March 4, 2018
Warrior left fielder Cain Cleveland makes a diving catch against Mississippi Delta. (EC Photo)
The East Central Community College Warriors took a different route to victory in each game, but came away with two wins Saturday, March 3, in baseball action at the Clark-Gay Baseball Complex on the campus in Decatur.
The Warriors hosted Mississippi Delta Community College and Enterprise State Community College (Ala.) in a day of baseball. East Central trailed for six innings against the Mississippi Delta Trojans in the first game of the day before winning 8-4, and scored 15 runs in the first five innings against the Enterprise State Boll Weevils to run away with the last game of the day 16-5.
Mississippi Delta defeated Enterprise State 4-3 in the middle game of the day of baseball.
With the sweep, East Central improved to 9-1 on the season. Mississippi Delta is now to 6-4. Enterprise State fell to 7-9.
Mississippi Delta led 3-0 heading to the seventh inning before the Warriors tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the seventh and then sealed the win with five more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Sophomore Jacob Edwards out of Newton County got the Warriors rolling in the seventh with a two-out single that scored two runs. Wyatt Ball out of Nanih Waiya tied the game at 3-3 on an error by the Mississippi Delta catcher.
After the Trojans regained the lead 4-3 in the top of the eighth, East Central put the game away in the bottom of the frame. Freshman Ken Scott of Clarkdale singled in two runs. Scott would later score on a passed ball. The Warriors got their final two runs in the inning on hit batters with the bases loaded.
Sophomore right-hander Kolby Crowley of East Webster got the win in relief. He pitched the final three innings and gave up just one run on two hits.
The Warriors exploded for four runs in the first, three in the second, four more in the third, and two each in the fourth and fifth innings to grab a 15-1 lead over Enterprise State in a game shortened to seven innings.
Ball came up big for the Warriors, knocking in five runs with a single, double, and two-run home run. He scored four of East Central’s 16 runs. Freshman Alex Hay of Lewisburg also had a two-run homer for the Warriors. Edwards had three hits in the contest, and freshman George Farid (Mississagua, Ontario, Canada) and sophomore Davis Lott of Lewisburg each had two RBI.
Left-hander Brooks Warren had a strong outing on the mound to pick up his second win of the season against no losses. The sophomore from French Camp Academy pitched the first four innings, giving up no runs on just two hits and striking out eight Boll Weevil batters.
East Central will host Lake Land College (Ill.) on Wednesday, March 7, at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Clark-Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur. The Warriors will begin spring break with a trip to Chalmette, La., Sunday, March 11, to face Elaine P. Nunez Community College in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
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.
