February 24, 2020
East Central catcher Gavin Bailey (Newton County) watches his home run leave the bat in the bottom of the third inning in game one against East Mississippi. (EC Photo)
The East Central Community College Warriors put an end to a four-game losing streak with a baseball doubleheader sweep over the visiting East Mississippi Lions on Sunday, Feb. 23, at the Clark-Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur.
East Central came from behind to win the opener 6-4, and then used a big fifth inning to win game two 9-1.
East Central is now 4-4 on the season. The EMCC Lions are 0-6.
East Central was scheduled to hold its annual Rush Invitational over the weekend, but rain during the week forced the cancellation of that event setting up the Sunday doubleheader with EMCC.
A two-run double by sophomore second baseman Eli Harrison (Newton County) in the bottom of the eighth inning pushed the winning run across the plate to give East Central the 6-4 win in game one. Trailing 4-3 heading to the bottom of the eighth, Harrison doubled with two men on and no outs to give East Central a 5-4 lead. Freshman third baseman Amani Larry (Bossier City, La., Parkway) singled in Harrison to give the Warriors an insurance run and the 6-4 final margin.
Sophomore catcher Gavin Bailey (Newton County) gave East Central an early 1-0 lead in game one with a solo home run in the bottom of the third. Larry also had an RBI single in the fifth and sophomore right fielder Jesse Boydstun (Winston Academy) singled in a run in the seventh.
Seven East Central pitchers held the Lions to five hits in the opener. The Warriors collected 11 hits in the victory.
The Warriors led game two 4-2 when five runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the fifth to put the game away. Boydstun had an RBI single and sophomore center fielder Dakota Kennedy (Choctaw Central) drove in two runs with a triple in the inning. Freshman left fielder Clayton Cook (Mize) had three RBI in the game with a single and two sacrifice flies. Freshman catcher R.J. Fletcher (St. Martin) had an RBI double in the game.
Sophomore right-hander Walker Johnson (East Webster) got the win on the mound. He threw the first five innings and gave up just three hits while striking out eight batters. East Central pounded out 11 hits in the seven-inning contest.
Next up for the Warriors is Northeast at home for a doubleheader Wednesday, Feb. 26, starting at 3 p.m. at the Clark-Gay Baseball Complex on campus. Coastal Alabama-South will visit Decatur for a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 29. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Warrior sophomore Gavin Bailey celebrates his solo home run with teammate Clayton Cook in action against East Mississippi. (EC Photo)
