Successful EMCC Sophomore Day produces softball sweep over Northwest Mississippi in home finale

SCOOBA – The East Mississippi Community College softball team extended its MACJC North Division winning streak to nine consecutive games by sweeping visiting Northwest Mississippi Community College, 6-5 and 14-6, during Friday's Sophomore Day festivities at the EMCC Softball Field.

Now 9-1 in April after opening the month with a home doubleheader split against current division runner-up Itawamba, head coach Kyndall White's division-leading EMCC Lady Lions are now 23-15 overall and 16-4 within the division.  Bidding for their second MACJC North Division softball championship in three years, the Lady Lions will close out the regular season on the road by playing at Holmes on Tuesday (2 p.m.) and at Itawamba on Saturday (noon).

The opening game against Northwest featured two home runs by both teams, though EMCC scratched out its first run of the afternoon.  Sophomore Haley Tutor singled to begin the day and was bunted over to second.  The New Hope High School product then moved to third on a fly out and scored on a wild pitch.

After the Rangers tied the score in the top of the second on a solo home run by Chelsey Gilliam off EMCC starting pitcher Amelia LaVergne, the Lady Lions got the run right back in the home half of the inning on Misty Richard's sacrifice fly that scored Jade Albritton.

The visitors took their first lead of the game in the third by taking advantage of an outfield error by EMCC when Rachel Kelly reached LaVergne for a two-out, two-run homer to give Northwest a 3-2 lead.  The Rangers extended their margin to 5-2 the next inning by plating two more runs on RBI hits from Carlie Jenkins and Malea Dillon.

It was EMCC's turn to utilize the long ball in the bottom half of the fourth inning.  Halie Green got things started for the Lady Lions by belting her first of two home runs on the day with a lead-off solo blast to left-center field.  Later in the inning, Richard, a sophomore product from West Lauderdale High School, picked a convenient spot to smack her first collegiate home run by launching a two-out, two-run homer off Northwest starter Casey Baddley to knot the score at 5-all.

Following a pair of scoreless innings and with both starting pitchers still in the circle, it was Richard again who supplied a key hit for EMCC by stroking a one-out single to right-center field in the bottom of the seventh.  She was then bunted over to second by Charly Boswell.  After NWCC opted to intentionally walk Tutor, pinch-hitter Meri Morgan Fortune, of South Panola High School, blooped a two-out, game-winning single just beyond the middle of the infield.

In the circle for the Lady Lions, LaVergne improved to 8-5 on the year by scattering seven hits and allowing five runs (three earned) in going the distance.  The Rayne, La., native struck out three and walked two over seven innings.

The nightcap took a similar turn of events early in the game before the Lady Lions broke open a close contest by scoring 11 of their 14 runs over the final three frames, including a six-run fourth inning that changed the momentum in favor of the home team.

EMCC grabbed the initial 3-0 lead in game two by scoring a pair of runs in the first inning and another in the second.  However, a pair of defensive errors by the Lady Lions enabled the Rangers to tie the score at 3-all after three innings.  Northwest then grabbed its only lead of the nightcap an inning later by scoring twice in the fourth.  

As in the opening game, the home half of the fourth proved to be the turning point with the Lady Lions batting around to produce six runs on six hits to take a 9-5 advantage.  The big blow in the inning was Green's team-leading fifth home run of the year -and second of the day - coming with one aboard and two outs.  The Lafayette, La., native had earlier stroked an opposite-field triple that hit off the wall in right to produce EMCC's first run of the game.

Another unearned run scored by Northwest in the fifth was neutralized by Abby Roberts' two-out, two-run single in the home half to make the score 11-6 after five innings.  An inning later, the Lady Lions reached the run-rule margin after Green's two-out, bases-clearing fly ball was misplayed near the wall in right field to end the contest.

Freshman right-hander Kendra Wilson, from South Lamar High School in Millport, Ala., evened her season pitching record at 4-4 by giving up five runs (two earned) on six hits in four innings of work.  LaVergne entered the game in the fifth and held the Rangers hitless over the final two innings to notch her first save of the season.

After an eight-hit team effort in the opener, the Lady Lions more than doubled that output with 17 hits during the second contest.  Led by Tutor's three-hit outing, seven EMCC players had multiple hits in the nightcap.  Green and Roberts both drove home three runs with their pair of hits.