EMCC Lions post second baseball sweep of the week with 8-0, 8-1 home wins over Northeast
The Lions of East Mississippi Community College earned their second MACCC baseball sweep of the week by claiming 8-0 and 8-1 home victories over Northeast Mississippi during Friday’s conference action played at EMCC’s Gerald Poole Field.
SCOOBA — The Lions of East Mississippi Community College earned their second MACCC baseball sweep of the week by claiming 8-0 and 8-1 home victories over Northeast Mississippi during Friday's conference action played at EMCC's Gerald Poole Field.
On the day, four EMCC pitchers combined to limit the Tigers to just seven singles and a lone run that was unearned. In contrast, half of the Lions' 18 total hits on the afternoon were doubles.
Rye McGlothin's RBI double in the second inning of the scheduled nine-inning opener gave the Lions an early 1-0 lead. EMCC established momentum by batting through the order the following frame. Beau Bates' two-out, bases-clearing double highlighted a five-run third inning off Northeast starting pitcher Aidan Foeller that extended the Lions' lead to 6-0.
EMCC then reached the run-rule margin of eight runs an inning later when Austin Beech's two-run homer off Northeast's Caleb Huggins in the fourth made it 8-0. Beech's sixth home run of the year tied him with McGlothin for the team lead.
On the mound for the Lions, a trio of pitchers scattered five singles over seven shutout innings in the shortened contest. Jonah Posey was credited with his first collegiate win after throwing the first two innings. After Garrett Robbins pitched a scoreless inning, Dakota Boney entered the game in the fourth and finished out the game to earn his second save of the season. Boney allowed three singles while striking out six and walking just one batter in four effective innings of relief work.
Offensively in the opener, Beech, McGlothin and Blayze Berry led EMCC's eight-hit team effort with two hits apiece.
The Lions maintained their momentum on the day by scoring four runs in the first inning of the nightcap on RBI doubles from Wesley Sides, Berry and McGlothin. EMCC provided more run support for starting pitcher Gabe Garner by scoring three more times a frame later off Northeast starter Jake Reeder. An RBI double by Beech was followed by Sides' sacrifice fly and Zack Griffith's run-scoring single.
Garner settled in nicely with the early lead provided and proceeded to toss a two-hitter to earn his first collegiate victory. The Germantown High School product allowed just a pair of singles over seven innings and only gave up an unearned run in the fifth, while striking out five and walking three, to collect the complete-game win.
With the Lions totaling 10 hits as a team in the nightcap, Beech and Berry again led the way with two hits apiece.
Coach Brett Kimbrel's 14-12 EMCC Lions, 7-11 in conference play, are scheduled to continue their current home stand this coming week with a Tuesday twin bill versus Holmes and a Saturday doubleheader against Meridian. Both upcoming EMCC home baseball doubleheaders are set for 2 p.m. starts at Gerald Poole Field on the Scooba campus.