
The East Central Community College Warriors took down MACCC rival Pearl River Community College, 6-5, in a thrilling extra-inning contest in Enid, Oklahoma. The win forces a third game in Enid between the Wildcats and Warriors with a trip to the NJCAA DII Championship on the line. The Warriors and Wildcats will square off tomorrow, May 30, at 7 p.m., with ECCC as the home team.
East Central jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning after Briceton Johnson tripled home Brady McAbee, and John Lewis followed with an RBI single to bring in Johnson. Pablo Roque extended the lead with a solo homer in the fourth, but Pearl River responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning—highlighted by a three-run shot from Nico Williams—to take a 4-3 lead. A solo home run by Ethan Garner in the sixth gave the Wildcats a two-run cushion.
The Warriors fought back in the eighth. Jayden Adcox singled in Eli Smith to trim the deficit to one, then came around to score the tying run on a wild pitch. In the 11th, Roque sparked the decisive rally with a two-out single, and Lewis again delivered in the clutch, driving in Roque with a single to right-center that proved to be the game-winner.
Roque led the Warriors offensively, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles, an RBI, and two runs scored. Johnson chipped in a triple and an RBI, while Lewis finished 2-for-5 with two key RBIs.
On the mound, Eli Smith started the game and worked 6.1 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits with five strikeouts. Kamryn Carlisle tossed a scoreless inning of middle relief before Andrew Nielsen shut the door, scattering two hits over 3.2 scoreless innings and earning the win to improve to 4-0 on the year.
With the victory, the Warriors (46-15) move one win away from the NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series Championship game and will face the Wildcats (52-9) in a decisive rematch Friday night.