Pair of one-run baseball decisions results in EMCC home split with Itawamba

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College split a pair of one-run decisions with visiting Itawamba during Tuesday's MACCC baseball action played at Gerald Poole Field. Following a 4-3 walk-off victory over ICC in the opening game, the Lions dropped a 2-1 decision to the Indians during the nightcap.

In the scheduled nine-inning opener, EMCC and ICC were tied at 1-1 and 2-2 before some late-game heroics from both sides. After the visitors took the initial lead on Dre McCray's leadoff homer off EMCC starting pitcher Landon Scruggs in the third inning, the Lions took advantage of four walks issued by Itawamba starter Matt Bourdon the next frame to even the score.

The Indians promptly answered an inning later on Jaxin Settlemires' two-out RBI single to move ahead, 2-1, in the fifth. EMCC then knotted the score at 2-2 with Joseph Scarborough's run-scoring single in the seventh inning.

After Itawamba edged ahead again on Ben Davis' solo shot off EMCC reliever Matthew Birdsong in the eighth, the Lions completed the comeback by scoring twice in their final at-bat. Following an Evan Radford single and a walk to Ayden Alsobrooks to begin the home half of the ninth inning, Scarborough tied things up for the third time in the game with his second RBI single of the contest. Ty Murphy's bunt single then loaded the bases with no outs. Third-year sophomore Coby Holmes then came through in the clutch by smacking the two-out, game-winning hit to left field off ICC reliever Tyler Yearwood.

With eight of their nine total hits coming over the final three innings of the opener, the Lions were led by Scarborough's 2-for-4 effort at the plate. His pair of run-producing singles came in the seventh and ninth innings.

EMCC freshman Luke Sides picked up his second relief win of the year in as many decisions by retiring all five batters he faced.

Despite being limited to just two hits during Eli Akins' masterful complete-game pitching performance in the scheduled seven-inning nightcap, the Lions had their chance to pull off another last-inning comeback.

Behind Akins' pitching gem, the Indians took an early 1-0 lead on McCray's sacrifice fly off Scarborough in the second inning. Itawamba added a second run in the seventh on Stone Collier's two-out RBI single off Brandon King.

While having managed just three baserunners through their first six at-bats on Radford's leadoff single in the fourth and walks to Gates Gerhart and Scarborough in the second and fourth innings, respectively, EMCC still had an opportunity in the bottom of the seventh. A promising start to the inning with Alsobrooks' leadoff triple resulted in just the one run when he scored on Gerhart's one-out groundout.

Head coach Brett Kimbrel's EMCC Lions (26-15, 12-8 MACCC) are slated to hit the road for their next two conference doubleheaders. After traveling to Summit to take on Southwest Mississippi on Saturday (April 13), they will then head to Senatobia on Wednesday (April 17) to meet 16^th-ranked Northwest Mississippi.