EMCC Lions bounce back with 11-3 nightcap win to earn baseball split at Hinds

RAYMOND – East Mississippi Community College's baseball team earned a road doubleheader split at preseason 15^th-ranked Hinds during Saturday's MACCC season-opening action played at Joe G. Moss Field.

In a pair of contests whose outcomes were basically decided early in the respective games with similar final scores, the Lions bounced back with an 11-3 nightcap win over the Eagles after dropping an 11-4 decision in the opener.

After being limited to five hits by four Hinds pitchers during the nine-inning opener, the Lions doubled that effort with 10 hits as a team in the seven-inning nightcap. Capped by Ethan Medlin's three-run homer off Hinds starting pitcher Matthew Azordegan, EMCC set the tone early in the second game by batting around to produce a six-run second inning.

The teams traded runs during each of the next two frames to generate the game's remaining offense. Following Joe Scarborough's run-scoring single in the top of the third - his second in as many innings - Connor Chisolm's two-out RBI triple made it 7-1 after three innings.

A frame later, Scarborough briefly put the visitors up by double digits (11-1) by capping his 3-for-4, 5-RBI nightcap effort with a two-out, three-run triple. EMCC's four-run fourth was answered by Hinds' two-run home half.

That was all the scoring either team was able to generate, however, as EMCC freshman left-hander Ayden Alsobrooks came on to limit the Eagles to just one single over 3.1 shutout innings to secure his second save of the season.

EMCC freshman right-hander Drake Bayles improved his record to 4-1 on the year by throwing the first 3.2 innings before being relieved by Alsobrooks in the fourth inning.

Medlin went 2-for-4, including his three-run homer, in the nightcap to finish the day reaching base eight times during his 10 total plate appearances. The reigning All-MACCC outfielder had three singles in the opening game.

The opening contest also featured some early scoring, though Hinds was able to jump out to an 8-2 lead by producing multiple runs during each of their first three at-bats. After the teams traded two-run opening frames, the Eagles used Clay Benson's bases-clearing double in the second inning and Evan McCarthy's leadoff homer the following frame to help chase EMCC starting pitcher Brandon King.

Hinds went on to increase its lead to 11-2 by adding an unearned run in the fifth and two more tallies in the seventh. The Lions were able to manufacture two additional runs without the aid of a hit in the eighth inning to close out the game's scoring.

Head coach Brett Kimbrel's EMCC Lions (12-9, 1-1 MACCC) will continue conference road action during Spring Break week by traveling to Moorhead to take on the Mississippi Delta Trojans during a 1 p.m. Wednesday (March 15) doubleheader.