April 28, 2022
The East Central Community College Lady Warrior softball team left Meridian on Wednesday afternoon, April 27, with a pair of wins as the Lady Warriors swept the Lady Eagles in a two-game MACCC matchup. With the wins the Lady Warriors moved to 25-19 overall and to 14-12 in MACCC play, while the Lady Eagles fell to 14-27, 4-22.
Going into the final regular-season matchup of the year, the Lady Warriors are tied for sixth in the MACCC standings.
Game One | W, 12-4
The Lady Warriors were led to victory in the opener by Emily McDonald who totaled four hits with three singles and a double.
ECCC poured in three runs in each of the first, third, and fourth innings, and additional runs in the second and seventh. The game broke open in the top of the third with back-to-back RBI doubles from Emmi Harkins and Lizzy Hollingsworth to push the early ECCC lead to 7-0. That advantage would grow to 10-0 in the fourth, but MCC bounced back with three of their own in the home half of the inning.
McDonald finished the game four-for-five from the dish with a team-best three RBIs while Hollingsworth was three-for-four. Mary Moore Widemire and Mattie Hodge joined the impressive performances with a pair of hits each.
Rae Rae Evans threw a stellar five-inning outing as she gave up no runs on no hits and struck out four. Jayce Currie closed out the game in the final two frames and surrendered four runs – two earned – on four hits.
Game Two | W, 13-9
The Lady Warrior lead blew up to 9-1 in the top of the third inning in the nightcap as Mary Moore Widemire cleared the bags with a towering grand slam to center field. The shot added to the damage already done in the second inning when Mattie Hodge drove in a pair of runs with a triple.
The Lady Eagles came to life down the stretch in the second game with eight runs in the final three innings, but the Lady Warriors capitalized on some Lady Eagle errors and a sac fly to pull away to a 13-9 victory.
Hodge and Widemire led the Lady Warriors with another multi-hit game with two each, while Widemire's grand slam gave her a team-high four RBIs.
Caroline Jackson got the start and win in the circle as the freshman gave up eight runs – one earned – on six hits, struck out three, and walked three. Evans checked in for the final two frames and gave up one run – earned – on three hits with one walk and one strikeout.
Up Next
The Lady Warriors round out the regular season Friday, April 29, against the Coahoma Lady Tigers. Games are set for 2 and 4 p.m. start times and the ECCC sophomore players will be recognized at the conclusion of game two. Fans that cannot make it to 'The Mound' can watch the action live at www.eccclive.com/gold.
