Seventh-seeded EMCC Lions set for East Central-hosted NJCAA Region 23 Baseball Tournament

SCOOBA – Set to make their fourth postseason baseball appearance in the last five years, the seventh-seeded Lions of East Mississippi Community College will take on No. 10 seed Northeast Mississippi during Monday's (May 4) play-in game being played in Decatur. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at the Clark/Gay Baseball Complex on the campus of East Central Community College. The winner will advance to the four-team, double-elimination bracket of the ECCC-hosted 2026 NJCAA Region 23 Baseball Tournament.

Second-seeded and nationally second-ranked East Central as well as top-ranked and three-time MACCC champion Pearl River Community College will both host four-team, double-elimination regional tournaments next week (May 5-8) on their respective campuses. Prior to Tuesday's scheduled start of the tournament, Monday (May 4) will also include a play-in game between No. 8 seed Southwest Mississippi and ninth-seeded Hinds to be played in Poplarville on the PRCC campus.

The East Central regional bracket also features third-seeded Itawamba and No. 6 seed Northwest Mississippi, while the Pearl River regional bracket includes No. 4 seed Jones College and fifth-seeded Copiah-Lincoln. The highest seed remaining following double-elimination regional play will host a best-of-three series against the winner of the other bracket the following week (May 13-15). The super-regional series winner is guaranteed a berth in next month's (May 23-30) NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series to be played at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla.

Tuesday's regional baseball schedule in Decatur will begin with the host East Central Warriors taking on Monday's play-in game winner between EMCC and Northeast at 2 p.m., followed by a 6 p.m. contest between ICC and Northwest. The two winners are then slated to meet at 2 p.m. on Wednesday (May 6). The losing teams from the opening round are scheduled to follow at 6 p.m. Wednesday in an elimination game.

Head coach Brett Kimbrel's EMCC Lions (20-31, 14-14 MACCC) gained sole possession of seventh place within the MACCC's baseball standings by virtue of their home doubleheader split with Mississippi Gulf Coast a week ago (April 26). They maintained the conference's No. 7 seed despite dropping a road doubleheader at No. 2 East Central in their regular-season finale this past Thursday (April 30) in Decatur. Northeast Mississippi secured the No. 10 seed by splitting a road twin bill with Meridian.

EMCC began Thursday's regular-season finale at East Central by grabbing an early 2-1 lead in the third frame of the nine-inning opener when Gabe Roberts, who was hit by a pitch, and Sam McClinton Jr., who reached on an infield single, both came around to score on a wild pitch thrown by ECCC starting pitcher Trae Winn.

Following a pair of scoreless innings, the home-standing Warriors plated solo runs in the sixth and seventh innings off EMCC relief pitcher Garrett Pound to regain the lead. The visiting Lions mounted a two-out rally in the top of the ninth inning when Jack Willis tripled but was left stranded as Luke Williams picked up his sixth strikeout during a three-inning relief effort to preserve the 3-2 ECCC victory.

With East Central and East Mississippi having already secured their respective No. 2 and No. 7 tournament seedings, the Warriors jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the seven-inning nightcap after scoring three runs in the first frame and adding five more scores an inning later.

The Lions broke up the potential shutout with a pair of runs in the fifth inning on Chris Newson's two-RBI double that scored Jamie Muse Jr. and Cooper Bates. East Central answered by getting the two runs back in the home half of the fifth frame to close out the home sweep.

Nearly two weeks ago (April 22) in Scooba during a pair of midweek run-rule decisions, East Mississippi and Northeast Mississippi played to a doubleheader split at EMCC's Gerald Poole Field. The home-standing Lions claimed a 13-3 victory in the opener before dropping a 12-1 nightcap decision to the Tigers. Offensively, EMCC third-year sophomore shortstop Miles Mitchell belted home runs in each contest, including a grand slam in the opening game. In addition to EMCC and Northeast reaching double-figure runs scored during their respective wins, the doubleheader also featured a pair of standout complete-game pitching performances by the winning teams. EMCC sophomore left-hander Trace Tingle enjoyed his best outing of the year by scattering six hits and three runs while matching his career high with nine strikeouts over the eight innings. He also picked off three runners at first base in the game. Northeast sophomore right-hander Otto Hyche countered in the nightcap by giving up just one run – Mitchell's solo home run – on four hits while striking out five and not issuing a walk across the five innings.

2026 NJCAA Region 23 Baseball Tournament Bracket (East Central Regional)