G1: Hinds 13, East Central 4
Booneville, Miss. – Hinds Community College scored six runs in the second inning to pull away from East Central Community College and win the first game of the 2014 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Tournament 13-4 on Thursday afternoon at Harold T. White Field.
The Eagles touched the scoreboard with back-to-back RBI singles by Casey Echols and Toler Robinson after Warrior starter Kale Fultz sat Hinds down in order during the opening frame.
Echols touched home plate moments later on Quade Smith’s sacrifice fly to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Eagles (30-16) with two outs in the second.
After a dropped third strike that could have ended the inning, Hinds extended its lead to 6-0 by plating three more runs on RBI hits by Matt Jones and Chase Lunceford.
Casey Sutton sat down nine straight batters to begin the contest for the Eagles, but ran into a bit trouble in the fourth.
Maxwell Harmon broke up Sutton’s no-hit bid with a leadoff single and rounded the bases on a fielding error. Kyle McCullouch then connected on a rocket back up the middle for a RBI single to cut East Central’s deficit to 6-2.
Hinds upped its advantage to 8-2 with a pair of solo runs in both the fifth and sixth frames, respectively, on sacrifice flies by Echols and Lunceford.
Jake Bush’s double down the left field line served as his second hit of the afternoon and also brought in two runs to bring the Warriors (23-26) within 8-4 at the seventh inning stretch.
But the Eagles put the matchup out of reach for East Central by adding five runs, two on the third base knock of the day for Matt Jones, in the bottom half.
Hinds advances to face No. 1 Jones County Junior College in Friday’s 1 p.m. semifinal contest, while the Warriors face elimination at 10 a.m. against host Northeast Mississippi Community College.
G2: Jones County 14, Northeast 4
Booneville, Miss. – Top ranked Jones County Junior College scored 12 unanswered runs to upend host Northeast Mississippi Community College 14-4 in eight innings to close the opening day of the 2014 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Tournament at Harold T. White Field.
Trent Turner gave the Tigers, who were the visiting team on the scoreboard by virtue of holding the lower seed in the matchup, an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer over the centerfield wall.
But Chris Morgan belted a solo home run to right field to leadoff the bottom half of the frame to get the Bobcats hot bats started.
Trent Giambrone started a 5 for 5 performance with a RBI single in the second to deadlock the contest at 2-2.
Riley Alef continued his phenomenal season behind the plate for the Tigers in the third when he picked off Chase Hensley at first base. Alef also paced Northeast (27-19) with two hits on the evening.
Jordan Stark gave the Bobcats their initial lead of the game on a RBI single in the fifth. Alex Shermer and Hensley added RBIs in the inning to put Jones County ahead 5-2.
The Bobcats put the contest out of reach for the Tigers, however, by scoring seven runs with two outs in the sixth. Josh Pankratz, Giambrone and Shermer each had extra base hits while Carter Polles contributed a RBI single.
Easton Hall cut Northeast’s deficit to 12-4 one frame later on a single up the middle that plated Drew Wray and Heath Wood.
But Jones County ended the game early due to the run rule after Morgan connected on his second long ball of the matchup in the seventh and hit a walkoff RBI single in the eighth.
Westin Stringer struck out six batters and walked six to earn his 11th victory of the campaign while David Gibson took the hard-luck loss with three earned runs allowed in five frames.
MACJC South Division champion Jones County meets runner-up Hinds Community College in a semifinal matchup on Friday at 1 p.m., while the home standing Tigers must rebound with an elimination game against East Central Community College at 10 a.m.
G3: East Central 12, Northeast 4
Booneville, Miss. - East Central Community College scored nine straight runs between the sixth and eighth innings to pull away from Northeast Mississippi Community College and win 12-4 in the first elimination game of the 2014 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Tournament on Friday.
Lane Fezende got the Warrior rally started in the sixth with a two RBI triple into the left-centerfield gap that plated Kyle McCullouch and Cojuante McMillian.
East Central (24-26) added on in the seventh when Hunter Thrower and Dylan Little came home on John Morgan Berry’s single to the left side.
A five-run eighth frame by the Warriors put the contest out of reach for the Tigers. McCullouch and Berry both had RBI hits during the inning.
Northeast touched the scoreboard in the second when Heath Wood and Easton Hall took bases loaded walks. The Tigers rounded out their scoring on a Drew Wray RBI single in the fifth and on Trent Turner’s sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Conner West was the winner in relief for East Central while Ethan Taylor took the loss in 5.1 innings of work for Northeast.
The game did not start until 11:15 a.m. due to inclement weather that moved through the Booneville vicinity during the overnight and early morning hours.
The Tigers end their season with a 27-20 record while the Warriors advanced to a second elimination contest against the loser of Jones County Junior College and Hinds Community College later in the evening.
G4: Jones County 5, Hinds 1
Booneville, Miss. - A strong effort on the mound by top ranked Jones County Junior College helped the Bobcats defeat Hinds Community College 5-1 in a semifinal matchup in the 2014 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Tournament on Friday at Harold T. White Field.
Lane Ratliff topped the Bobcats on the mound with a solid seven-plus innings of work. He allowed only one earned run, seven hits, one walk and struck out six.
Jones County scored solo runs in both the second and fourth frames, respectively, on RBI singles by Josh Pankratz and Carter Polles.
A pair of extra base hits propelled the Bobcats (42-8) to a 4-0 lead after five innings of play. Trent Giambrone continued his excellent level of play in the tournament with a solo home run while Alex Shermer had a RBI double.
Hinds (30-17) plated its lone run of the contest on a long ball by Matt Jones in the eighth.
The Bobcats advance to Saturday’s noon MACJC State Championship game and await the winner between the Eagles and East Central Community College in game five of the event.
G5: Hinds 9, East Central 8
Booneville, Miss. - Hinds Community College was able to stave off East Central Community College’s come-from-behind effort and take a 9-8 win in the final elimination contest of the 2014 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Tournament late Friday night.
The Warriors scored eight runs over a period of two frames to take a temporary 8-6 lead. Back-to-back RBI singles by John Morgan Berry and Kyle McCullouch got East Central to within 6-5 with nobody out in the sixth.
East Central then tied the game on a wild pitch and jumped ahead with on a two RBI hit by leadoff man Maxwell Harmon.
But the Eagles (31-17) scored three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Quade Smith and Matt Jones had RBI hits in that span.
Hinds pitching then kept the Warriors off the board for the final two frames to secure the win. Randy Bell earned the win in relief for the Eagles while Austin Sanders earned the save.
East Central was eliminated with the loss and enters the 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament with a 24-27 record while Hinds faces top ranked Jones County Junior College in the 2014 MACJC State Championship game on Saturday at noon.
G6: Hinds 7, Jones County 6
Booneville, Miss. – Hinds Community College forced a winner-take-all championship game and avoided elimination with a 7-6 victory over top ranked Jones County Junior College in game six of the 2014 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Tournament at Harold T. White Field on Saturday.
The Eagles looked to take control in the third after taking a 5-2 lead on back-to-back home runs by Chase Lunceford and Caleb Upton.
But the Bobcats (42-9) answered with a trio of runs on their own in the fourth. Stephen Stiglets had a RBI single in the frame while Chris Morgan had a sacrifice fly.
Hinds, though, quickly regained its advantage at 6-5 in the bottom half on Lunceford’s third hit of the afternoon.
Luke Reynolds crushed a solo homer, his third long ball of the year, for what turned into the decisive run for the Eagles (32-17).
Jones County got within a run after Trent Giambrone’s RBI fielder’s choice, but Hinds closer Austin Sanders sealed the victory for the Eagles with his second save of the tournament.
Randy Bell earned his second win of the event while Lane Ratliff took the loss in relief for the Bobcats.
G7: Jones County 14, Hinds 3
Booneville, Miss. – Top ranked Jones County Junior College claimed the 2014 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) state championship with a 14-3, run-rule shortened victory over Hinds Community College in the final game of the MACJC State Tournament.
Josh Pankratz hit a two-run home run to put the Bobcats (43-9) in front for good in the fourth inning.
The Eagles (32-18) did not quit, though, and cut their deficit to just one run after Matt Jones’ solo shot over the right field wall.
Jones County began to pull away in the fifth when Jordan Stark had a two RBI double and Chase Hensley belted a solo homer.
The Bobcats ended the game early in the seventh with an eight-run frame. Trent Giambrone wrapped up the title tilt with a walkoff three-run over the left field wall that sent Jones County into a frenzied celebration at home plate.
Christian Dale claimed the win with five solid innings for the Bobcats while Derek Martin was the loser in relief for Hinds.
It is the first state championship in the sport of baseball since 2011 for Jones County, which will host the 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament next week.