EMCC Lady Lions gain key division softball split at Northwest Mississippi with 7-6 comeback win in nightcap

SENATOBIA – The visiting Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College rallied for a 7-6 comeback victory over Northwest Mississippi Community College during Sunday's nightcap to gain a key doubleheader split in MACJC North Division softball action.  In the opener at Ranger Field, Kiley Dunagan threw a no-hitter to lead the home-standing Rangers to an 8-0 run-rule triumph over EMCC.

The nightcap featured two ties during the first three frames.  EMCC's first-inning run on Anna McCrary's two-out RBI single was matched by Erin Claire Stegall's run-scoring single with two outs in the bottom of the second.

Both teams then countered with two runs apiece in the third inning.  In the top half, the visitors took advantage of the first of four Northwest errors when Kasey Stanfield doubled home both Kristen Mitchell and Heather Abney, who led off the frame by reaching base on a walk and an infield error, respectively.  In the home half of the third, Heath Griffith drilled a two-out, two-run double to knot the score at 3-3.

After the Lady Lions momentarily went ahead, 4-3, by scoring an unearned run in the fourth, the Rangers reached EMCC starting pitcher Logan Smith for three runs.  Again with two outs, NWCC's Kendall Alford tripled home a pair of runs and then scored herself on the relay throwing error from the outfield to put the home team back on top, 6-4, after four innings.

With EMCC freshman right-hander Mary Kendall Ware limiting Northwest to just two singles in three shutout innings to close the contest, the Lady Lions continued to push across runs during their comeback bid.  In the fifth following McCrary's one-out double and a subsequent infield error, Amandalyn Abney cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly to center field. 

In the sixth, EMCC's Sarah McDaniel led off with a single and was bunted over by Pepper Baker.  After Mitchell was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game, both runners moved up on a failed pickoff attempt at first base.  Following Heather Abney's game-tying RBI single, New Hope's McCrary capped her 3-for-4 nightcap effort with a two-out, run-scoring single that plated Mitchell for the go-ahead tally.

Relieving Smith after four innings, Ware threw three shutout innings to pick up her first collegiate victory.  The Winona Christian School product faced one batter over the minimum during her effective pitching stint and was aided by an inning-ending double play in the sixth when McCrary gunned down Northwest's Stegall trying to advance to third base on Hanna Hunter's fly out to right field.         

In game one, the Rangers provided Dunagan with all of the run support she would need with three runs on four hits in the first inning.  NWCC would follow with two more scores in the third and add three tallies the next frame to get to the eight-run, mercy-rule margin.

Offensively, the visitors were not able to advance a runner to third base off Dunagan in the opener.  Improving to 4-1 on the year, Dunagan struck out seven and walked three during her five-inning stint.  EMCC freshman left-hander Valiree Blair took the loss to fall to 1-7 on the season.

Coach Kyndall White's EMCC Lady Lions, now 9-14 overall and 7-6 in division play, return home to play host to Coahoma Community College in a Monday afternoon twinbill on the Scooba campus.  First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the EMCC Softball Field.