April 11, 2018
The No. 15 ranked East Central Community College Lady Warriors picked up an important road doubleheader sweep over the Hinds Community College Lady Eagles Tuesday, April 10, as the two teams fight for playoff positioning in the MACJC softball standings.
The doubleheader was played at René Warren Softball Field on the Hinds campus in Raymond.
East Central scored a run in the top of the seventh and held on for a 6-5 win in game one. The Lady Warriors scored five runs in both the second and fifth innings of the nightcap en route to a 12-6 win.
With the sweep, the East Central Lady Warriors improved to 27-9 overall on the season and 14-8 in MACJC play. East Central is now tied for third in the league standings. The top four teams host first-round playoff series at the conclusion of the regular season. The Hinds Lady Eagles are 18-14 overall and 11-7 in league play.
In the opener, the Lady Warriors went up 3-0 after two innings thanks to a Hinds’ error and RBI doubles from Mackenzie Johnson of Nanih Waiya and Madalyn McMahon out of Neshoba Central. After Hinds tied the score 3-3 in the third, East Central went back on top in the fourth on another Hinds’ error.
A double by Cassie Obman of Caledonia would give East Central a 5-3 lead in the top of the sixth, before the Lady Eagles tied the game 5-5 with two runs of their own in the bottom of the frame.
Marlee Parkes out of Nanih Waiya would get the game-winner for East Central in the top of the seventh with an RBI single.
Hinds threatened in the bottom of the seventh with a runner on third and only one out, but winning pitcher Kaitlyn Oswalt out of Heritage Academy (Columbus) got the next two batters on a strike out and a line out to earn the 6-5 win. Oswalt struck out eight batters in the game.
Big innings powered the Lady Warriors in game two.
Trailing 2-0, East Central scored five runs in the second, including two on a single by Kenyatta Moore of Philadelphia and one on a single from Obman. Two more scored on a passed ball and a fielder’s choice.
After Hinds regained the lead 6-5 after four innings, East Central had another five-run inning in the fifth. Eva Scott (Burleson, Texas, Centennial) circled the bases on an error on her fly to center. Katherine Shell out of Brookhaven hit a two-run homer. A double by Shelby Walters of Northwest Rankin scored a run, and another Hinds’ error scored the 10th East Central run.
The Lady Warriors added a couple of insurance runs in the top of the seventh on a two-run homer from Obman.
Obman had three RBI in the contest, while Moore, Shell, and Walters had two each.
Mackenzie Rousseau (Houma, La., Vanderbilt Catholic) picked up the win in the circle for East Central.
The Lady Warriors will host Mississippi Delta Community College Friday, April 13, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. at the Softball Park in Decatur on Sophomore Day. It will be the final regular season home games of the year.
East Central will close out the regular season at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 18, and at Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia on Saturday, April 21, at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Most home softball games can be heard on WKOZ Cruisin 98.3 or via audio stream and live stream video at www.eccc.edu/eccc-media.
