MCC Baseball Splits Home Set With Northwest

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball team played its final regular season home games of 2017 on Saturday afternoon at Scaggs Field by playing host to conference foe Northwest Mississippi Community College. The Eagles came away with a doubleheader split against the Rangers by winning Game One by a final count of 8-5 and falling in Game Two by a final of 8-1. MCC moved its overall record to 23-19 overall and 12-14 in conference action after the split with Northwest on Saturday. MCC will close out the 2017 regular season next Saturday (May 6) with a doubleheader road trip to Ellisville, MS to take on Jones County Junior College at 2 p.m.

MCC rallied from a 4-0 deficit to take an 8-5 victory over Northwest in Game One of the doubleheader on Saturday. Northwest scored four runs in the top of the first inning off MCC starting pitcher Briar Russell, but things went dramatically different when the Eagles made a move to the bullpen. Russell didn’t record an out in the top of the first inning and MCC made a move to bring in freshman reliever Logan McDowell from the bullpen. McDowell pitched the rest of the game for MCC and improved his pitching record to 4-0 for the 2017 season. McDowell pitched nine innings in relief and allowed only one earned run, while collecting nine strikeouts.

JD Gann led the way at the plate in Game One for MCC with a two-run homer, while former Northeast Lauderdale star Landon Keller added a two-run double. Milton Smith also knocked in a pair of runs in the game on a single, while CJ Hughes and Chase Coker each added an RBI.

MCC wasn’t as fortunate in Game Two against Northwest Mississippi and fell by a final score of 8-1. Zac Carter drove in the only run of the game for MCC on a solo homer in the sixth inning. Milton Smith, Chase Coker, and Cade Ewing each had one single apiece to round out the offense for MCC in Game Two.

Freshman Hunter Stanley suffered the loss on the mound in Game Two for MCC by working six innings and allowing seven earned runs.

MCC Baseball Falls to ECCC in Conference Doubleheader

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College baseball team returned to conference action at Scaggs Field Tuesday  to take on East Central Community College in a pair of crucial games for both clubs. East Central got the best of the Eagles on Tuesday by sweeping the doubleheader by final scores of 14-0 and 8-5. The Warriors improved to 29-13 overall and 15-9 in conference play, while MCC dropped to 22-18 and 11-13 in conference action. MCC will return to the field on Saturday with its final home conference doubleheader of the regular season against Northwest Mississippi Community College at 2 p.m. and ECCC is scheduled to return to action next Wednesday (May 3) for its final home conference games of the season against Mississippi Gulf Coast at 3 p.m.

ECCC got the day started by rolling right past the Eagles in Game One by a final of 14-0 and the Warriors finished the game 14 total hits. Ty Alderman led the way in Game One for the Warriors by driving in four runs on a grand slam, while Wyatt Ball also added a homer in the victory. Billy Cameron also drove in four runs for ECCC on a pair of hits in Game One, while Zach Parker and Cole Prestegard each added an RBI single for the Warriors.

MCC finished Game One by managing only four hits in the shutout loss and former Northeast Lauderdale star Landon Keller led the way with two hits for the Eagles. Chase Coker and former Southeast Lauderdale star Alec Marlow rounded out the offense for MCC in Game One with one single apiece.

Kolby Crowley earned the pitching win for the Warriors in Game One by working five shutout innings and collecting eight strikeouts. Bukhari Brown suffered the loss on the mound in Game One for MCC by pitching only one inning.

ECCC completed the sweep of MCC in the nightcap by a final score of 8-5 behind nine hits at the plate. Brandon Clark led the way for the Warriors in Game Two by driving in three runs on a double. Jacob Edwards and Ty Alderman each had a home run in Game Two, while Luke Yancey drove in one run on a single.

MCC finished Game Two with six total hits and Alec Marlow led the Eagles at the plate with a pair of singles. JD Gann drove in a pair of runs on a pair of sacrifices and Chase Coker also picked up an RBI on a single. Landon Keller also drove in a pair of runs on one base hit and CJ Hughes finished with a double in the loss.

Peyton Lott earned the victory on the mound in Game Two for the Warriors by working four shutout innings and collecting three strikeouts. Connor Cosse suffered the loss on the mound in Game Two for MCC by working four innings and allowing eight runs.

MCC Golf Advances to the NJCAA National Tournament

From School Reports

The Meridian Community College golf team completed play in the 2017 District D Championship Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at the Grand Bear Golf Club in Saucier, MS and the Eagles have officially punched their ticket to the National Championship Tournament. MCC finished in third place in the District D Tournament on Tuesday and that was good enough for the Eagles to advance to the National Championship Tournament which will be played May 23-26 at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, AZ. The top three teams among the field in the District D Tournament punched their ticket to the National Championship Tournament. MCC finished the tournament with a team score of 604 (28-over par) which was just four strokes behind Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College who finished second in the field. Co-Lin Community College won the overall tournament title with a team score of 588 (12-over par) and will join MCC and Gulf Coast at the National Championship Tournament next month in Arizona.

Sophomore Porsche Kitipongpatana placed in the top five among all players in the field for MCC and was named a member of the All-District D Team. Kitipongpatana finished the tournament with a final two-day score of 149 (5-over par), while former Lamar School star Lance Strickland finished tied for 6^th in the field with a two-round score of 150 (6-over par). Jacob Berry finished tied for a 12^th with a two-day score of 152 (8-over par), while Isaiah Jackson had a final induvial score of 159 (15-over par). Malachi Spears rounded out the day for MCC by placing tied for 26^th in the tournament with a two-day score of 164 (20-over par).