No. 15 EMCC Lions drop 9-7 decision to No. 20 Northwest during opening day of MACJC State Baseball Tournament
The 15th-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College couldn't make a six-run second inning stand up in dropping a 9-7 decision to No. 20 Northwest Mississippi Community College during Thursday's opening round of the MACJC State Baseball Tournament being hosted by Hinds Community College at Joe G. Moss Field.
RAYMOND – The 15th-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College couldn't make a six-run second inning stand up in dropping a 9-7 decision to No. 20 Northwest Mississippi Community College during Thursday's opening round of the MACJC State Baseball Tournament being hosted by Hinds Community College at Joe G. Moss Field.
The 28-15 EMCC Lions now fall into the losers' bracket of the double-elimination tournament and will face 19th-ranked Meridian Community College (33-16) Friday morning at 11 a.m. to earn the right to advance in the three-day tournament. Friday's EMCC-Meridian winner will also clinch a spot in next week's (May 14-17) NJCAA Region 23 Tournament to be hosted by LSU Eunice. Top-ranked Hinds claimed a 6-2 victory over Meridian in Thursday's other first-round contest.
In other action Friday, Northwest (31-13) will meet Hinds (39-5) at 2:30 p.m. in the winners' bracket game, followed at 6 p.m. by the winner of the EMCC-Meridian game against the Northwest-Hinds loser. Saturday's slate will feature a 2 p.m. game followed, if necessary, by a championship contest.
In Thursday's opening game, the Rangers gained the early 3-0 advantage on Dalton Dulin's first-inning sacrifice fly and Luke Latham's two-out, two-run homer off EMCC starting pitcher Andrew Crane a frame later.
The Lions responded in a big way by batting around in the bottom of the second. Aided by three walks and a hit batsman by NWCC starter J.G. Lipscomb, EMCC's six-run second inning was highlighted by two-run singles off the bats of JoVaughn McNabb and reigning NJCAA Division II Player of the Week David Pimentel.
While Northwest reliever and eventual winner Colin Liles was holding East Mississippi's bats in check through the middle innings, the Rangers cut the deficit to 6-4 with a solo tally in the fifth on Dulin's two-out RBI single.
The next inning proved to be the decisive frame in the contest, as NWCC went through the lineup and produced four runs with two outs. After surrendering a run-scoring single to Jamell Newson, Crane left the contest with the bases loaded and two outs. Stuart Chick promptly greeted EMCC reliever Jay Booth with a bases-clearing double to right-center field to put the Rangers on top by an 8-6 margin.
The Lions managed to get back to within a run in the eighth when Blake Key raced home from second base on Corley Reynolds' two-out grounder up the middle. However, Northwest got the run right back the next inning on Clay Casey's RBI single off freshman left-hander Zach Irwin, who pitched the ninth inning for EMCC.
East Mississippi was out-hit, 10-9, with Key and Reynolds leading the way with two hits apiece for the Lions.
Crane, EMCC's sophomore right-hander, fell to 6-2 on the year after pitching into the sixth inning. The Pascagoula product allowed eight runs on six hits with four strikeouts and five walks.
Throwing the final 6.2 innings for Northwest, Liles improved to 3-2 on the season after giving up just one run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks.