EMCC Lions split home conference baseball doubleheader with Northeast Mississippi
In a pair of midweek run-rule decisions, East Mississippi Community College earned a home doubleheader split with Northeast Mississippi during Wednesday’s MACCC baseball action played at Gerald Poole Field. The Lions claimed a 13-3 victory in the opener before dropping a 12-1 nightcap decision to the visiting Tigers.
SCOOBA – In a pair of midweek run-rule decisions, East Mississippi Community College earned a home doubleheader split with Northeast Mississippi during Wednesday's MACCC baseball action played at Gerald Poole Field. The Lions claimed a 13-3 victory in the opener before dropping a 12-1 nightcap decision to the visiting Tigers.
EMCC held an early 4-2 lead after the first three innings of the scheduled nine-inning opening contest, as the game's first six runs were all scored via the home run ball. Miles Mitchell's second-inning grand slam was sandwiched between a pair of solo homers by Northeast's Brody Winemiller in the first and third frames.
The Lions continued to build on their lead by scoring during each of the game's last four innings. Two-run innings during the fifth and sixth frames were followed by Hunter Russell's leadoff homer in the seventh and Mitchell's two-out, two-run single to walk it off for EMCC an inning later.
Mitchell, a sophomore shortstop from Alabaster, Ala., powered the Lions' 14-hit team effort in the opening game by going 3-for-6 at the plate with six runs batted in and two runs scored. Sophomore centerfielder Sam McClinton Jr. went 3-for-4 with a pair of walks in six plate appearances on the heels of going a combined 8-for-9 during the Lions' road doubleheader sweep over Hinds this past Saturday in Raymond.
Caidan Bullard and Jack Willis each added a pair of hits in the opener to give the Lions four different players with multiple hits.
EMCC's collective offensive effort in the opening game was complemented by sophomore southpaw Trace Tingle enjoying his finest outing of the year on the mound for the Lions. The Pascagoula native scattered six hits and three runs, while matching his career high with nine strikeouts, over the eight innings to earn the complete-game decision with his sixth career collegiate win. Notably, Tingle also picked off three runners at first base during the contest.
The script was flipped during the scheduled seven-inning nightcap, as Northeast chased EMCC starting pitcher Jax Joyner during a five-run opening frame that included three hit batsmen and a pair of walks along with three singles by the Tigers.
The lone score for the Lions off NEMCC pitcher Otto Hyche in the second game came on Mitchell's solo home run in the home half of the first frame. Mitchell's second homer of the afternoon was his ninth of the year and tied him with Bullard for the team lead in home runs.
Bidding to earn one of the 10 available postseason spots in the upcoming NJCAA Region 23 Baseball Championship (May 4-15), head coach Brett Kimbrel's 19-28 EMCC Lions currently find themselves in seventh place within the MACCC's regular-season standings with a 13-11 conference record. EMCC's scheduled regular-season home finale against Mississippi Gulf Coast has been pushed back a day to Sunday afternoon (April 26) in Scooba due to the weekend's projected weather forecast. First pitch for Sunday's rescheduled EMCC-MGCCC doubleheader is set for 2 p.m. at EMCC's Gerald Poole Field. The Lions are then slated to conclude regular-season play on the road by taking on nationally second-ranked East Central in Decatur on Wednesday (April 29).