EMCC Lions one-hit Holmes in 6-3 win and fall 6-2 to No. 5 Pearl River in non-conference road action

POPLARVILLE – In their first look at MACCC baseball competition on the year, the Lions of East Mississippi Community College limited Holmes to one hit in a 6-3 neutral-site win during Tuesday's non-conference road action. In the nightcap of the three-team, round-robin event, preseason fifth-ranked Pearl River topped EMCC by a similar 6-2 final at PRCC's Dub Herring Park.

In the day's middle contest of the three-game competition between league opponents, Holmes took an early 2-1 lead without the benefit of a hit. The Bulldogs initially scored by virtue of a bases-loaded walk surrendered by EMCC starting pitcher Sam Malone in the first inning. Two frames later, Holmes went up 2-1 when leadoff hitter Nicolas Schwing walked for the second of four times in the seven-inning contest, stole second and subsequently advanced around to home on a wild pitch and passed ball.

After EMCC's initial run was scored on Jackson Rodgers' two-out RBI single in the first inning, the designated visiting Lions grabbed the lead for good with a two-run fourth frame that included a sacrifice fly by Jamie Muse Jr.

While EMCC middle reliever Luke Sides was limiting the Bulldogs to only a sixth-inning single, the Lions scored three more runs in the sixth on a two-run single by catcher Gabe Roberts and Miles Mitchell's run-scoring bunt single.  

The Bulldogs took advantage of a dozen walks allowed by a trio of EMCC pitchers. After Sides stranded the bases loaded in the sixth for Holmes' third straight scoreless inning, he walked the bases loaded the next frame before giving way to Elijah Young. After walking the first batter he faced, Young got the next two batters out to preserve EMCC's 6-3 victory and earn his first collegiate save.

Despite walking five batters, Malone also struck out five during three scoreless innings of work to get the win and improve to 2-2 on the season.

At the plate for the Lions in the opener, McClinton and Greer Manning had two hits apiece to combine for half of EMCC's eight total hits.

During the nine-inning nightcap, East Mississippi and home-standing PRCC used the first and fourth innings to supply the game's early scoring. Mitchell's sacrifice fly in the top of the first was answered by Jackson Hood's solo home run off EMCC starting pitcher Chipper Moore in the home half.

Three innings later, the Wildcats responded to current MACCC Baseball Position Player of the Week Hugh LeMasters' two-out solo homer by manufacturing a pair of scores on a run-scoring ground out and a passed ball.

As Pearl River pitchers Max Miller and Colin Jenkins were combining on a three-hitter and 11 strikeouts between them, the Wildcats' offense added to a tight 3-2 lead with a solo score in the seventh inning followed by two more insurance runs a frame later.

Besides LeMasters' second homer of the year and fourth of his career coming in the fourth frame, EMCC could only manage a leadoff double from McClinton in the first inning and a Mitchell single in the ninth off PRCC pitching during the nightcap.

Coach Brett Kimbrel's 10-4 EMCC Lions are slated to close out the month of February this coming week by playing host to three preseason-ranked MACCC foes. They will first welcome No. 20 Meridian and second-ranked East Central to the Scooba campus on Wednesday (Feb. 26) for another three-team, round-robin event. An 11 a.m. opener between EMCC and Meridian will be followed by a Meridian-East Central matchup around 2 p.m. and a nightcap contest pitting the home-standing Lions with ECCC's Warriors around 5 p.m. at EMCC's Gerald Poole Field. Two days later on Friday (Feb. 28), EMCC will entertain 12^th-ranked Jones College during a scheduled 2 p.m. twin bill in Scooba.