EMCC Lions close out non-conference play with baseball twin-bill split in Senatobia
East Mississippi Community College closed out non-conference play with a road split during Thursday’s round-robin baseball action played at Northwest Mississippi Community College’s Jim Miles Field. The EMCC Lions shut out NAIA member Freed-Hardeman University’s JV team 4-0 before falling to the host NWCC Rangers by the same score in the nightcap.
SENATOBIA – East Mississippi Community College closed out non-conference play with a road split during Thursday's round-robin baseball action played at Northwest Mississippi Community College's Jim Miles Field. The EMCC Lions shut out NAIA member Freed-Hardeman University's JV team 4-0 before falling to the host NWCC Rangers by the same score in the nightcap.
In EMCC's opening contest against FHU's junior varsity team, sophomore right-hander Matthew Birdsong threw a complete-game two-hitter with seven strikeouts and only one walk over seven innings of work. With 53 of his 75 total pitches recorded as strikes, Birdsong faced just two batters over the minimum.
East Mississippi's offense for the day all came in the opening frame of the Freed-Hardeman contest, as the Lions plated four runs with five singles off FHU starter Tyler Wingard while batting through the lineup. Freshman Sam McClinton kick-started the afternoon with a bunt single and proceeded to steal second and third before coming home on Miles Mitchell's RBI single. Following EMCC's third straight single to open the game by Ty Murphy, the Lions scored three more times in the opening frame on a Caidan Bullard sacrifice fly, Jackson Rodgers' RBI fielder's choice, and a run-scoring single by Hugh LeMasters.
From there, however, EMCC was held hitless by FHU relievers Max Kirby and Riley Keesey for the final six frames.
While throwing 71 percent of his pitches for strikes, EMCC's Birdsong allowed just four batters to reach base with only one runner reaching third base safely. Freed-Hardeman's first-inning double by Austin Johnson and leadoff single in the sixth by Justin Smarr were both erased on double plays.
Jayson Smith Jr.'s first-inning hit marked EMCC's fifth single of the opening frame and final base hit of the first contest.
EMCC's bats remained held in check during the nightcap game versus conference foe Northwest Mississippi, as the Lions were limited to just four singles by a trio of Northwest pitchers.
The Lions' best chance to produce a run in the second game came in the third inning off Ranger starting pitcher Gavin McCoy when they loaded the bases with two outs but could not push across a run.
The visitors were also able to get a runner to third base the next frame, but the Lions were not able to plate Rodgers after he hit a two-out single and advanced to third on a wild pitch and subsequent throwing error.
Northwest's offensive production came on a pair of two-run innings in the third and sixth frames. Levi Lang, who accounted for three of the Rangers' five hits in the contest, had a clutch two-out, two-run single in the third. He then came back three innings later with a one-out triple and scored on a single by Walker Sanders, who later scored an unearned run with the help of a pair of EMCC errors.
EMCC starting pitcher Evan Hilliard took the loss for the Lions in the nightcap after scattering four hits with four strikeouts and two walks over 5.1 innings before giving way to Tyler Harden.
The Lions' three other singles in the second game were by LeMasters in the second, Murphy in the third, and Smith in the sixth.
Head coach Brett Kimbrel's 13-7 EMCC Lions are scheduled to begin MACCC play on Wednesday (March 12) when the preseason second-ranked East Central Warriors (17-4) visit Scooba for a 2 p.m. conference doubleheader at Gerald Poole Field.