EMCC set for season-opening baseball action versus Itawamba and Northeast
Following a pandemic-shortened baseball season a year ago, the East Mississippi Community College Lions are scheduled to open a challenging 2021 campaign this week against fellow Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) North Division members Itawamba and Northeast Mississippi in Booneville.
SCOOBA — Following a pandemic-shortened baseball season a year ago, the East Mississippi Community College Lions are scheduled to open a challenging 2021 campaign this week against fellow Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) North Division members Itawamba and Northeast Mississippi in Booneville.
With season-opening baseball action moved up one day to Friday (Jan. 29) due to potential inclement weather this weekend, EMCC, ICC and Northeast are slated to participate in a round-robin tripleheader at the Northeast Baseball Complex. Beginning with a scheduled 11 a.m. matchup between the home-standing Northeast Tigers and rival ICC Indians, Friday's action will follow with the EMCC Lions taking on Itawamba at 2 p.m. and then meeting host Northeast at 5 p.m. All three seven-inning games are scheduled to be live-streamed by Northeast Mississippi at NEMCCTV.com/blackchannel.
This season utilizing an altered 42-game schedule format for baseball, MACCC member schools will face their intra-divisional opponents twice during the regular season with the first head-to-head meetings of the home-and-home doubleheaders not counting in the conference standings. EMCC's 21-date baseball schedule includes 14 doubleheaders against MACCC North Division competition and seven twin bills versus MACCC South Division opposition.
The 14-date MACCC baseball schedule is slated to begin on Saturday, Feb. 27, with the EMCC Lions set to open conference play at East Central. The MACCC's 15 member schools are scheduled to play each other one time in baseball doubleheader action during the conference's two-month regular season, which is set to conclude on Saturday, April 24.
After beginning the month of February with a scheduled doubleheader at Northwest Mississippi on Wednesday (Feb. 3), the EMCC Lions are set to open their home campaign by playing host to Itawamba on Saturday (Feb. 6). First pitch for EMCC's scheduled home opener against the ICC Indians is set for 2 p.m. at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.
With 17 players returning from last year's squad, third-year EMCC head coach Brett Kimbrel and assistant coaches Chase Reeves and Hunter Floyd look to field an experienced club this spring. The Lions also benefitted from landing a talented recruiting class consisting of 22 incoming freshmen.
The Lions' veteran leadership begins with the sophomore quartet comprised of outfielders Al Dumas and Austin Beech, shortstop Reiley Tate and catcher Braxton Lee, who all took advantage of the NJCAA's extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dumas and Beech look to join forces with returning freshman Beau Bates, newcomer Tae Lucious and others to give EMCC a solid, all-around collection of outfielders.
A noticeable area of improvement figures to be in the infield where Tate returns to lead the way at shortstop. His presence up the middle along with the prospect of several solid second base candidates, including Mississippi State transfer Blayze Berry, look to make the Lions a more dependable unit defensively this coming season. The corner positions should also prove competitive with the likes of returners Trey Trosclair and Rye McGlothin being challenged by incoming freshmen Wesley Sides, Zack Griffith, Austin Garrison and Kylan Stepter.
An area that continues to be a work in progress for the Lions is the all-important pitching staff. Among those hurlers expected to contribute on the mound for the Lions this coming spring include returners Will Long, Gabe Garner, Dakota Boney, Payton Mayatt and Halen Sanford. Joining them in the pitching mix will be a talented group of newcomers that figures to be highlighted by Cade Davis, Gage Lucius, Jonah Caskey, Garrett Robbins and Jonah Posey, along with two-way players Jackson Siler, Garrison and Stepter.
Behind the plate, the Lions welcome back Lee and returning freshman Ian Richard, while the incoming trio of Seth Harris, David Dickerson and Jobi Cook are all battling for quality playing time and at-bats as the season gets underway.