The No. 20 ranked East Central Community College Warriors held on in a pair of games that saw 51 runs cross the plate to pick up an MACJC doubleheader sweep over the visiting Copiah-Lincoln Community College Wolves Wednesday, April 18, at the Clark-Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur.
East Central had to fight from behind four times in taking a dramatic 15-14 win in the opener, winning on a squeeze bunt in the bottom of the ninth. The Warriors scored 12 runs in two innings to pull away from the Wolves for a 15-7 game two win.
East Central is now 25-11 overall on the season and 14-6 in the league. The Co-Lin Wolves are 16-15 overall and 5-13 in the league.
The Warriors remain tied for third place in the MACJC standings in their quest to host a home playoff series in May.
The opener was a back-and-forth battle for nine innings. East Central jumped out to a 7-2 lead after five innings. Wyatt Ball out of Nanih Waiya continued his hot hitting with a solo home run in the second inning and a two-run shot in the fifth.
Co-Lin tied the score 7-7 in the sixth, thanks in part to a three-run homer, and then took an 8-7 lead in the top of the seventh. The Warriors would regain the lead, 9-8, in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run opposite field home run from Davis Lott, who prepped at Lewisburg High School.
The Wolves again took the lead in the top of the eighth with three runs of their own. Trailing 11-9 heading into the bottom of the eighth, East Central tied the game on back-to-back bases loaded walks, and then took a 14-11 lead on a two-run single from Lott and a sacrifice fly.
But Co-Lin wasn't done. The Wolves scored three more times in the top of the ninth to tie the game 14-14. The Warriors would win it in the bottom of the inning. Jacob Edwards out of Newton County opened the inning with a triple. One batter later, freshman George Farid (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) would bunt Edwards home for the game-winner.
Ball and Lott each totaled four RBI in the opener, and Ball scored four times.
Left-hander Dylan Marsh out of Lake Cormorant got the win in relief for East Central.
In game two, a third inning grand slam off the bat of freshman outfielder Ken Scott of Clarkdale jump-started the Warriors in the 14-7 win. East Central added two more in the fourth for an 8-0 lead before Co-Lin plated seven runs in the top of the sixth to close the gap to 8-7.
The Warriors put the nightcap away in the bottom of the frame with six more runs. Freshman Zack Hutchison of Ellisville hit a bases loaded single that brought in two runs and Cain Cleveland out of Newton County High School singled in another. The Warriors got four more runs in the inning on a wild pitch, a two-run error, and a bases-loaded balk.
Scott added a pair of singles to his grand slam and also scored three runs. Hutchison had three RBI on a pair of singles.
Left-hander Brooks Warren out of French Camp Academy got the win for East Central. He threw five innings and gave up no runs on just three hits and struck out six batters. Edwards got the save in his first appearance on the mound this season. The right-hander threw the final inning of no-hit baseball.
East Central will travel to Fulton on Saturday, April 21, to face Itawamba at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., before hosting Meridian Community College on Tuesday, April 24, at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Most home baseball games can be heard on WKOZ Cruisin 98.3 or via audio stream and live stream video at www.eccc.edu/eccc-media.