February 16, 2022
The East Central Community College Lady Warriors blasted five home runs on Tuesday afternoon, February 15, to earn a sweep over Coastal Alabama-North in the 2022 home opener. With the wins, the Lady Warriors improved to 6-2 on the year and extended their winning streak to five games.
Game One | W, 10-5
The Lady Eagles of Coastal Alabama jumped in front in the first game of the day with a run in the top of the first and another two in the top of the second to pull out to a 3-0 advantage. The Lady Warriors were quick to respond with three runs in the bottom half of the second after a pair of errors and a sac fly from Morgan Pruitt (Laurel).
An ECCC error in the top of the fourth added another run for Coastal, but the Lady Warriors blew the game open when they stepped to the plate in the fourth. Yet another error plated one run before Taylor Pittman (Waynesboro), Sunday's walk-off home run hero, smashed a grand slam. The four-run shot put ECCC on top 8-4.
Coastal got one run back in the sixth and the Lady Warriors pushed two across in the bottom of the sixth, one on an error and the other an RBI single from Jayce Currie (West Monroe, La.) to get the final 10-5 score.
Rae Rae Evans (Grayson, La.) got the win in the circle for ECCC. She allowed just two hits and one run over two innings with one strikeout. Caroline Jackson (Philadelphia) got the start and threw five innings allowing four hits, four runs, striking out three, and walking one.
Pittman led ECCC with four RBIs, while Currie was the lone Lady Warrior with multiple hits in the game. Mattie Hodge (Laurel) scored twice for the Lady Warriors.
Game Two | W, 12-4 (6 innings)
It was a slugfest in the nightcap as ECCC's bats heated up throughout the lineup. A pair of RBI doubles from Emmi Harkins (Carthage) and Shante' Beaulieu (Philadelphia) and an error gave ECCC some early breathing room, 3-0, in the second inning.
That lead ballooned to 5-0 in the third after Currie and Meadow Villar (Dallas, Ga.) paired up for back-to-back solo homers.
Harkins got in on the solo-homer action as she led off the fourth with another long ball, making it 6-0. Hodge also drove in Beaulieu later in the frame on an RBI single.
The Lady Eagles rallied in the top of the fifth with four runs on four hits, but the momentum was cut short as Lizzy Hollingsworth (Decatur) hit a two-run bomb moments later in the bottom of the inning.
Hodge and Anna Caime (Zachary, La.) posted some RBIs in the sixth before an error scored ECCC's last run in the run-rule, 12-4, victory.
Currie was credited with the win for ECCC as she allowed five hits and four runs over four and two-thirds innings. She fanned one batter and walked one. Makayla White(Vancleave) threw one and a third innings in relief.
At the dish, Harkins, Hollingsworth, Beaulieu, and Hodge all finished with multiple hits, while Hollingsworth's three RBIs were a team-high.
Up Next
The Lady Warriors return to action this weekend as the team travels to Gulf Shores, Ala., for the Sun Chief Classic. ECCC is set to face Coastal Alabama-South at 1:30 p.m. and Gulf Coast State State College at 3:45 p.m. on Friday, February 18, as well as Walters State at 9 a.m. and Central Alabama at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, February 19.
