EMCC Lions split a pair of one-run baseball decisions at Friday's Flag City JUCO Classic in Millington, Tenn.

MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Continuing their demanding early-season slate, the East Mississippi Community College baseball team split a pair of one-run decisions against NJCAA Division I opponents Friday afternoon at the Flag City JUCO Classic played at USA Stadium.  The Lions earned a 3-2 victory over Southwestern Illinois College to begin the day, but two unearned runs in the nightcap proved costly in a 2-1 setback against Dyersburg State Community College. 

Ranked 18^th nationally in Collegiate Baseball's 2015 NJCAA Division II preseason poll, head coach Chris Rose's 4-4 EMCC Lions have thus far split six games against quality NJCAA Division I foes as well as splitting this past week's home-opening twinbill versus preseason 11^th-ranked Jones County Junior College. 

During Friday's debut at USA Stadium, EMCC and Southwestern Illinois College traded solo first-inning runs.  For the Lions, sophomore shortstop Kyle Liberto stroked his first of two doubles on the day by plating David Pimentel, who had singled to center field with two outs. 

The two teams again swapped solo scores in the fourth frame, though the Lions left the bases loaded after scoring the tying run.  Following consecutive singles by Corley Reynolds and Dylan Vuncannon plus a walk to Lowell Haney, JoVaughn McNabb coaxed a two-out, bases-loaded walk to knot the score.  However, Pimentel flied out to right field to end the inning. 

EMCC came right back the next inning to push across the go-ahead run on Vuncannon's third single of the contest that followed hits by Liberto and Colton McKeithen.  

Meanwhile, sophomore left-hander J'Daylin Jackson benefitted from solid defense behind him, as he scattered five hits over six innings before giving way to freshman closer Ryan Rigby.  With the Lions picking off and throwing out four would-be base stealers in the contest, Jackson, out of Greenville's St. Joseph Catholic School, moved to 2-0 on the young season and 10-1 in his stellar EMCC career on the mound.  Rigby, from Kosciusko, picked up his second save of the year with a pair of strikeouts in the seventh inning. 

In the nightcap against Dyersburg State, the Lions struck first after a lead-off double by New Hope product Taylor Stafford in the opening frame.  The Mississippi State transfer was bunted to third by McNabb and then came around to score on Pimentel's sacrifice fly. 

But, that was the only run EMCC was able to plate while being limited to only five hits by DSCC pitching.  Meanwhile, the Eagles took advantage of one of four Lion errors in the nightcap on a dropped third strike and a hit batsman to open the fourth inning en route to pushing across two unearned runs against starting right-hander Andrew Crane. 

Trailing 2-1, the Lions did have their chances in the fourth and sixth innings but came up empty both times.  In the fourth, Liberto's second double of the day and back-to-back walks loaded the bases, but Emil Ellis flied to left to end the threat.  Two frames later, Pimentel opened the sixth with a single.  Pinch-runner Malik Mayweather stole second but was later thrown out at home trying to score on Chris McCullough's two-out single to left field. 

Crane, a sophomore from Pascagoula, was the hard-luck loser for EMCC despite allowing just three hits and striking out nine over seven innings of work to fall to 1-1 on the year. 

East Mississippi is scheduled to play host to Shelton State Community College Tuesday afternoon in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.