EMCC Lions set to close out softball regular season with trio of road doubleheaders

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Community College's softball team is scheduled to close out the regular season on the road with upcoming conference visits to Copiah-Lincoln, Coahoma and East Central.

The Lions' final push to potentially qualify for the postseason will begin with a challenging Saturday (April 20) doubleheader at reigning NJCAA Division II champion and current second-ranked Copiah-Lincoln (33-3/20-1 MACCC). Following a must-have rescheduled twin bill (from previous rainouts) at winless Coahoma on Thursday (April 25), EMCC is slated to conclude regular-season softball play at 14^th-ranked East Central (29-11/15-7 MACCC) the following Saturday (April 27).

Head coach Mackenzie Byrd's EMCC Lions enter the final week of the regular season with a 13-23 overall record and 5-17 conference mark after dropping doubleheaders at Itawamba (4-3 & 9-5) and at home to Northwest Mississippi (7-2 & 6-3) this past Monday and Wednesday (April 15 & 17), respectively.

Against Northwest in their final regular-season home action, the Lions couldn't recover from early deficits on the way to dropping 7-2 and 6-3 decisions. In the opening game against the Rangers, EMCC was led at the plate by Rachel Rommel and Brianna Byrd with two hits apiece. The Lions then totaled nine hits as a team in the nightcap, highlighted by two-hit efforts from Rommel, Gail Wisher, Karen Wisher and Lana Atkins.

Earlier in the week during a rescheduled Monday twin bill at Itawamba due to a prior postponement, the Lions fell in the opener, 4-3, in the bottom of the seventh inning on a walk-off error. They then led the Indians, 5-1, in the fifth inning of the second game before allowing consecutive four-run innings in the fifth and sixth frames.

Karen Wisher paced EMCC with a pair of hits in the opener at ICC, while Gail Wisher, Victoria Irby and Layla Roper each had two hits for the Lions in the nightcap against the Indians.