Cade Davis’ 11-inning, complete-game win gives EMCC Lions a DH split with Gulf Coast

SCOOBA — Cade Davis' 11-inning, complete-game victory helped lift East Mississippi Community College to a home doubleheader split with Mississippi Gulf Coast during Saturday's MACCC baseball action played at Gerald Poole Field. After letting an eight-run lead slip away en route to dropping a 15-9 decision in the opening game, the home-standing Lions rebounded to earn the split in extra-inning, walk-off fashion with a 3-2 nightcap win.

Bouncing back from scoring only two runs earlier in the week at Northeast Mississippi, EMCC exploded for eight runs with three homers in the opening inning of game one against Gulf Coast. Zack Griffith's three-run home run – his second of the year – was followed by Coby Holmes' solo shot and Ethan Medlin's two-run blast – their respective fourth and fifth homers of the season.

After the teams traded solo scores in the third inning, the Lions continued to hold an eight-run lead in the scheduled nine-inning opening contest.

East Mississippi's bats then cooled off considerably once MGCCC's JC Stogner settled in after replacing starting pitcher Noah Nicholson in the first inning. While EMCC went to the bullpen three times after starter Kylan Stepter threw the first 3 2/3 innings, Stogner held the Lions in check for the last 8 2/3 innings of the contest by striking out 11 and not allowing a runner to reach third base over the final five frames.

With the exception of a scoreless sixth inning with EMCC reliever Grant Johnson on the mound, the Bulldogs scored in six of the last seven innings during their comeback journey. Following a four-run fourth and another run an inning later that cut the deficit to 9-6, the visitors posted three straight three-run innings to close out the come-from-behind victory. Jesse Johnson's three-run homer off Gabe Garner in the seventh inning knotted the score at 9-9, while Alex McWhorter's three-run blast in the ninth off Andrew Lewis provided the final winning margin for Gulf Coast.

Offensively for the Lions in the opener, Holmes led the way with a 3-for-5 effort at the plate. Medlin and Blayze Berry added two hits apiece, as eight of the nine EMCC starters had at least one hit.

After the teams totaled 25 hits between them in the opening contest, the scheduled seven-inning nightcap proved to be a pitchers' duel between EMCC's Davis and the combined mound effort of starter Matthew DeLano and Johnson for Gulf Coast.

The Bulldogs grabbed a 2-0 lead by plating an unearned run in the third inning on Cade Crosby's RBI double and then manufacturing another score the following frame.

The Lions got on the board in the fifth inning on David Dickerson's leadoff home run – his first of his career. EMCC then knotted the score two frames later when pinch runner Austin Garrison scored on a wild pitch after Dickerson led off the seventh with a walk.

The score stayed tied at 2-2 for the first three extra frames. After Davis stranded a potential go-ahead run at second base in the top of the 11^th, the Lions opened the bottom half of the inning with back-to-back singles by Trey Trosclair and Griffith. Kade Shannon was then called on to bunt over the runners. His perfectly placed bunt to the left side of the infield was thrown away at first base allowing the winning run to score.

While the Lions evenly spread out their eight hits among eight different players, the unquestioned standout for EMCC in the second game was Davis. The sophomore right-hander from Ripley threw 148 total pitches during his 11-inning stint on the mound to improve to 3-1 on the year. Davis scattered eight hits, while striking out nine and walking five, to earn the complete-game victory.

Coach Brett Kimbrel's EMCC Lions, 16-13 overall and 11-5 in MACCC play, are scheduled to continue their current baseball home stand by playing host to the Coahoma Tigers in a scheduled Tuesday (April 12) doubleheader on the Scooba campus.