East Mississippi uses 16-hit attack in 13-7 nightcap win to earn home doubleheader split with Hinds

SCOOBA – A 16-hit attack during a 13-7 nightcap victory lifted the East Mississippi Community College softball team to an MACJC home doubleheader split with Hinds Community College Sunday afternoon at the EMCC Softball Field.  The visitors opened the twin bill with a 6-0 win over the home-standing Lions.

After being limited to just five hits by Hinds' Amberlee Nix in the opener, the Lions scored in five of their six at-bats during the nightcap.  While answering the Lady Eagles' two-run first on a pair of unearned runs, EMCC stroked five consecutive two-out singles off starting pitcher Meagan Duchesne, including a two-run base hit by Zoie LaVergne, to take an early 4-2 advantage.

Two frames later, the Lions pulled ahead, 8-3, with four additional runs on five more singles and the aid of sacrifice flies off the bats of LaVergne and Kendall Wilkinson.  The next inning, sophomore third baseman Marissa Landrum made it 10-3 by belting her third home run of the year with Averi Pender on base with her third of four singles in the contest.

Any thoughts of a possible run-rule victory by the home team were dashed when Bre Glenn connected on a three-run homer off EMCC starting pitcher Valiree Blair in the top of the fifth.  The Lions again answered in the bottom half with a solo tally on Sydney Olander's run-scoring infield single to run the score to 11-6.

The game's final outcome was decided in the sixth inning, as another unearned run by Hinds was again answered by EMCC on Blake Rigdon's two-out, two-run single.  The 13-7 final score gave the Lions their third doubleheader split in seven days following road splits at Southwest Mississippi and Northeast Mississippi earlier in the week.

Along with Pender's 4-for-4 effort in the nightcap, Landrum went 3-for-4 for the Lions with three runs batted in and three runs scored.  Rigdon, Mallory Vance and Emily Patrick all added two hits apiece for the winners.

In the circle for EMCC, Blair improved to 5-4 on the year by pitching into the fifth inning.  The sophomore left-hander gave up six runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks before giving way to freshman Jordan Self, who allowed one unearned run on two hits over the final 2.2 innings.

East Mississippi had opportunities to score in the opener as well by moving runners into scoring position during six of the seven innings.  However, the Lions wasted Landrum's lead-off double in the second and a frame later couldn't push across a run after having runners on second and third with only one out.

As EMCC was going through a trio of pitchers in starter Ciara Steward along with relievers LaVergne and Madison Jacques, the Lady Eagles plated a pair of runs in the second and fifth innings as well as producing solo tallies in the fourth and seventh.  An infield error opened the door for Hinds' two-run second, a hit-batsman with the bases loaded forced in a run in the fourth, while a two-out wild pitch brought home an additional two runs in the fifth.

Meanwhile, in the circle for Hinds, Nix struck out five and did not issue a walk while scattering five hits during her complete-game shutout.  Landrum and Rigdon had two hits apiece for EMCC in the opener.

Coach Kyndall White's EMCC Lions, now 17-15 overall and 12-8 in conference play, travel to Fulton to take on the Lady Indians of Itawamba in a 2 p.m. Tuesday doubleheader.