March 10, 2022
The No. 5 East Central Community College Warriors rounded out non-conference play on Wednesday afternoon, March 9, with a stellar come-from-behind victory over the Hinds Eagles in a single nine-inning contest to build momentum going into MACCC action later this week. ECCC poured in four runs in the fifth and sixth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit. The win dropped Hinds to 7-7 on the year, while the Warriors improved to 13-2 overall and marked the seventh straight ECCC victory.
Along with the win, ECCC's Trey Lewis, Clayton Cook, and Eli Collins all extended their hitting streaks with Lewis growing his to 11, while Cook and Collins both extend theirs to seven. J.T. Vance leads the Warriors with a 15-game reached base streak as he also posted a hit in the game.
An early error and walk gave Hinds some baserunners in the top of the first inning, which allowed an RBI single to put the Eagles on top early.
After the early woes, ECCC's Brendon Minor found his footing on the mound. The freshman got out of the second inning on just 11 pitches. The strong outing continued into the sixth inning before Ervin Simmons checked in to get the final out of the frame.
The Warriors knotted the game in the bottom of the fifth as a pair of walks put Cook and Lewis on the basepaths. Cook took third base on a wild pitch and eventually scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 1-all.
In the bottom of the sixth, Vance drew a leadoff walk before Austin Lee was hit by a pitch. Austin Green capitalized on the opportunity and plated Vance with a hard-hit, RBI single to right. Ramie Harrison followed with a sac-fly to left, which plated Lee. Green eventually came around on a double-steal with runners on the corners to push the lead to 4-1.
Henry Thornton headed to the mound in the seventh and directed the Warriors in the field as he fanned two Eagles and forced a quick lineout. The Eagles went on to score one in the eighth, but it was not enough as Thornton did not allow another baserunner.
Minor finished the day with five and two-thirds innings pitched, gave up three hits, one run – unearned – two walks, and five strikeouts. Simmons threw just three pitches in relief and forced a groundout, while Thornton was lights out with three innings pitched, one hit, one run – earned – no walks, and five punchouts to earn the save. Simmons was credited with the win. Farmer Abendroth picked up the loss for Hinds in relief.
The Warriors outhit the Eagles seven to four with every hit coming from a different player. Green and Harrison posted the Warriors' only two RBIs.
Up Next
The Warriors open MACCC play this Friday, March 11, at 12 and 3 p.m. with a trip to Scooba to take on the East Mississippi Lions. The doubleheader was originally slated for Saturday but was moved up by one day due to the weather forecast. Fans can watch the games live at www.emccathletics.com/live courtesy of East Mississippi.
