EMCC Lady Lions begin second half of division softball slate with home doubleheader sweep of Mississippi Delta

SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Community College softball team successfully opened the second half of its MACJC North Division regular-season slate by sweeping visiting Mississippi Delta Community College, 11-2 and 9-1, in a pair of run-rule decisions Saturday afternoon on the Scooba campus.

In the opener, the Lady Lions jumped out to an early 4-0 lead with five hits in the first inning.  The big blow came on Taylor Hackney's two-run home run – her third of the season.  The former Bayou Academy standout then contributed an RBI single during EMCC's four-run second inning.

After the Lady Trojans reached EMCC starting pitcher Halie Green for a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, the Lady Lions batted around in the bottom half of the frame to produce three runs and provide the final run-rule margin.

Offensively for the winners, Hackney, Abby Roberts and Corey Dawkins all had two hits apiece to pace EMCC's 10-hit team effort in game one.  Roberts, the reigning MACJC Position Player of the Week, drove home three runs in the opener with a first-inning sacrifice fly and a two-run single in the second.

In the circle, Green evened her season's pitching record to 5-5 by going the distance for the Lady Lions.  The Lafayette, La., native scattered five hits over five innings while striking out seven and walking two.

The Lady Lions again exploded out of the gates in the nightcap with seven runs on seven hits in the opening frame.  Roberts' bases-clearing triple was the highlight of the first inning as EMCC sent 11 batters to the plate.

While Mississippi Delta managed to plate its lone run of game two on a wild pitch in the second inning, the Lady Lions added solo tallies in the third and fourth innings to again reach the run-rule margin through five innings.  In the third, Roberts knocked in her fourth run of the game and seventh of the afternoon with an RBI single that scored Amber Spann, who led off the inning with a triple.

Roberts and Haley Tutor each had two hits to lead EMCC's nine-hit team effort in the second contest.  Roberts, from Clarkdale High School, went 4-for-4 at the plate on the day with a triple, three singles and two runs scored to go along with her seven runs batted in.

Pitching in game two after playing shortstop in the opener, Hackney ran her record to 4-0 on the year with a complete-game performance during the nightcap.  Allowing just three singles over five innings, the freshman also fanned six and walked just one.

Improving to 17-15 overall and 10-4 within the division, head coach Kyndall White's EMCC Lady Lions remain one full game behind division-leading Itawamba in the current MACJC North Division softball standings.  EMCC will close out its week-long homestand by playing host to rival Meridian Community College in a 3 p.m. doubleheader Tuesday at the EMCC Softball Field located on the Scooba campus.