March 15, 2022

The No. 6 East Central Community College Warriors had their second MACCC doubleheader of the year on Monday, March 14, as the Southwest Mississippi Bears made the trip to Decatur. 

The Warriors swept the Bears in the doubleheader with multiple noteworthy performances. Mason Willis threw a nine-inning complete game in the opener, while Trey Lewis went 6-for-8 from the plate on the night. In the nightcap, four ECCC pitchers teamed up for a combined no-hitter as the Warriors moved to 16-3, 3-1 on the year. Southwest fell to 5-11, 0-2 on the year. 

ECCC's Trey Lewis posted hits in both games to stretch his hit-streak to a team-high 15 games, dating back to February 16. Clayton Cook grew his streak to double digits, 11 games, after getting hits in both contests, while Eli Collins stretched his reached-base streak to 10 games.

Game One | W, 8-4

The Bears took advantage of the breezy day in Decatur in the top of the first as Hunter Harrell hit a lead-off solo homer that road the win to deep left field. 

The Warriors high-octane offense hit right back in the bottom of the first. Clayton Cook and Trey Lewis led things off with back-to-back singles. Eli Collins quickly knotted the game with a hard-hit double to right-center to score Cook before Coleton Smith drove in Lewis later on a ground out to put the Warriors on top. An error later in the frame allowed Collins to cross the plate to push the lead to 3-1. 

Southwest re-tied the game in the top of the second as a couple of singles put runners on the bags. Harrell drove in the two runners with a deep shot off the left-field wall to make it 3-all. 

In the top of the fourth, the Bears pulled out in front, 4-3, with another lead-off solo homer that took advantage of the gust to left. 

The Warriors got the run back and another in the bottom of the fifth as Conner Hicks led off the frame with a single. Cook eventually drove him in on a double and reached third on a Southwest error. Lewis followed Cook with a hard-hit RBI single to give the Warriors a 5-4 lead going into the sixth. 

Lewis added another run in the seventh as the hot-hitting sophomore launched one off the light pole in left-center for his second homer of the season. The long ball made it 6-4 in ECCC's favor. 

The Warriors final two runs came in the eighth after J.T. Vance stole home just before Hicks roped an RBI single to plate Ty McCollough. 

Mason Willis shined on the mound for the Warriors. The 6'5 freshman bounced back from his early-inning woes and went the distance in the opener. Willis surrendered eight hits, gave up four runs – three earned – walked none, and fanned eight Bears. 

Lewis continued his dominating play as the sophomore went 4-for-5 from the plate with a team-high two RBIs. Hicks finished with three hits, while Cook posted two. The Warriors outhit the Bears 12-8 in the game and had no errors in the field. 

Game Two | W, 10-2

The Warriors got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second in the nightcap after Ramie Harrison led off the inning with a walk. After moving over to third on an error, Harrison scored on a groundout from Hicks. Lewis followed with an RBI single before Collins plated him and pushed the Warrior lead to 3-0. 

The Bears scratched one across in the third and another in the fourth on a pair of sacrifice flies. The runs cut the Warrior lead to just one, 3-2. 

It was all ECCC for the remainder of the night as Cook and Collins scored on some passed balls the fourth. Cook went on to drive in a run in run with an RBI double in the fifth followed by an RBI triple from Lewis, who also scored on an error. The Warriors final runs came in the sixth when Cade Hall drove in one on an RBI groundout and Austin Greencrossed the plate on an error. 

ECCC's David Burton, Luke Odom, Cole Wilkerson, and Ervin Simmons teamed up on the mound for a combined no-hitter in the nightcap. Burton got the start and the win as he went five innings, surrendered two runs – both unearned – walked two, and struck out six. Simmons fanned three batters in the final inning of the night. 

Lewis, Cook, and Collins all led the Warriors at the plate with two hits apiece. ECCC finished the contest with nine hits. 

Up Next

The Warriors return to Decatur on Saturday, March 19, as ECCC plays host to the Holmes Community College Bulldogs. The MACCC doubleheader is slated for 2 and 5 p.m. start times and fans can watch the games live at www.eccclive.com/gold.