Pitching gems earn EMCC Lions pair of baseball wins over St. Johns River State in Chipola tourney

MARIANNA, Fla. – With a pair of narrow nightcap wins (2-0 & 2-1) over St. Johns River State College, the East Mississippi Community College baseball team posted a break-even 2-2 record against NJCAA Division I competition during this past weekend's two-day tournament hosted by perennial baseball powerhouse Chipola College.

Both victories over SJR State featured classic pitchers' duels, highlighted by EMCC's trio of Drake Bayles, Heath Brunson and Ben Riley Flowers combining for a seven-inning no-hitter against the Vikings during Friday's final contest. Bayles, out of Copiah Academy, improved to 2-0 on the young season by striking out seven and allowing only one walk over five innings. Following Brunson's middle relief effort, Flowers inherited two runners on base in the sixth inning and recorded all four of his outs via the strikeout to earn the save for the Lions. EMCC's pitchers collectively struck out a dozen batters and only allowed four baserunners during Friday's 2-0 shutout win over St. Johns River State.

Following five scoreless innings in Friday's initial meeting with SJR State, the Lions reached Auburn University commit Connor McBride for the only runs of the game in the top of the sixth. After Austin Garrison coaxed a one-out walk, EMCC freshman infielder Jon Paul Yates tripled him home and then later scored on a wild pitch for the only offense the Lions would need during their masterful pitching performance on Friday night.  

Another classic pitchers' duel between EMCC and SJR State followed Saturday afternoon at Chipola's Jeff Johnson Field. After the Vikings took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning to begin the rematch, EMCC freshman Walker Swearingen settled down to throw 3.1 innings before giving way to Cooper Garrison. A freshman out of Gulfport, Garrison continued the Lions' dominant pitching against SJR State by no-hitting the Vikings over the final 4.2 innings to pick up his first collegiate victory after having already earned two saves this season. Garrison, the younger brother of EMCC sophomore pitcher/shortstop Austin Garrison, retired the first eight batters he faced on Saturday en route to striking out six and allowing just three batters to reach base.

After the Lions knotted the score at 1-1 in their tournament finale against SJR State on doubles by Evan Radford and Will Crawford in the bottom of the fourth inning, the rematch needed an extra inning to determine a winner. Garrison remained unhittable on the mound in the top of the eight by stranding the designated extra runner at second base by getting two more strikeouts and a fly out. In the home half of the extra frame, EMCC recovered from having its extra runner thrown out at home on Crawford's single to right field. Zack Griffith, who was intentionally walked and had advanced to third base on the previous hit and subsequent out at the plate, then raced home on the next delivery via a two-out wild pitch for the walk-off winning run.

With both teams limited to four hits apiece in Saturday's rematch, Radford and Crawford had two hits each for the Lions.

In their tournament opener on Friday, the Lions dropped a 14-7 decision to Miami Dade College. Offensively for EMCC against MDC, Radford, a Southern Miss transfer, led the way by smacking his team-leading third home run of the year – a three-run shot in the third inning.

During Saturday's opening game against preseason 10^th-ranked Chipola, the Lions were shut out, 11-0 in five innings, and limited to four hits by Troy University signee Chase Nelson.

Coach Brett Kimbrel's 5-3 EMCC Lions are scheduled to return to action on Tuesday (Feb. 21) by playing host to MACCC foes Mississippi Delta and Coahoma in non-conference tripleheader action set for Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus. EMCC and Mississippi Delta will meet at noon, followed by Delta-Coahoma in the middle game, and the Lions back in action at approximately 6 p.m. against Coahoma in the nightcap.