March 28, 2018

No. 17 East Central Community College Warriors scored eight early runs in the opener and held on for a 12-6 win before losing a heartbreaking 1-0 second game in a baseball doubleheader split with No. 9 Jones County Junior College, Tuesday, March 27, at Community Bank Park in Ellisville.

With the split, East Central is 18-6 overall on the season and 7-1 in MACJC play, which puts the Warriors in second place in the league. The Jones County Bobcats are 18-6 and 5-3.

East Central scored eight runs on 10 hits and quickly led 8-0 after two innings in the first game. Wyatt Ball of Nanih Waiya had an RBI single and freshman Ken Scott of Clarkdale doubled in two runs to give the Warriors a 3-0 lead after one inning of play. East Central added five more runs in the top of the second on a wild pitch, a two-run double by Ball, another double from Scott, and an RBI single from Davis Lott of Lewisburg High School.

East Central’s other runs of the game came on a two-run double from freshman George Farid (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada) in the fifth, a single by freshman Deon Leflore of Leake Central in the sixth, and a passed ball in the seventh.

Farid and Leflore each had three hits in the win, while Ball and Scott had two each. Ball knocked in four runs and Scott two runs.

Right-hander Kolby Crowley of East Webster got the start and the win for East Central, throwing five and a third innings and giving up eight hits and six runs. Right-hander Dylan Marsh of Lake Cormorant came on to close things out, pitching the final three and two thirds innings, allowing just one hit and no runs. It was Marsh’s third save of the season.

After 24 hits between the two teams in the opener, the nightcap was a true pitchers’ duel. East Central left-hander Brooks Warren out of French Camp Academy allowed just one hit and no earned runs over six innings and struck out seven Bobcat batters. Two JCJC pitchers allowed just two East Central hits.

The only run of the game came in the bottom of the second on a two-out single by Jones County’s Stephen Matthews.

Two walks and a hit batter helped East Central loaded the bases in the top of the sixth with only one out, but the Warriors could not get the tying run across the plate.

East Central’s hits in game two came in the form of a double from Scott and a single by freshman Zack Hutchison of Wayne Academy in Ellisville.

The East Central Warriors will stay on the road to face Mississippi Delta Community College in Moorhead on Friday, March 30, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The Warriors will then host Pearl River Community College on Wednesday, April 4, at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Clark-Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur.

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.