EMCC Lions look to get back into win column during this week’s softball home stand
East Mississippi Community College’s softball team will begin the month of April faced with the challenge of getting back into the win column by playing host to a pair of nationally ranked MACCC opponents.
SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College's softball team will begin the month of April faced with the challenge of getting back into the win column by playing host to a pair of nationally ranked MACCC opponents.
Having closed out the month of March by dropping conference doubleheaders to now-No. 6 Jones (12-1 & 3-1), Meridian (2-1 & 6-3) and Mississippi Gulf Coast (3-2 & 11-6), the Lions are back at home following the Easter holiday weekend to play host to No. 17 Northeast Mississippi and fourth-ranked Pearl River on Wednesday (April 3 – 2 p.m.) and Saturday (April 6 – 1 p.m.), respectively. Both upcoming MACCC softball twin bills will be played at the EMCC Softball Field on the Scooba campus.
Despite having dropped six straight conference contests, four of those setbacks by EMCC have been by three runs or less. Most recently, following tough-luck home losses to Meridian (March 23) that were decided by just four total runs, the Lions dropped 3-2 and 11-6 decisions at Gulf Coast this past Thursday (March 28).
Entering the month of April with a 12-14 overall record and 4-8 MACCC mark, EMCC's four conference victories came during consecutive sweeps over Mississippi Delta (15-3 & 14-3) and Holmes (13-5 & 10-2). Overall on the season, nine of the Lions' losses have come by three runs or less.
While hitting a respectable .290 as a team for the season, East Mississippi is presently being led at the plate by sophomore Lana Atkins (Millport, AL/South Lamar HS), who tops the Lions with a .397 batting average, including a team-best 25 runs batted in and 10 doubles. Freshman twins Gail and Karen Wisher (Irvington, AL/Alma Bryant HS) are currently batting .355 and .349, respectively, with 23 combined extra-base hits and 32 RBIs between them. Most recently, Karen claimed sole possession of the team lead in home runs by smacking her fifth and sixth homers of the year during last week's doubleheader at Gulf Coast. Gail has four long balls on the season.
In the circle for head coach Mackenzie Byrd's EMCC Lions, sophomore right-hander Carys Goodwin (Corinth, MS/Corinth HS) has led the way with a 7-5 pitching record and 2.77 earned run average to go along with a save. She has completed 10 of her dozen starts this season with a pair of shutouts.
