MCC Baseball Stays Hot with Road Sweep

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball team returned to action on Monday afternoon by taking to the road for the first time in 2017 by traveling to Mobile, AL to take on Spring Hill College. MCC was able to sweep past the Badgers on Monday by final scores of 11-4 and 11-1 to give MCC four straight victories to open the 2017 regular season. The Eagles will return to action this Sunday as a part of the 2017 Rush Invitational Tournament at Scaggs Field. MCC will take on Jefferson College out of Missouri on Sunday in a doubleheader scheduled for noon. The tournament will also consist of two more games scheduled for this Saturday that will feature Jefferson College taking on Mississippi Delta in doubleheader action at 1 p.m.

MCC scored seven runs in the final three innings of Game One on Monday to run away with an 11-4 victory over Spring Hill. MCC got the scoring started early in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Blake Fields and later added two more runs in the second frame. Milton Smith drove in one of those runs on an RBI single, while Garrett Busby collected an RBI on a sacrifice fly. The Eagles eventually built a 4-0 lead after three complete innings, but the Badgers battled back to tie the game at 4-4 after four innings.

MCC would get the offense rolling for the remaining three innings of Game One to move on to the 11-4 victory. Chase Coker gave MCC the lead for good in the top of the fifth inning on an RBI single and two more Eagles crossed the plate moments later on a wild pitch by Spring Hill to make the score 7-4 heading to the bottom of the fifth. MCC would add its final four runs of Game One in the top of the seventh inning to grab the 11-4 win. Trace Jordan got the inning going on an RBI single and Busby would later add a two-run double for the Eagles. 

Logan McDowell picked up the pitching win out of the bullpen for the Eagles in relief of starting pitcher Conner Cosse. Bailey Hargrave also saw action out of the bullpen for the Eagles by working the seventh inning.

MCC finished off the doubleheader sweep of the Badgers in Game Two with more offensive firepower in an 11-1 victory. The Eagles got the scoring started in the top of the first inning on an RBI groundout by Luke Craig which plated Chase Coker to give the Eagles the early 1-0 edge.

MCC extended its lead in the second inning on a two-run double by CJ Hughes and that was his first collegiate hit as an Eagle. Spring Hill would score its lone run in the bottom of the fourth, but MCC would get plenty of breathing room in the fifth inning. Milton Smith gave the Eagles a 4-1 lead on an RBI single and Coker would collect an RBI single a few moments later to make it 5-1.

Blake Fields and Trace Jordan would each follow with an RBI single in the frame, while Cade Ewing also added an RBI single in the six-run fifth inning. MCC would score one run on a Spring Hill error and Coker would continue to stay hot on the day by adding a triple in the inning. MCC would scratch one more run in the sixth inning on yet another error to collect the 11-1 victory.

Hunter Stanley earned the pitching victory in Game Two for the Eagles, while two other Eagles saw action out the bullpen for MCC. Freshman Peter Holland and Meridian native Brandon Renfrow both saw action on the mound in relief of Stanley. Former Southeast Lauderdale star Alec Marlow and former Northeast Lauderdale star Landon Keller also saw action off the bench as well for the Eagles in Game Two.