Booneville, Miss. – On a day where hitters had their way at the plate, it was two Northeast Mississippi Community College pitchers that eventually closed out a full Saturday of baseball with a dominant performance.
Caleb Goff and Tyler Nelms combined for 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to stop East Central Community College's hot bats and secure an 11-9 victory for the Tigers.
Northeast finished with a split at Harold T. White Field after Meridian Community College held off a torrid Tiger rally to win 13-12 in the morning lid lifter.
Goff entered the contest with Northeast down 9-5 after a Caleb Woods double brought in the fourth run of the sixth inning for East Central.
The Hernando native stopped any more damage by getting Brandon Hand to fly out to centerfield to end the frame. Goff threw two complete innings and did not allow a hit to pick up the win.
Nelms then relieved Goff with two outs in the eighth and sat down four straight hitters on only seven pitches to earn the save.
"I came in throwing strikes. I'd just as soon go at them and get it over with," said Nelms. "All around we did real well. Our pitchers, we started out a little rough but we figured it out."
Kyle Young had a RBI single and later scored on an error to start Northeast's comeback in the bottom of the sixth.
Control issues plagued Warrior pitching staff during the next frame and the Tigers tied the game at 9-9 on a bases loaded walk by Ben Foster.
Cody Bo Dillard took home on a passed ball two batters later to give Northeast the lead for good. He also gave the Tigers their winning margin with a run scoring single in the eighth.
The Tigers fell behind 5-2 early after Chance Whitten connected for a grand slam, his third long ball of the afternoon in two contests.
Blake Harwell responded in the fourth inning with a home run of his own. The two-run shot that landed just underneath the scoreboard brought Northeast within a run.
Josh Peterson tied things up temporarily in the Tigers' next at bat. He led off the fifth with a double and then scored on a wild pitch to make the score 5-5.
In the opener, the visiting Eagles jumped to a 9-0 advantage after a five-run top of the sixth inning. Goose Yates knocked a grand slam over the left field wall to give Meridian what seemed like a comfortable lead.
But the Tigers stormed back with ten unanswered runs in the bottom half. Blake Frazier led off the frame with a solo home run that finally got the Northeast bats into motion.
Nine straight batters reached base after Frazier's trip around the bases. Three straight hits by Heath Wood, Joe Kirkland and Riley Alef scored two runs to make it 9-3.
Drew Wray, Luke Stanley and Wood also had RBI singles in the inning. Overall, fourteen Tigers came to the plate and got seven hits with five free bases by walks, a hit batsman and a fielding error.
"I knew if I got a hit then something could start," said Frazier. "It's great whenever that happens. At nine-to-nothing, everybody is just thinking get it over with. But when you come back then you're thinking we've got a chance at this. It's always the best feeling."
Northeast extended its lead to as large as 11-9 after a Wray double scored Jordan Montgomery, but the Eagles got three runs on run scoring singles by Ben Gann, Kevin Hall and Mac Seibert to go ahead for good.
The Tiger offense combined for 28 hits in the doubleheader, led by Frazier's 3 for 6 day.
Riley Alef led the Northeast defense from behind the plate. He threw out two runners attempting to steal and picked off another between second and third base.
Northeast outfielders also flashed the glove in their first outing of the fall. Colby Williams made a diving effort to rob Meridian's Hall of a RBI hit and Montgomery did the same to Gage Sullivan in the finale.
"It's a learning process and this was a great day against two quality opponents," said Northeast head coach Kent Farris. "Hopefully it's something we'll benefit from and it'll pay dividends in the spring."
The Tigers have one remaining date during their 2013 fall schedule. Northeast travels to Jackson's Smith-Wills Stadium on Thursday, October 10 to play Baton Rouge Community College at 10 a.m. and Faulkner State Community College at 4 p.m. in an event hosted by Belhaven University.