March 24, 2022
The No. 5 East Central Community College Baseball team had a challenging trip to Poplarville this week as the Warriors faced off with the No. 3 Pearl River Wildcats. The Warriors dropped both games of a MACCC doubleheader Wednesday, March 23, as the two teams went toe-to-toe in slugfest fashion.
The Warriors fell in the opener in a staggering 22-17 loss, before dropping the nightcap, 14-4. The games dropped the Warriors to 17-6 overall and to 4-4 in conference play. Pearl River improved to 17-5, 5-1 on the season. On the day, the two teams combined for 57 runs on 58 hits.
ECCC's Trey Lewis had multiple hits in both contests to push his team-high hitting streak to 19 games. Clayton Cook also had hits in both games to stretch his streak to 15 games, while Eli Collins got two hits to put his hit-streak at six games and his reached base streak to 14. Austin Green reached base in both games as well to move to 10 straight contests reaching safely.
Game One | L, 22-17
The doubleheader opener was a wild ride for both Warrior and Wildcat fans as both teams seemed unstoppable at the plate. The Warriors came off the bus swinging and led off the game with a double and pair of singles to take an early lead. After some walks and hit by pitches, an RBI single, a pair of RBI doubles, and a passed ball had the Warriors on top, 8-0. After the top of the first, Collins, J.T. Vance, Kade Turnage, Green, and Leighton Jenkins all picked up RBIs as the Warriors batted around.
PRCC got two back in the bottom of the first, but the Warriors were right back at the dish in the second with Green driving in two runs on a single and another pair of runs coming across on passed balls to push the lead to 12-2.
Pearl River plated six in the bottom to cut that lead to just four, 12-8.
The high-scoring performance continued in the third with an RBI groundout from Turnage and error scoring two more for ECCC to make it 14-8, but a solo homer from PRCC's Tate Parker, his second of the game, got another run in for the Wildcats to make it 14-9.
The top of the fourth was ECCC's first scoreless inning and started a stretch of three frames with no Warrior runs. During those frames, the Wildcats picked two in the fourth and four in the sixth to take a one-run, 15-14, lead.
Lewis blasted a solo homer for ECCC in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 15-all, but the lead was short-lived as Pearl River plated five in the bottom half and an additional two in the eighth.
The Warriors did not give in and Lewis and Turnage both posted RBIs in the ninth to push the lead to the final score, 22-17.
Turnage and Lewis led ECCC's hitters after both went 4-for-6 from the plate. Green drove in a team-best five runs on three hits, and Jenkins joined him with three hits as well. ECCC outhit the Wildcats, 20-19 in the contest.
Mason Willis got the start on the mound for the Warriors. Luke Odom, Ervin Simmons, Grant Edwards, Miles Miller, and Gage Tufnell all threw in relief for the Warriors. Edwards picked up the loss for ECCC as he went two innings, gave up four hits, five runs – one earned – two walks, and had one strikeout.
Game Two | L, 14-4
The nightcap had its fair share of fireworks as Cook and Lewis led off the game with back-to-back singles. Cook eventually came around to score on a passed ball to give ECCC an early, 1-0, lead.
A pearl River lead-off homer knotted the game in the bottom of the first before the Wildcats added four more with a grand slam later in the frame. After an error, PRCC led 6-1 going into the second.
Again, the Warriors buckled down and gritted out some solid at-bats in the second. Turnage and Green drew walks before Lewis and Collins drove the pair home. An error plated Lewis in the final play of the inning to cut the PRCC lead down to just two, 6-4.
Unfortunately, the bats cooled for ECCC down the stretch while PRCC scratched in five runs in the fourth and one in both the fifth and sixth innings.
Pearl River outhit ECCC 14-5 in the nightcap, with Lewis being the only Warrior to post multiple hits. Collins and Lewis had the only RBIs.
David Burton got the start on the mound and picked up the loss after giving up four hits, six runs – five earned – with two walks. Dagan Martin, Cade Hall, and Henry Thornton all threw in relief, picking up one strikeout each.
Up Next
The Warriors are back on the road this Saturday, March 26, as the team travels to Fulton to take on Itawamba Community College at 2 and 5 p.m.
