EMCC Lions take 7-1 baseball mark into Sunday’s home opener against Shelton State
With their best start on the diamond in nearly a decade, the 7-1 Lions of East Mississippi Community College are set for their 2017 baseball home opener Sunday afternoon against NJCAA Division I preseason 18th-ranked Shelton State Community College. First pitch for Sunday’s doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m. at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.
SCOOBA – With their best start on the diamond in nearly a decade, the 7-1 Lions of East Mississippi Community College are set for their 2017 baseball home opener Sunday afternoon against NJCAA Division I preseason 18th-ranked Shelton State Community College. First pitch for Sunday's doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m. at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.
Coach Chris Rose's EMCC Lions most recently swept a road doubleheader, 15-1 and 15-4, against Spring Hill College's junior varsity team this past Sunday in Mobile. As a team during the twin bill, the Lions totaled 30 runs on 27 hits. Defensively, EMCC played 12 innings of error-free baseball and combined to record 20 strikeouts between eight different pitchers. They also produced big innings in both games, scoring nine times in the fifth inning of the opener and then plating eight runs in the second inning of the nightcap.
Individually at the plate in Mobile, the Lions were paced by sophomore catcher Mike Farnell (Spanish Fort, AL), who went 6-for-9 with two doubles, three runs batted in and two runs scored during the doubleheader. Fellow sophomore Whitt Davis (Huntsville, AL) reached base six times in eight plate appearances by going 3-for-4, including a three-run home run for his fifth career homer, in addition to walking once, getting hit-by-pitch twice and hitting a sacrifice fly.
On the mound last Sunday against Spring Hill College JV, EMCC received excellent pitching performances from starters Alex Knight and Vijay Miller. In the first game, Knight, a Sumrall High School product, improved to 2-0 on the year by striking out eight and walking four while giving up one run on three hits in four innings of work. In his first collegiate start on the mound, Miller struck out seven in the nine outs he recorded during the nightcap. The two-sport standout out of Itawamba AHS did not walk anyone and allowed one run on five hits to gain the victory.
East Mississippi's fast 7-1 start this baseball season has also included a Feb. 14 sweep (4-1 & 7-6) at Bishop State Community College in addition to going 3-1 at the season-opening Max Bruner Classic, Feb. 3-4, in Niceville, Florida. The Lions swept Enterprise State (AL) Community College, 9-5 and 13-12, while splitting with host Northwest Florida State College (4-3 W & 10-2 L) on consecutive days.
Following Sunday's home opener against Shelton State, EMCC is scheduled to play host to Wallace State Community College on Wednesday (March 8) before hitting the road for a rematch with Shelton State on Saturday, March 11, in Tuscaloosa.