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MARION, Ala. – Freshman Stevie Wilson’s four-hit shutout helped the East Mississippi Community College softball team salvage a doubleheader split at Marion Military Institute Monday afternoon. The visiting Lady Lions bounced back from a 6-1 setback in the opener with the 2-0 blanking of MMI.
In the nightcap, Wilson scattered four singles over seven innings in going the distance to pick up her first collegiate victory. The former Bessemer (Ala.) Academy product also did not issue a walk in the complete-game win for the Lady Lions.
At the plate, EMCC moved ahead 1-0 in the second game when Paige Sheppard singled home Amber Spann, who had doubled to left field in leading off the third inning. The Lady Lions plated an insurance run in the seventh on Alyssa Farr’s run-producing double to center field.
Farr, Sheppard and Spann offensively led the way for EMCC in the nightcap with two hits apiece.
In Monday’s first EMCC-MMI contest, the Lady Lions were held to just five hits. Still, the visitors only trailed 2-1 after getting on the board in the top of the sixth inning via back-to-back doubles by former Clarkdale teammates Alex Smith and Spann. However, Marion Military sealed the opener by reaching EMCC starting pitcher Shelby Sheppard for four more runs in the bottom half of the sixth.
Having also previously split with MMI - an 8-7 win and 4-2 loss - to open the current season two weeks ago in Scooba, head coach Kate Neely’s 4-6 EMCC Lady Lions travel to Decatur to meet defending MACJC State Champion East Central Community College Wednesday afternoon. EMCC then heads to Ellisville to participate in Saturday’s Gwen Magee Invitational, hosted by Jones County Junior College.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 February 2012 )
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SCOOBA – The 14th-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College won their 16th consecutive game with a 72-63 home triumph over Itawamba Community College in MACJC North Division basketball action Monday night at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum. In the women’s contest, the ICC Lady Indians clinched the division title with a convincing 58-32 victory over EMCC’s Lady Lions during Sophomore Night activities on the Scooba campus.
A red-hot EMCC men’s squad bolted out of the gates by jumping out to a 20-point lead (26-6) midway through the opening period. Not letting up the remainder of the period, the Lions closed out the first half with a seemingly insurmountable 48-17 halftime advantage.
The Indians scored the opening points of the second stanza and methodically whittled away at the sizeable deficit. With the visitors still trailing by 20 points five minutes into the closing period, ICC freshman DJ Gardner almost single handedly brought the Indians back within reach down the stretch. Scoring 17 of his game-high 21 points following intermission, the former Okolona standout made it an 11-point game (67-56) with his fourth 3-pointer of the half coming with four minutes left in the contest. His fifth and final trey of the half reduced the final margin to single digits, though the home-standing Lions were never seriously threatened despite the impressive ICC rally.
With their current string of 16 straight wins following a tough 3-2 start on the year, head coach Mark White’s EMCC Lions improved to 19-2 overall and 11-0 in division play. The three-time MACJC North Division regular-season champions will go after win No. 20 on the year Thursday night at Coahoma. A road triumph over the Tigers would also give White his 100th career victory of his five-year EMCC head coaching stint.
Sophomore transfer forward Colin Borchert led the Lions with 16 points and eight rebounds against Itawamba. Millaun Brown, of West Bolivar High School, followed with 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting along with seven boards, as the Lions claimed their ninth straight series win over rival Itawamba dating back to the 2008-09 campaign.
Falling to 9-13 overall and 5-6 within the division, Itawamba also received 16 points from Tre’ Wells to go along with Gardner’s double-double effort of 21 points and 10 rebounds.
In the women’s contest, the Lady Indians led from start to finish, owning a comfortable 36-20 halftime margin on the road. ICC’s advantage ballooned to as many as 33 points late in the game before the visitors settled for the 26-point outcome.
Improving to 20-2 overall and staying unbeaten in division play with an 11-0 league mark, Itawamba Community College will play host to next week’s MACJC State Basketball Tournament in Fulton. The four-day men’s and women’s tournament will begin on Monday (Feb. 27) at the Davis Event Center on the ICC campus.
The Lady Indians were paced by Shay Bonner and Jameika Hoskins with 16 and 11 points, respectively, for the winners.
Head coach Sharon Thompson’s EMCC Lady Lions, now 7-15 overall and 4-7 in division play, were led by Alvida Clemons with 12 points, though the sophomore guard struggled with 4-of-20 shooting on the night. Former Kemper County product Chadisty Hickman tied her season low with just five points on only 2-of-15 shooting from the field.
The East Mississippi basketball teams close out their regular-season slate Thursday night in Clarkdale against Coahoma Community College.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 20 February 2012 )
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.jpg "Image") Fans attending Monday’s EMCC-Itawamba Sophomore Night blackout basketball doubleheader in Scooba are encouraged to wear black to the games. The first 500 fans in attendance at EMCC’s Keyes T. Currie Coliseum will receive free T-shirts compliments of Renasant Bank.
In addition to Monday’s planned blackout event, eight Lion sophomores and four Lady Lion second-year players will be recognized during pre-game activities of the EMCC-ICC doubleheader.
With the nation’s second-longest current win streak among NJCAA Division I men’s basketball teams, head coach Mark White’s 14th-ranked EMCC Lions have won 15 consecutive games en route to their 18-2 overall record and 10-0 mark in MACJC North Division play. Their only losses on the year came back in November on the home courts of nationally ranked Northwest Florida State College and Shelton State CC, which are presently ranked second and 10th, respectively.
Now 32-2 within the division dating back to the 2009-10 season with three straight MACJC North Division regular-season titles to their credit, the Lions have claimed 22 consecutive division wins, including last year’s win by forfeit at Mississippi Delta. In addition, the EMCC men have won 15 straight home games at Currie Coliseum dating back to last year, including this year’s perfect 9-0 home mark.
In his fifth season at the Lions helm, EMCC’s White owns a career record of 98-39 for a .715 winning percentage, including a composite mark of 70-14 (.833) over the last three seasons. The former Mississippi State University assistant coach has guided East Mississippi CC to two straight NJCAA Region 23 Tournament championships and back-to-back NJCAA National Tournament appearances in Hutchinson, Kan.
With the Lions having already clinched the MACJC North Division’s No. 1 men’s seed in the upcoming MACJC State Basketball Tournament (Feb. 27-Mar. 1), head coach Sharon Thompson’s 7-14 EMCC Lady Lions are bidding to claim one of the four available division spots in the tournament. The defending MACJC North Division women’s champions are currently in the middle of the pack of the seven-team division with a 4-6 mark after last Thursday’s 61-52 home triumph over Mississippi Delta CC.
The East Mississippi basketball teams will close out the regular season on the road Thursday evening against Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale. The upcoming MACJC State Tournament, slated for Monday, Feb. 27 through Thursday, March 1, will be hosted by the women’s regular-season champion of the MACJC’s North Division.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 19 February 2012 )
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SCOOBA – Continuing rains and worsening field conditions on EMCC’s Scooba campus have forced Tuesday’s scheduled baseball doubleheader between East Mississippi Community College and second-ranked Jones County Junior College to be moved from Scooba to Community Bank Park in Ellisville.
The Lions’ relocated doubleheader against the reigning NJCAA Division II World Series runners-up is slated to begin at 2 p.m. at JCJC’s state-of-the-art baseball facility. En route to their national runner-up finish in Enid, Okla., the Bobcats also claimed the MACJC State Tournament title and NJCAA Region 23 championship a year ago.
Having not played on the diamond since being swept at home, 4-2 and 12-7, last Wednesday by Hinds Community College, head coach Chris Rose’s 1-3 EMCC Lions now have three road doubleheaders scheduled for the coming week. East Mississippi is also set to play at East Central Community College on Saturday (Feb. 25) and then at Mississippi Gulf Coast CC the following Tuesday (Feb. 28).
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 19 February 2012 )
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SCOOBA – In a resumption of last week’s softball doubleheader that started in Perkinston, the East Mississippi Community College Lady Lions were held to just seven total hits Friday afternoon in dropping 8-1 and 3-0 home decisions to the visiting Lady Bulldogs at the EMCC Softball Field.
The two teams agreed to pick up where last week’s opening game was halted due to rain and move the doubleheader to Scooba with Gulf Coast owning a 2-1 lead after one complete inning in the first game. Despite having the contests moved to their home field, the Lady Lions were not able to get a runner to third base during Friday’s 13 innings played in Scooba. Also on the day, EMCC was not able to send any more than four batters to the plate during any one inning.
It wasn’t until the fourth inning that any scoring occurred in the resumption of game one. The Lady Bulldogs reached EMCC freshman starter Stevie Wilson for a pair of runs during a four-hit fourth frame and also a solo tally the next inning. With the aid of three Lady Lion errors, Gulf Coast added three insurance runs in the sixth inning off freshman reliever Alex Smith.
Despite putting the lead-off hitter on base during each of the last four innings in the opening game, the Lady Lions could not push any runners past second base off winning pitcher Megan Lamb. Logan Bozeman’s lead-off double to left field in the seventh was wasted, as was lead-off singles by Paige Sheppard and Smith in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively.
In the nightcap, Gulf Coast right-hander Fallon Dyle allowed just four hits in going the distance for the victory. EMCC freshman Misty Richard, of West Lauderdale, gave up three runs on six hits in 5.1 innings of work to see her record even up at 2-2 on the year.
Despite not being able to get a runner to third base, the Lady Lions did have a few chances to make some noise during the second contest. Jessica Richardson, of Columbus, was left stranded at second base following her two-out double in the second inning. Two frames later, Stormy Lewis, of Quitman, didn’t make it beyond second after singling up the middle and stealing a base. In the sixth, Clarkdale’s Amber Spann singled to left with one out and advanced to second on a subsequent ground out but remained there largely in part to excellent infield play by the visitors.
With Saturday’s MCC/Rush Invitational at Meridian Community College cancelled due to predicted heavy rains, head coach Kate Neely’s 3-5 EMCC Lady Lions will next play at Marion Military Institute on Monday before taken on defending MACJC State Champion East Central Community College Wednesday in Decatur.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 17 February 2012 )
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