EMCC to open 2018 baseball slate at Northwest Florida State College-hosted tournament
For the fifth consecutive year, the East Mississippi Community College baseball team will open its season at the Northwest Florida State College-hosted Max Bruner Classic Friday and Saturday (Feb. 2-3) in Niceville, Fla. Pairing the same teams as a year ago, the EMCC Lions will take on both Enterprise State (Ala.) and host NWF State each day of the tournament.
SCOOBA – For the fifth consecutive year, the East Mississippi Community College baseball team will open its season at the Northwest Florida State College-hosted Max Bruner Classic Friday and Saturday (Feb. 2-3) in Niceville, Fla. Pairing the same teams as a year ago, the EMCC Lions will take on both Enterprise State (Ala.) and host NWF State each day of the tournament.
Eighth-year EMCC head coach Chris Rose's Lions will meet the Boll Weevils of Enterprise State at 2 p.m. both days, while taking on the host NWF State Raiders Friday at 5 p.m. and then again at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
At last year's season-opening Max Bruner Classic against the same NJCAA Division I opponents, EMCC enjoyed a successful 3-1 weekend in Niceville. After winning the first two games a year ago in come-from-behind fashion (9-5 over Enterprise State & 4-3 over NWF State), the Lions rebounded from a 10-2 setback to the host Raiders on the second day with a classic 13-12 comeback victory over the Boll Weevils.
Last year's opening-weekend success helped spark the Lions to a 25-20 overall record and a return trip to postseason play a season ago. After earning the No. 8 seed in the 2017 MACJC playoffs following a 15-13 regular-season conference mark, EMCC fell to NJCAA Division II World Series participant Hinds Community College in a best-of-three state playoff series played in Raymond.
The EMCC Lions return 11 players from last year's squad, including infielders Anthony Hickman, Ja'Coby Cole and Armani Lewis (Clinton), who combined for 97 starting assignments between them a season ago. Hickman, a shortstop out of Pearl River Central High School, is the team's leading returning hitter (.323) after earning MACJC second-team all-state recognition as a freshman. Cole, from Meridian, also garnered second-team league honors after hitting three home runs with 23 runs batted in last season.
EMCC's other returning position players include infielders William Garriga (East Central HS) and Luke Miller (West Lauderdale HS) along with outfielders Isaiah Eiland (Nanih Waiya HS) and Destin Payton (Hattiesburg).
Headed by the return of sophomore left-hander Chance Witt, who sat out last year due to injury, the Lions also bring back second-year pitchers Garrett Ainsworth (Lewisburg HS), Walker Kelly (Union) and Luke Templeton (Starkville Academy). Witt, a product of Pontotoc High School, was named Division 1-4A MVP as a prep senior in 2015 before seeing action in 17 games as a freshman dual-position player for the Lions. Ainsworth, a right-hander, recorded three saves and a 2.28 earned run average in 14 relief appearances a season ago as an EMCC freshman.
Looking to replace 2017 MACJC All-State catcher and Murray State signee Mike Farnell behind the plate for the Lions will be incoming freshman Matt Inlow from Pascagoula. Chosen to The Sun Herald's 2017 All-South Mississippi Team, Inlow batted .363 with 13 extra-base hits and 26 RBIs as a prep senior for the PHS Panthers.
The EMCC Lions, who have had four Major League Baseball draft selections over the last four years, will also need to fill the void left by the departure of 2017 MLB draft picks Vijay Miller (14th round by San Diego) and Marcus Ragan (15th round by Boston). After going 5-0 with 54 strikeouts in 47.2 innings pitched last spring for EMCC, Miller made 15 relief appearances with 30 strikeouts in 24 innings during his Arizona Rookie League summer stint with the Padres. An MACJC All-State outfielder a season ago for the Lions, Ragan is continuing his collegiate career at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock after hitting a club-high .395 with 27 extra-base hits and 25 stolen bases as EMCC's leadoff batter.
Among those EMCC newcomers looking to make an immediate impact include pitcher Jaxen Forrester (Spanish Fort) and dual-position player Philip Martin (Fairhope) from the neighboring state of Alabama.
Following their season-opening weekend in Florida at the Max Bruner Classic and a scheduled Feb. 12 road doubleheader against the University of West Alabama's junior varsity team, the EMCC Lions are slated to open their home baseball slate with a Feb. 20 doubleheader against Southwest Tennessee Community College at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.
East Mississippi's 2018 MACJC baseball schedule will feature home doubleheaders versus Jones County (March 17), Mississippi Delta (March 27), East Central (April 7), Northeast Mississippi (April 24), Mississippi Gulf Coast (April 28), Itawamba (May 2) and Southwest Mississippi (May 5). The Lions will also hit the road for conference twin bills at Northwest Mississippi (March 21), Copiah-Lincoln (March 24), Holmes (April 4), Coahoma (April 10), Hinds (April 14), Meridian (April 18) and Pearl River (April 21).