| East Mississippi CC earns home baseball split with Itawamba in MACJC North Division opener |
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SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Community College baseball team opened MACJC North Division play by earning a home doubleheader split with Itawamba Wednesday afternoon at EMCC’s Gerald Poole Field. After dropping the opener 3-0 to ICC, the Lions bounced back to claim the nightcap 5-3 over the visiting Indians.
After being limited to four hits in the opener, the home-standing Lions banged out nine hits in the nightcap, including five singles in their five-run fourth inning. Alex Chick, Tyler Bonaventure and Randy Hornesbuger, who had singles in EMCC’s big fourth inning, all contributed two singles apiece in the second contest. Lion freshman southpaw Blake Hutcheson, of Saltillo, picked up his first collegiate win by allowing three runs on six hits, including five strikeouts and a walk, in 6.1 innings of work. Sophomore Kameron Heiser, a former West Lauderdale standout, collected his second save of the campaign by recording the final two outs of the afternoon. “We started a new season today with the beginning of conference play,” EMCC head coach Chris Rose noted. “We battled both games with one of the top North Division teams, and we’re beginning to believe in ourselves again. After not getting the timely hitting in the first game, we put pressure on the defense in the second game and played the game we needed to play to get the win. I’m also very proud of our pitching performances, as Coach (Michael) Wallace continues to do a tremendous job with our staff.” EMCC sophomore right-hander Will Edwards pitched well again for the Lions in the opening contest, but the Kosciusko native was out-dueled by ICC’s Nathan Flanagan. As both hurlers went the distance in the opener, Edwards gave up three runs on eight hits while fanning three and issuing just one walk. With the Indians posting solo tallies in the second, sixth and seventh frames, EMCC let a couple of scoring opportunities slip away in the first game. In the second inning, the Lions had runners on first and second with one out, but an inning-ending double play stalled the threat. Heiser and Chick then opened the sixth with a double and single, respectively. However, subsequent back-to-back strikeouts and a groundout halted the late-inning rally. Totaling four hits on the day, Chick, a Hernando product, had two singles in the first game as well. Hornesbuger also added a single in the opener. Now 2-18 overall and 1-1 in MACJC North Division play, the EMCC Lions are set to conclude their current three-date homestand Saturday afternoon by playing host to divisional foe Mississippi Delta on the Scooba campus. First pitch of Saturday’s twinbill is slated for 3 p.m. at EMCC’s Gerald Poole Field.
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 16 March 2011 ) |
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