EMCC earns baseball doubleheader split at Holmes with 12-0 run-rule win in opener

GOODMAN – An eight-run second inning lifted East Mississippi Community College to a 12-0 run-rule victory over Holmes in the opening game of Wednesday's MACJC baseball doubleheader played at Charlie Donald Field.  The home-standing Bulldogs earned the twin-bill split with a 10-3 win over the Lions in the nightcap.

After taking an early 1-0 lead in the first inning of the opening game on Philip Martin's two-out RBI double off Holmes starting pitcher Kameron Ferguson, the Lions sent 13 batters to the plate a frame later during their big inning.  Aided by a pair of Bulldog errors, EMCC's eight-run inning was highlighted by two-run singles from William Garriga and S.T. McMurrian.

The visitors extended the margin to 12-0 with three more runs in the third inning.  Martin, from Fairhope, Ala., capped his 3-for-3 outing at the plate with a two-run homer – his fifth of the year – off Morgan Jarabica.  McMurrian added another RBI single in the frame.

Martin and McMurrian combined to go 5-for-7 with seven runs batted in between them in the opener.  Wesley Grantham added a pair of singles to contribute to the Lions' 11-hit team showing.

With plenty of run support, EMCC freshman right-hander Jaxen Forrester picked up his second shutout of the season and improved to 3-2 with the complete-game two-hitter.  The Spanish Fort, Ala., product fanned five and walked only one over the five innings.              

It was Holmes' turn to take early control in the nightcap.  Off EMCC starting pitcher Frankie Hefflinger, the Bulldogs added to a 1-0 lead with four runs in the second inning.  They pushed across two more runs in the third to grab a 7-0 lead before the Lions could get on the scoreboard.

The Lions' three solo tallies came in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings.  McMurrian notched his third RBI single of the afternoon in the fourth frame, while Ja'Coby Cole and Matt Inlow brought in subsequent runs with a force-out and bases-loaded walk, respectively.

Holmes took advantage of a pair of EMCC miscues in the fifth inning to plate three more runs for starting pitcher Jeff Crenshaw, who evened his mark at 3-3 on the year.   

Matching Holmes' 10 hits in the nightcap, the Lions received two-hit efforts from Inlow, Anthony Hickman and Armani Lewis.

Coach Chris Rose's EMCC Lions, 10-14 overall and 3-7 within the conference, are scheduled to play host to the Warriors of East Central during a Saturday doubleheader on the Scooba campus.  Weather permitting, first pitch is slated for 2 p.m. at Gerald Poole Field.