EMCC Lions drop two at Mississippi Delta in Tuesday MACJC baseball action
The visiting Lions of East Mississippi Community College fell twice, 7-1 and 7-6, to Mississippi Delta Community College in MACJC baseball action Tuesday afternoon at the Jimmy Bellipanni Baseball Complex.
MOORHEAD – The visiting Lions of East Mississippi Community College fell twice, 7-1 and 7-6, to Mississippi Delta Community College in MACJC baseball action Tuesday afternoon at the Jimmy Bellipanni Baseball Complex.
In the nine-inning opening game, EMCC couldn't get on the scoreboard against Delta starting pitcher Hunter Allen, who shut out the visitors on five hits during his seven-inning stint. The Lions did have scoring opportunities but left runners in scoring position in the first, fifth and sixth innings.
Meanwhile, the Trojans reached EMCC starting pitcher Cole Whitman for a pair of runs in the second and fifth innings to take a 4-0 lead. In the second inning for Delta, a walk and a hit batsman preceded Tyler Jones' two-out, two run triple. In the fifth, an infield error and a passed ball allowed two additional runs for the home team.
After reliever Garrett Ainsworth worked 2.1 scoreless innings for the Lions, Mississippi Delta added three more runs in the eighth off Cole Gullette. Payton Lane's RBI single followed Nathan Pilutti's two-out, two run double to extend the lead to 7-0.
EMCC's lone scoring of the opening game came on Mike Farnell's first of two home runs on the day to lead off the ninth inning. His solo blast off Trey Jones in the opener was followed by another solo shot in the first inning of the nightcap off Dawson Ivey. Farnell's homers on back-to-back at-bats tie him with Whitt Davis for the club lead with four and give the Spanish Fort, Alabama native seven home runs for his EMCC career.
The Lions went on to stake Davis to an early 3-0 lead in the seven-inning second game by manufacturing two more runs on a passed ball and an infield out in the second inning.
During the next two frames, the Trojans scored three times each inning to first tie the game in the third and then grab their first lead during their next at-bat. Another two-out, two-run double by Pilutti keyed Delta's three-run third, while consecutive run-scoring hits by Will Godfrey and Tyler Jones in the fourth made it 6-3.
The Lions worked some two-out magic of their own in the sixth inning off MDCC reliever Brendan Painter. Aided by a leadoff walk to De'Andre Pitts and an infield error by Delta two batters later, EMCC followed with successive two-out singles by Marcus Ragan, Farnell and Davis. The clutch hit came when Davis helped his own cause by lining a two-strike, two-run hit to left field that evened the score at 6-6.
The Trojans quickly countered to reclaim the lead in their half of the sixth inning. Facing EMCC closer Eli Leathers, Delta catcher Jake Hartman singled up the middle with two outs and the bases loaded to drive home the go-ahead run.
EMCC had a chance in the top of the seventh to extend the game but couldn't capitalize on the opportunity. A leadoff single by Armani Lewis, who had two hits in the opener, coupled with an infield throwing error by Delta put both runners in scoring position with only one out. However, Cole Marsh fanned the next two Lion batters to preserve the one-run victory and complete the doubleheader sweep.
Out-hitting Delta in the nightcap, 11-8, the Lions received multi-hit outings from Ragan, Farnell and Davis.
Coach Chris Rose's 11-9 EMCC Lions, 2-6 the MACJC, will step out of conference play this weekend by hitting the road to take on the Bears of Baton Rouge Community College in a 2 p.m. Saturday doubleheader.