinds starter Kirk Thornton in the third inning.  Yarbor's leadoff double was followed by Aaron Brady's run-scoring single and Austin Braddock's RBI double.  Courtesy runner Tyler Bonaventure plated the tying run on a passed ball.

The Eagles answered by batting around in the fourth and scoring five runs on four hits, highlighted by Ryno Martin-nez's two-run home run.  Hinds then essentially put away the contest with three more runs the next frame, keyed by Thompson's two-run double.

However, EMCC didn't go quietly in the nightcap, as Yarbor's two-run single spurred a three-run sixth inning.  The Lions also managed to load the bases with two outs in the final frame but could not cut into the 12-7 final outcome.

With eight hits as a team in game two, Yarbor paced the Lions with a 3-for-4 outing that included two RBIs and a run scored.  Chick, a sophomore from Hernando, went 2-for-4 with a lead-off double that started EMCC's three-run sixth inning.

Head coach Chris Rose's 1-3 EMCC Lions stay at home to play host to the Bulldogs of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in a 1 p.m. Friday doubleheader in Scooba.  With EMCC originally slated to play MGCCC in Perkinston on Saturday, the two teams agreed to swap dates because of forecasted rain this weekend along Mississippi's Gulf Coast.  The two clubs are now slated to play a doubleheader in Perkinston on Feb. 28.