EMCC Lions set for busy week of baseball action on the diamond
The East Mississippi Community College baseball team will get its first taste of conference competition to begin a busy week of action on the diamond. The Lions are slated to face MACCC foes Jones (3 p.m.) and host Hinds (6 p.m.) during Tuesday’s (Feb. 17) non-conference, round-robin event in Raymond before playing host to Tennessee-based Dyersburg State during back-to-back doubleheaders Friday and Saturday (Feb. 20-21) on the Scooba campus. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday at EMCC’s Gerald Poole Field.
SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Community College baseball team will get its first taste of conference competition to begin a busy week of action on the diamond. The Lions are slated to face MACCC foes Jones (3 p.m.) and host Hinds (6 p.m.) during Tuesday's (Feb. 17) non-conference, round-robin event in Raymond before playing host to Tennessee-based Dyersburg State during back-to-back doubleheaders Friday and Saturday (Feb. 20-21) on the Scooba campus. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday at EMCC's Gerald Poole Field.
Head coach Brett Kimbrel's 2-8 EMCC Lions will be aiming to get back into the win column after most recently dropping a pair of doubleheaders against tough competition during back-to-back days last week in Marianna, Fla. After falling to host Chipola College (7-3) and preseason 17th-ranked Wallace Community College-Dothan (10-4) last Friday, the Lions had to turn around and face perennial powerhouse Chipola two more times the following day. EMCC bounced back from a 12-2 run-rule decision in Saturday's opener to take the Indians down to the wire before getting edged 12-11 in the nightcap.
The Lions opened Kimbrel's eighth season at the school's baseball coaching helm by rebounding from season-opening road losses to Marion Military Institute (4-0 & 10-4) with consecutive doubleheader splits against Snead State during a home-and-home series played on Feb. 7-8. Taking turns playing in Boaz (Ala.) on Saturday and the following day at home in Scooba, EMCC won the first games of the back-to-back twin bills (6-5 & 6-4) before falling to the Parsons in the respective nightcaps (13-8 & 16-7).
The Lions have hit 11 home runs as a team through the year's first 10 games. Sophomore first baseman Caidan Bullard currently leads the way for EMCC with a team-best .450 batting average in addition to ranking tied for first among MACCC statistical leaders with four home runs. Third-year middle infielders Miles Mitchell and Colin Boyd follow with three and two homers, respectively. Freshman Jonas Coleman enters the week hitting .389 with a home run, while fellow frosh Braxton Whiteside has the other homer for the Lions on the young season.
On the mound for EMCC, sophomore left-hander Trace Tingle and freshman right-hander Colin Perrigin have combined for half of the Lions' 10 pitching starts thus far. Sophomore right-hander Evan Hilliard and third-year sophomore southpaw Garrett Pound have each picked up a victory on the year.