MERIDIAN —     Calvary Christian broke open a tie game with six runs in the bottom of the sixth Monday at Q.V. Sykes to blast visiting Lamar 8-4.

    The Cougars scored lone runs in the first and second innings off Raiders starter Witt Haggard before the Raiders rallied with two runs in the sixth off Calvary reliever Matt Seward.

    Seward, who allowed four runs, two earned, in two innings earned the win. He struck out four, following Kyle Koch and Johnathan Bartlett to the mound.

    Bartlett also led the Cougars offensively, doubling and driving in three runs on two hits. Gabe Lofton and Zach Carpenter each had two RBIs for Calvary, while Seward and Steven Connell each had doubles.

    Lamar was led by John Clinton McElroy's two hits. Haggard, who pitched three innings, struck out seven Cougars. Scott Nabors took the loss for the Raiders.

    Calvary (7-0) hosts Mt. Salus Christian in a doubleheader today.

— Jamie Wachter



PREP SOFTBALL

Central Academy    8

Russell Christian    0

    The Vikings opened the MAIS slow-pitch season with a shutout of visiting Russell Christian on Monday.

    Central scored two runs in the second and third innings before tacking on four in the sixth.

    Corey Dawkins, Marion Colvin and Alex Dawkins all had two singles for the Vikings, who got a single and double from Blake Rigdon. Colvin earned the win.

    RCA was paced by Lauren Thrash' two hits, including a double, and Kellie Harkins' double. Mady Lee took the loss for the Warriors.

    Central returns to action at home Thursday against Lamar.

— Jamie Wachter



LATE JUCO BASEBALL

ECCC Diamond Warriors, Itawamba split doubleheader

    East Central Community College's baseball team split a doubleheader with

Itawamba Community College in a non-division matchup held Friday on the Fulton campus.

    The Warriors (12-4) were edged 3-2 in the opener and rallied for a 6-1 victory in the second contest.

    East Central fell behind 2-0 in the first inning of the opener and closed the gap to 3-2 in the fifth but could get no closer and the host Indians held on for the narrow victory.

    Blake Lawson, a freshman shortstop, was the only Warrior with multiple hits as he managed a double and a single. Vincent Kortbawi added a double for ECCC.

    Right-hander Barry Meeks took the loss on the mound, allowing three runs on seven hits through six innings. He also fanned three batters.

    In the second game, the Warriors snapped an early 1-1 tie by scoring two runs in the fifth and three runs in the seventh to claim the win.

    Charles Hill belted a double and single and Andre Yates had two singles to lead the ECCC offense. Jerrod Myers doubled for the Warriors.

    Freshman southpaw Colton Mitchell got the win and improved to 3-0 on the season. Mitchell hurled six scoreless innings, allowing five hits. He also fanned six batters and walked three.

    East Central hosts Kaskaski (Ill.) Community College at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in two seven-inning matchups.

— from school reports

LATE JUCO TENNIS

MCC men, women take road wins over weekend

    In a weekend of competition, Meridian Community College traveled to Alexander City, Ala., for dual match play and ended the weekend in both men’s and women’s action 2-1.

    In women’s action, Meridian faced perennial powerhouse ABAC out of Tipton, Ga. MCC climbed a big hurdle with a 5-4 win against ABAC, the first time an MCC team has beaten ABAC. In singles action, Anna Vavrik, Aline Ferreira, Savannah Zachry, and Jessica Halterman won matches at 1-4 singles, respectively. Halterman and Zachry sealed the win at No. 2 doubles by defeating A. Gamboa and L. Smith 8-4.

    The men were not as fortunate as they lost 8-1 to ABAC. The only win of the day for the men was at No. 3 singles where Andres Cepede defeated T. Johnston 2-6, 6-4, 10-5. Gabriel Nicotra at No. 2 singles and Kyle Dew at No. 6 singles split sets with their opponents, but lost their matches.

    In the second match of the day, the MCC women lost to Central Florida Community College 7-2 in a very controversial match. Meridian forfeited the No. 1 doubles and forfeited the No. 1 singles at 8-8 in a third-set tiebreak. At No. 3 singles, MCC’s Zachry defeated Amanda Irgilli 6-1, 6-1 and at No. 5 singles, MCC’s Kaley Allen defeated Savannah Sapienizo 6-4, 7-6.

    On Saturday, the men’s team defeated Gadsden State (Ala.) 8-1. The only loss came at No. 2 doubles. MCC’s Wade Henderson and Brandyn Landry lost 8-4 to Colt Kelley and Austin Miller. In the second match of the day, the men defeated St. Joseph College, a four-year DII school out of Indiana, 9-0. Meridian’s men only gave up eighteen games in 15 sets of match play. Meridian’s men are now 3-2 on the season with its only losses to DI University of Memphis and ABAC.

    In women’s action Saturday, MCC’s women defeated a ranked Florida Community College Jacksonville team 6-3. Meridian’s Vavrik, currently No. 7 in the nation, defeated Lindy Winter 6-3, 6-1. At no. 3 singles, Zachry extended her singles career at MCC to 5-0 with a win against Molly Lentini 6-3, 6-4. MCC’s Allen defeated Dliana Ramirez at No. 5 singles 6-4, 6-3. In doubles action, MCC’s Vavrik and Ferreira defeated Winter and Molly Lentini 8-3. Halterman and Zachry lost a close match 9-7. MCC won the No. 6 singles and the No. 3 doubles by forfeits. The women are now 3-1 on the season.

    The men return to action this week against Marion Military Institute at Marion, Ala., today. Both teams will host Hinds Ala., on Thursday and both teams travel to Fulton to square off against Itawamba on Friday.

— from school reports