EMCC softball team falls, 7-4, at rainy Itawamba; Lady Lions' scheduled Monday DH with Meridian postponed

FULTON – The visiting Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College couldn't take advantage of six opponent errors in dropping a 7-4 decision to rival Itawamba Community College during rain-soaked MACJC North Division softball action Saturday afternoon at the ICC Softball Complex.  The nightcap of the scheduled doubleheader was postponed due to continuing rain and worsening field conditions.    

In addition to not capitalizing on the half-dozen Lady Indian miscues in the field, the visitors also stranded 10 runners on base during the seven-inning solo contest.

Neither team managed to score through the first three innings.  EMCC left two runners on base during each of those first three scoreless frames, including stranding runners on second and third in the first and second innings.

The visitors did finally take advantage of three ICC errors in the top of the fourth by plating a solo run, though the Lady Lions left runners on the corners.  The Lady Indians answered with a solo tally of their own in the bottom half of the fourth on Katrina Wilson's sacrifice fly off EMCC starting pitcher Logan Smith.

East Mississippi promptly reclaimed the lead the next inning on freshman catcher Amandalyn Abney's first collegiate home run – a two-run blast to centerfield – off ICC starter Hannah Johnson.  EMCC's 3-1 lead was short-lived, however, as Itawamba's first five batters in the bottom of the fifth all came around to score.  After ICC loaded the bases to chase Smith from the contest, Haley Moore greeted Lady Lion reliever Jenny Reynolds with a bases-clearing double to right-center field.  The Lady Indians added two more runs in the inning to take a 6-3 lead.

The two teams would again trade solo runs in the sixth inning.  In the top half, Pepper Baker's lead-off triple was rewarded with Emily Patrick's two-out, run-scoring single.  Itawamba answered right back as Katelynn Downey came around to score on Laken Shankle's two-out RBI single after leading off the bottom of the frame with a double.

Smith, a sophomore right-hander from Odenville, Ala., dropped to 2-2 on the year after giving up four runs on four hits while pitching into the fifth inning.

Improving to 14-6 overall and 6-1 in division action, Itawamba out-hit EMCC, 8-5, in the contest.  For the visitors, Heather Abney went 2-for-4 with a double while her sister, Amandalyn, reached base three times with a walk and a hit batsman in addition to her two-run homer.

Coach Kyndall White's EMCC Lady Lions, now 8-13 overall and 6-5 in the MACJC North Division, have postponed their scheduled Monday home doubleheader against Meridian Community College because of continued weekend rain and unplayable field conditions.  East Mississippi is slated to resume division play on Friday (March 27) by taking on the Rangers of Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia.