EMCC Lady Lions rally late in nightcap win to gain doubleheader softball split at Northwest Mississippi

SENATOBIA – The visiting Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College used a pair of four-run innings to rally late for a 9-2 nightcap victory and earn a doubleheader split with Northwest Mississippi Community College during Thursday's MACJC North Division softball action.  The host Lady Rangers earned a 4-2 win over EMCC in the opening game of the doubleheader played at Northwest's Ranger Field after being postponed because of last Saturday's rainout.

After trailing 1-0 and being held hitless through the first five innings of the second game, the visitors received a gift run in the fifth when Taylor Hackney reached base on a misplayed bunt fielded by Northwest pitcher Casey Baddley.  Baddley then unleashed three wild pitches to send home Hackney with the tying run.

As EMCC pitchers Kendra Wilson and Halie Green were combining to hold Northwest hitless from the second inning through the sixth, the Lady Lion bats came alive in the latter innings.  Corey Dawkins led off the sixth inning with a double for EMCC's first hit of the nightcap.  Following back-to-back, two-out singles from Amber Spann and Abby Roberts, an infield error then paved the way for Hackney's two-run double.

The Lady Lions added to their 5-1 lead with four more two-out runs in the seventh.  Successive singles by pinch-hitter Meri Morgan Fortune, Jade Albritton and Spann preceded Roberts' two-run double and an RBI single from Misty Richard.  A two-out, seventh-inning tally by the Lady Rangers accounted for the 9-2 outcome.

Spann and Roberts paced EMCC's nine-hit effort with two hits apiece in the nightcap.  A freshman catcher from Clarkdale High School, Roberts had a team-high four hits on the afternoon, including her second home run of the year coming in the fifth inning of game one.

In the circle, Wilson settled down after giving up back-to-back singles and allowing a run in Northwest's first inning.  Green, a freshman right-hander from Lafayette, La., took over for Wilson to begin the fourth inning and retired the Lady Rangers in order for three straight innings.  While only surrendering an unearned run on a walk and a single in the final frame, Green improved her record to 4-5 on the year.

In the opening game, Northwest reached EMCC starter Amelia LaVergne (5-4) for two runs on three doubles in the second inning.  After Roberts' lead-off solo blast cut the deficit in half in the fifth, the Lady Rangers used three straight hits and a sacrifice fly to plate two more runs in the fifth off LaVergne. 

The Lady Lions rallied in the sixth, producing their second run of the game on a lead-off double by Green followed by Albritton's run-scoring single.  However, the visitors were held to just the one run in the inning while leaving two runners in scoring position.   

Offensively in the opener, Roberts and Haley Tutor combined for half of EMCC's eight hits with two hits each. 

In earning their second doubleheader division split in as many days, the Lady Lions previously pounded out 18 hits in their 9-3 opening-game home triumph over Holmes Community College the day prior.  However, four unearned runs proved to be the difference during their 5-3 setback to the Lady Bulldogs in Wednesday's nightcap.    

Coach Kyndall White's EMCC Lady Lions bring a 14-14 overall record and 7-3 MACJC North Division mark into their upcoming week-long homestand that begins with Wednesday's 3 p.m. doubleheader against Itawamba Community College on the Scooba campus.