EMCC’s Fralix and Mitchell key the Lions’ 3-1 upset home softball win over third-ranked Co-Lin

SCOOBA – Savannah Fralix's three-run homer and Savannah Mitchell's six-hit complete game lifted East Mississippi Community College to a 3-1 upset victory over reigning national champion and third-ranked Copiah-Lincoln in the opening game of Friday's MACCC softball doubleheader played on the Scooba campus. The Lady Wolves claimed the nightcap with a 10-3 win over the Lions to earn the split.

After the visitors plated the afternoon's first run in the opening inning on Olivia Higginbotham's two-out infield single that scored Ayari VanBlaircom, who had doubled, EMCC's Mitchell mostly kept the Co-Lin batters off balance for the remainder of the contest.

Walks to Annagrace Stewart and Madison Newburn in the third inning set the stage for Fralix's first of a pair of three-run home runs on the day. Coming off Co-Lin starting pitcher Addison Lindley, Fralix's first blast of the twin bill marked her sixth homer of the year.

Supplied with all of the run support she would need, Mitchell proceeded to allow just four singles while holding Co-Lin scoreless over the game's remaining six innings. In addition, the California native did not allow a runner to reach scoring position over the final four innings on the way to improving her record to 5-8 with her sixth complete game of the year.

Fralix also earned a first-inning walk and then added an infield single in the sixth frame to reach base during all three plate appearances in the opener.

EMCC's opening-game win over Copiah-Lincoln marked the Lions' first series win over the Lady Wolves since the 2018 softball season. The victory also handed Co-Lin just its fourth overall loss and second conference defeat of the current campaign.

"The message to the team today was to play like there was nothing to lose," said EMCC head softball coach Mackenzie Byrd, who played collegiately for Co-Lin during the 2016 and 2017 softball seasons. "Before we took the field, I told them to just have fun and enjoy playing the game of softball."

In the nightcap, the Lady Wolves built a 5-0 lead off EMCC starting pitcher Allee Bennett with a solo score in the second inning followed by two runs apiece in the third and fourth frames on the strength of home runs by VanBlaircom and Abby Burnette.

Co-Lin starting pitcher Lily Crum was in command within the circle through the first five innings of the second game until Fralix's second three-run blast of the afternoon cut the deficit to 5-3. The Haleyville, Ala. native also tied RaMiyah Price for the team lead with her seventh home run of the year.

The Lady Wolves answered EMCC's potential comeback attempt by adding five insurance runs on five consecutive hits in the top of the seventh inning. Co-Lin's five-run frame was capped by Noelle Laiche's two-run homer off EMCC's Mitchell, who replaced Bennett in the circle to begin the fifth frame.

Offensively, the Lions' eight-hit team effort in the second game was paced by freshmen Olivia Saucier and Raven Ramsey with two hits apiece.

"The win today reminds our players that this game is fun and competing is fun," Byrd continued. "Hopefully this win will give them a lot of confidence for the rest of the season."

Following a midweek off from game competition, head coach Mackenzie Byrd's EMCC Lions (10-24, 2-16 MACCC) will travel to Ellisville to take on current sixth-ranked Jones College, April 11, before returning home to play host to the Coahoma Lady Tigers on April 15. The Lions' upcoming home doubleheader against Coahoma is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch at the EMCC Softball Field.