|
MOORHEAD – The East Mississippi softball team maintained its divisional lead by sweeping Mississippi Delta, 11-2 and 2-1, on the road Tuesday afternoon.
Head coach Kate Neely’s EMCC Lady Lions remain atop the MACJC North Division standings with an 8-2 league mark. Having played less divisional games to date because of earlier postponements due to rain, Itawamba and Northwest Mississippi follow in the current standings at 6-2 and 4-2, respectively.
In Tuesday’s opener on the Delta campus, East Mississippi banged out 18 hits while scoring in every inning with the exception of the second frame. Seven Lady Lion players recorded multiple hits in the first contest, including freshmen Nashedra Barry and DeShuni Sanders with four and three hits, respectively.
After belting three home runs in last Saturday’s home doubleheader against Itawamba, Barry went 4-for-4 with three runs batted in and two runs scored in Tuesday’s opener at Mississippi Delta. The former Columbus High School standout had an RBI double in the third inning and added run-scoring singles in the first and fourth frames for the Lady Lions.
Sanders, a product of New Hope High School, contributed an RBI double during EMCC’s four-run fourth inning, while singling and later scoring in the first and third innings.
Following the one-sided opening contest, the nightcap developed into a pitching duel between EMCC sophomore Courtney Nunn and Delta’s Terra West. Both hurlers went the distance in allowing just four and five hits, respectively.
While managing but one hit over the first two innings, the Lady Lions grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third with singles from Justine Jenkins, Celeste Fontenot and Barry, along with a run-scoring sacrifice bunt by Mallory Pace. The Lady Trojans’ biggest threat through the first six innings came in the third when Devan Reese singled to left with one out and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and later made it to third on a fielding error. However, Nunn got Callie Gordon to fly out to left to end the rally.
West kept Mississippi Delta in the contest by retiring nine straight Lady Lion batters during the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. After being held to one hit by Nunn through the first six innings, the Lady Trojans made things very interesting in the bottom of the seventh. Delta loaded the bases with three straight singles to begin the inning. Reese followed by grounding the ball to EMCC’s Fontenot at shortstop, but Delta’s Francine Signa was called out for interfering with Fontenot on her way to third base. Though a run scored on the play, Nunn was able to get the next two batters to pop out and preserve the narrow 2-1 victory.
A right-hander from Jonesboro, La., Nunn struck out three and walked two in the nightcap to earn her ninth victory of the season. In Tuesday’s opener, she scattered seven hits, while fanning six and issuing three bases on balls, to pick up the complete-game win.
Now 10-23 overall on the campaign, East Mississippi takes on Marion Military Institute Thursday afternoon in a 1 p.m. doubleheader on the road, before resuming league action by playing host to Northwest Mississippi on Tuesday (April 6). Doubleheader action will begin at 2 p.m. on the Scooba campus.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 31 March 2010 )
|
|
|
CORINTH/AMORY – The regular season of the MACJC’s spring golf campaign came to a close this week with a pair of one-day tournaments held in Corinth and Amory on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. After finishing in a third-place tie at Corinth’s Hillandale Country Club, the East Mississippi team placed sixth during Tuesday’s event held at the River Birch Golf Club.
During Monday’s event in Corinth, head coach Dale Peay’s EMCC Lions carded a 299 (+15) to tie for third place with host Northeast Mississippi. Both teams finished just one stroke behind runner-up Mississippi Gulf Coast and four strokes away from tournament champion Copiah-Lincoln.
Individually for East Mississippi, sophomore Trey Adams from Belmont earned all-tournament honors on Monday after completing the 6,232-yard, par-71 Hillandale layout in a three-way tie for fourth place with a 2-over-par 73. Mississippi Gulf Coast’s Brandon Herrington claimed medalist honors in Corinth with a 1-under-par 70.
Sophomore Michael Lauseng and freshman Ian McAdams of Madison tied for seventh and 14th place, respectively, with scores of 74 and 75 for the Lions. Sophomore Will Black of Calhoun City and freshman Jackson Bryant of Natchez rounded out EMCC’s scorecard with identical scores of 77, as did sophomore Andrew Hicks of Caledonia while competing as an individual.
Tuesday at Amory’s River Birch course, East Mississippi slipped to sixth place with a 312 team total. Host Itawamba edged Mississippi Gulf Coast by a single stroke (295-296) to claim the team title, while ICC’s Alex Rowland was the individual medalist with a 4-under-par 68.
Individually for EMCC in Amory, Adams again paced the Lions with a 3-over-par 75, followed by Lauseng’s 76. McAdams added a score of 79, while Hicks (80), Bryant (82) and Black (85) rounded out East Mississippi’s Tuesday scores at River Birch.
The 2010 MACJC State Golf Championship will be held April 12-13 at the Eagle Ridge Golf Club in Raymond with Hinds Community College serving as the tournament host. This year’s NJCAA Region 23 Golf Championship will also be played at the Eagle Ridge course on April 25-26.
|
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 31 March 2010 )
|
|
|
GOODMAN – Keyed by a pair of timely pitching performances, the East Mississippi baseball team swept Holmes, 5-4 and 3-1, on the road Saturday afternoon at Charlie Donald Field.
With the Lions improving to 17-11 overall and 4-4 in MACJC North Division play, freshman pitcher Will Edwards gave up just five hits to earn the complete-game victory in the opener. In the nightcap, sophomore starter Tyler Richardson and freshman reliever Justin Pritchett combined to limit the home-standing Bulldogs to just two hits.
In the first inning of Saturday’s opener, EMCC benefitted from a clutch two-out, two-run double with the bases loaded by freshman Tyler Aldridge to stake the visitors to an early 2-0 lead. However, Holmes grabbed a 3-2 lead an inning later when Will Henry’s two-run home run capped a three-run second inning for the home team. The Bulldogs added a solo tally the next frame to take a 4-2 advantage after three innings.
Following a pair of scoreless innings, East Mississippi knotted the score at 4-4 with RBI singles by Aldridge and sophomore catcher David Williams in the sixth inning. A frame later, the Lions manufactured the winning run with two outs. With sophomore Alex Lummus on third and freshman Hilton Gibson on first, Gibson broke for second base and was able to stay involved in a rundown long enough for Lummus to cross home plate before the third out was recorded.
Aldridge, a first-year standout from Caledonia, went 2-for-3 at the plate with three runs batted in, while Gibson and Williams also added two hits apiece for the winners in the opening contest.
Meanwhile on the mound, Edwards, a 6-foot-1 right-hander from Kosciusko, struck out five and walked four in going the distance and moving to a team-best 4-0 on the campaign.
East Mississippi again struck first in the nightcap, as Gibson plated sophomore Derek Beach with a sacrifice fly to center field in the fourth inning following Lummus’ first of two doubles in the contest. With EMCC’s Richardson giving way to Pritchett after allowing a leadoff walk in the fifth, Holmes evened the score at 1-1 with an unearned run.
The Lions responded by scoring a pair in the sixth inning. Following a walk to Beach, Lummus came up big with a run-scoring double. EMCC added an insurance run a few batters later when Gibson was awarded home plate by way of a balk with runners on first and third.
A product of West Point’s Oak Hill Academy, Lummus produced two of EMCC’s three hits in the nightcap with a pair of doubles. Beach, a left-hander from Heidelberg Academy, singled in the fourth for the Lions’ only other safety of the second contest.
Richardson, a North Alabama signee by way of West Lauderdale High School, pitched into the fifth inning of the nightcap, allowing the one run on just two hits while fanning six and issuing a pair of bases on balls. Picking up the victory in relief and moving to 2-1 on the year, Pritchett, a Northeast Lauderdale product, retired the side in order during the sixth and seventh innings.
Head coach Tony Montgomery’s EMCC Lions continue divisional action this week by playing host to Mississippi Delta in a Tuesday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.
|
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 March 2010 )
|
|
|
SCOOBA – The East Mississippi softball team fell from the unbeaten ranks within division play by dropping a pair of home decisions, 8-3 and 9-2, to rival Itawamba Saturday afternoon on the Scooba campus.
After surrendering their first of five unearned runs in the opener in the second inning, the Lady Lions reclaimed the lead in their half of the second on a two-run home run by freshman Nashedra Barry that also scored Leigh Ellen Barefield, who had led off the inning with a double.
However, the visiting Lady Indians used three hits combined with four costly EMCC errors the following frame to take a 4-2 lead after three innings. The Lady Lions committed a total of seven errors in the opener, including five miscues by the left side of the infield.
Following a pair of scoreless innings, EMCC’s Barry lined a two-out home run over the left field wall off ICC starter Rebecca Rogers in the sixth to cut the deficit to 4-3. Competing in only her 10th softball game of the season after playing for head coach Sharon Thompson’s Lady Lion basketball team during the winter months, Barry, a product of Columbus High School, would later hit her third home run of the season in Saturday’s nightcap.
As would prove to be the case in both contests, Itawamba put away the contest in the final frame by adding four insurance runs on four hits and another EMCC error in the seventh inning. Heather Whitworth’s two-run homer was later followed by Cyndal Cleveland’s two-out, two-run double that plated two more unearned runs for the visitors.
Along with Barry’s 2-for-3 effort at the plate, freshman shortstop Celeste Fontenot went 3-for-4, including a double, to combine for five of EMCC’s eight hits in the opener. In the circle for the Lady Lions, sophomore right-hander Courtney Nunn gave up nine hits, while striking out three and walking two, in her first of two complete-game decisions on the afternoon.
Similar to the opening game, Barry staked East Mississippi to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning with a towering leadoff home run to left field – her third round-tripper of the day.
After being held scoreless through the first three innings, the Lady Indians took a 3-1 advantage with three runs in the fourth. A solo homer by CeCee Austin was followed later in the inning by Anna Taylor’s RBI single and a run-producing double from Jayla Hubbard.
The Lady Lions trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in their half of the fourth when Barry led off the inning with a walk and later scored on Hubbard’s misplay of a Barefield fly ball to left field. ICC managed to get the run back the next inning on Lara Andrews’ RBI bloop single.
With Itawamba starter Chelsea Lukens holding the home team scoreless over the final three innings, the Lady Indians broke open the contest by batting around and scoring five more runs on six hits in the seventh inning, including Austin’s towering two-run blast to left field – her second home run of the game.
In being out-hit 15-7 in the nightcap, the Lady Lions received a pair of singles from former Clarkdale High School teammates Cayla Coleman and Courtney Castleberry. On the mound, Nunn again fanned three and walked a pair in going the distance for EMCC in the second contest.
Head coach Kate Neely’s 8-23 EMCC Lady Lions, now 6-2 in MACJC North Division play, hit the road this week with a Tuesday divisional doubleheader at Mississippi Delta followed by a non-league twin bill Thursday at Marion Military Institute.
|
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 March 2010 )
|
|
|
SCOOBA – The East Mississippi softball team remained unbeaten atop the MACJC North Division standings by sweeping visiting Holmes, 9-1 and 5-4, Wednesday afternoon on the Scooba campus.
With the sweep, head coach Kate Neely’s Lady Lions improved their league record to 6-0. EMCC also owns doubleheader sweeps over Northeast Mississippi and Coahoma on the year.
In Wednesday’s opener, the Lady Lions pushed across runs in all five innings of the mercy rule-shortened contest. With two out in the first inning, Celeste Fontenot and Courtney Nunn reached safely on a single and double, respectively, and came around to score on Cayla Coleman’s two-run single.
Following Leigh Ellen Barefield’s double – her first of three hits in the opener - a Justine Jenkins sacrifice fly keyed a two-run second inning for the Lady Lions. Holmes scored once in the third, but EMCC answered in the bottom half of the inning by scoring three times with two outs to increase the lead to 7-1. Nunn began the rally with a single to center and later scored on Coleman’s base hit. Two batters later, Nashedra Barry drove home both Coleman and Mallory Pace with a clutch two-out single.
With Nunn scattering five hits over five innings, with four strikeouts and two walks, on the mound for East Mississippi, the home team tacked on solo tallies in the fourth and fifth before the mercy rule ended play following Jenkins’ RBI double.
In the nightcap, the visiting Lady Bulldogs took an early 2-0 lead on Courtney Rhodes’ two-run home run off EMCC’s Nunn. In their half of the inning, the Lady Lions responded with three runs to move ahead 3-2 after one frame. Coleman, DeShuni Sanders and Fontenot opened the inning with successive singles. Following Fontenot’s RBI single, Nunn brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to left and Barry added a two-out, run-scoring single.
Holmes knotted the score at 3-3 in the third with an unearned run, but EMCC countered with two more runs in the bottom of the inning to move ahead 5-3. Nunn and Pace started the third with back-to-back singles and advanced on a throwing error by Holmes catcher Cody Ables. With four RBI on the day, Barry later added a sacrifice fly to plate the eventual winning run.
As Nunn settled down with three straight scoreless innings, the visitors made things interesting in the seventh and final inning. After Nunn retired the first two batters, EMCC’s Barefield dropped Beth Livingston’s fly ball to left field. Rhodes followed with an RBI double to center for her third run batted in of the contest. Nunn secured her seventh win of the season by getting Ables to pop up to Fontenot at shortstop to seal the 5-4 victory.
In nailing down both wins of the doubleheader, Nunn allowed seven hits in the nightcap, while fanning five and issuing a pair of bases on balls. At the plate, Coleman, a Clarkdale High School product, went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in the second game to cap a 5-for-7 hitting effort in the doubleheader. The freshman second baseman was 2-for-3 in the opener with three runs batted in and a run scored.
Now 8-21 overall, the EMCC Lady Lions continue divisional action at home by playing host to Itawamba in a Saturday doubleheader set to begin at 2 p.m. on the Scooba campus.
|
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 25 March 2010 )
|
|
|
----------
