Complete-game win lifts EMCC to 12-1 run-rule nightcap victory at Hinds in round-robin baseball action
In their first action against MACCC opposition this baseball season, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College bounced back from a 7-3 setback to preseason 14th-ranked Jones College to claim a 12-1 run-rule nightcap win over host Hinds during Tuesday’s non-conference, round-robin event played at Joe G. Moss Field.
RAYMOND – In their first action against MACCC opposition this baseball season, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College bounced back from a 7-3 setback to preseason 14th-ranked Jones College to claim a 12-1 run-rule nightcap win over host Hinds during Tuesday's non-conference, round-robin event played at Joe G. Moss Field.
On the heels of coming up short during their last-inning comeback attempt against the Bobcats in the opening game, the Lions used the momentum to score three runs in the bottom of the first frame of the nightcap against Hinds. EMCC freshmen Jonas Coleman and Jack Willis keyed the three-run first with consecutive run-scoring hits.
The initial runs of the second contest proved to be enough for the Lions, as Coleman went the distance on the mound in picking up his first collegiate win. The two-way product out of Starkville High School had scattered a pair of singles before a solo home run by Sam Sheffield in the final inning prevented the shutout attempt.
Offensively, the Lions continued to do all of their scoring damage during the odd-numbered innings of the nightcap. The visitors took advantage of some infield miscues by the Eagles in the third frame after EMCC's first four batters all reached base safely. Jack Willis' second double of the contest helped get the Lions' five-run inning rolling on their way to owning an 8-0 lead.
The Lions sent nine batters to the plate for the second time in three innings by scoring four more runs in the fifth frame. Caidan Bullard's two-out, two-run double was the big hit in the inning for EMCC.
Bullard, Coleman and Willis keyed EMCC's offensive effort with two hits apiece in the victory.
In the round-robin event's middle game between EMCC and Jones, the Bobcats held the advantage throughout the contest. After retiring the Jones batters in order during his first three innings of mound work on the year, Bullard allowed two runs in the bottom of the fourth frame.
The Bobcats added another tally in the fifth on a sacrifice fly before lengthening their lead to 7-1 with four more runs an inning later. Gage Reeves' three-run homer in the sixth followed three consecutive singles.
To their credit, the Lions rallied in the top of the seventh inning to score a pair of runs and eventually get the potential tying run to the plate with the bases loaded. Following Coleman's two-out, two-run double, Willis had a single in front of a walk to Chris Newson to fill the bases. EMCC's comeback attempt was halted, however, when Russ Thompson entered the game in relief to get the game's final out.
Head coach Brett Kimbrel's 3-9 EMCC Lions are scheduled to return home to play host to Tennessee-based Dyersburg State in back-to-back doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 20-21). Friday's first pitch is set for 2 p.m., followed by Saturday's noon start time at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.