EMCC Lady Lions maintain division lead with key softball sweep at Northeast Mississippi

BOONEVILLE – The front-running Lady Lions of East Mississippi Community College maintained their one-game division lead by sweeping Northeast Mississippi Community College, 3-1 in eight innings and 11-3, on the road Wednesday afternoon.

The opening game proved to be a pitching duel between EMCC's Amelia LaVergne and Erin Dixson of Northeast, who both pitched into the extra frame.  The lone scoring in regulation came in the fourth inning as both teams traded solo tallies.

The visitors scratched out the first run of the day following a one-out double to left-center field by freshman catcher Abby Roberts.  Courtesy runner Allison Hauer moved to third on a wild pitch and came into score on Misty Richard's groundout.  Northeast wasted little time knotting things up as Dixson led off the bottom half of the inning with a solo home run to center field.

The score remained tied at 1-1 heading into the international tiebreaker.  With Corey Dawkins placed at second base to begin the eighth inning, the Lady Lions benefitted from a pair of infield errors by Northeast and some wildness by Dixson to push across two runs.  In the home half of the extra inning, LaVergne held Northeast in check to close out the 3-1 victory.

LaVergne, from Rayne, La., went the distance, giving up the lone run on four hits, while striking out two and walking two, to improve her season pitching record to a team-leading 7-5.   

Dawkins, Roberts and Amber Spann each had two hits apiece to pace EMCC's nine-hit team effort in the opening-game triumph.

In the nightcap, the Lady Lions took advantage of another Northeast miscue and a pair of early walks to generate a five-run first inning.  The big hit in the frame was Jade Albritton's bases-clearing double.

The Lady Tigers cut the deficit to 5-2 in the home half of the second on Victoria White's two-out, two-run single off EMCC starter Kendra Wilson.  After the two teams traded solo runs in the third inning, the visitors increased their lead to 9-3 an inning later with three more runs on four hits off Northeast starter Bianca Chagolla.

With EMCC plating solo runs in the sixth and seventh innings, sophomore outfielder Haley Tutor capped a 3-for-3 outing in game two with an RBI single in the final frame.  The former New Hope High School standout also drew two walks, stole two bases and scored three runs in the contest.

Dawkins, Roberts and Spann all had two hits each again in the nightcap, as did freshman shortstop Taylor Hackney, to contribute to the Lady Lions' 12-hit attack.

In the circle for the winners, Wilson scattered seven hits and allowed three runs in five innings of work.  The Millport, Ala., native struck out three and walked two in raising her season record to 3-4.  LaVergne returned to throw the final two innings to preserve EMCC's seventh consecutive victory on the year.

Coach Kyndall White's EMCC Lady Lions, 21-15 overall and 14-4 atop the MACJC's North Division standings, conclude the home portion of their regular-season schedule by entertaining Northwest Mississippi Community College (23-9, 11-7) Friday afternoon in a 3 p.m. doubleheader on the Scooba campus.