EMCC Lions own 6-2 mark after pair of home doubleheader splits vs. Snead State

SCOOBA – On the heels of consecutive season-opening home doubleheader sweeps over Southwest Virginia, the East Mississippi Community College baseball team followed with another home twin-bill during back-to-back days by splitting with Snead State this past Thursday and Friday at Gerald Poole Field.

After EMCC outscored Southwest Virginia by a composite 70-4 margin (11-1, 30-1, 17-0 & 12-2) on Feb. 2-3 to open the 2024 campaign in Scooba, the four games split between EMCC and Snead State were decided by a total of just nine runs. The Lions claimed a come-from-behind 9-7 win in the series opener on Thursday and then capped Friday afternoon's action with a thrilling 2-1 victory in extra innings. The visiting Parsons prevailed in the middle outings of the four-game series with a 5-2 win during Thursday's nightcap and then holding on for an 11-8 triumph in Friday's opening game.

The series finale featured an early-season pitching duel between EMCC's Drake Bayles and Snead State's Brady Gillespie, with Bayles pitching the regulation seven innings and Gillespie throwing the first four frames of the nine-inning contest. Out of Copiah Academy, Bayles was masterful in his second start of the young season by scattering six hits with four strikeouts and no walks before giving way to Joseph Scarborough. Bayles threw just 68 total pitches with 50 strikes (74%) during his efficient seven innings of work.

Friday's nightcap and series closer was decided in the second extra frame of the scheduled seven-inning contest when freshman Miles Mitchell's two-out, bases-loaded single on a full-count pitch plated Gates Gerhart for the game-winner.

Also highlighting Friday's action for EMCC was Evan Radford's first-inning solo blast that gave the Southern Miss bounceback three home runs on the day, five on the season, and 17 homers for his East Mississippi career. For the four games against Snead State, Radford was 6-for-14 (.429) with four homers, seven RBIs and four runs scored.

Friday's opening game featured a comeback attempt by the Lions after they trailed, 5-0 in the fourth inning and 11-3 in the final frame. EMCC's three-run fourth inning included Radford's first homer of the afternoon as well as an RBI triple by Scarborough that scored Ayden Alsobrooks, who had doubled. After Snead State extended its lead to eight runs with five runs in the top of the seventh, the Lions made things interesting by scoring five runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, aided by Radford's two-run blast and Scarborough's two-run homer, before their rally came up three runs short.

The day prior in the series-opening game between the two teams, the visiting Parsons owned a 7-2 advantage over EMCC heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. Radford's two-run home run – his first of three round-trippers on the day – was followed by pinch-hitter Colin Boyd's two-out RBI single in front of Jon Paul Yates' go-ahead, three-run homer to cap the Lions' seven-run outburst.

At the plate during Thursday's opener, Radford, Scarborough and freshman Ty Murphy all had two hits apiece to lead the Lions in their 9-7 comeback victory. 

Freshman Luke Sides collected his first collegiate win and Scarborough earned his second save of the year by working the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, during the Lions' come-from-behind victory.

Snead State led Thursday's nightcap throughout the seven-inning contest. EMCC was limited to just six hits, with Alsobrooks leading the way with a double, an RBI single, and a walk in four trips to the plate.

Head coach Brett Kimbrel's 6-2 EMCC Lions are scheduled to take on Marion Military Institute in a pair of home-and-home doubleheaders during the upcoming week. Along with being scheduled to play twice in Marion, Alabama, on Feb. 15, the two teams are also slated for a twin-bill rematch two days later (Feb. 17) in Scooba.