In their final tuneup before the MHSAA Class 3A playoffs, the Southeast Lauderdale Tigers were definitely in postseason form.

    Southeast, which improved to 24-4, drilled Class 4A playoff-bound Newton County 14-0 in Decatur on Monday.

    Hunter Thrower led Southeast with three hits, including a double and a three-run home run, and five RBIs. Blake McMullen added four hits, while Colby Ramey had a pair of doubles and Matt Miller doubled and finished with two hits.

    Ledarious Clark earned the win for the Tigers, improving to 7-1, while Will Brand took the loss for Newton County. The Cougars fell to 19-9, and will face Forrest County AHS this weekend in a 4A play-in series. Southeast, meanwhile, is off until April 27.

— Jamie Wachter

JUCO GOLF

MCC in second going into final round of    District Championship

    The Meridian Community College golf team is currently in second place after the completion of the first day of the District IV Championship Tournament at Rockledge Country Club in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

    The Eagles fired a two-round total score of 589 and trails Brevard Community College by five strokes heading into the final round on Tuesday.

    Jake Sterling led the way by firing a morning round of 67 and finished up his afternoon round with a 70. Sterling is currently sitting at the top of the individual leaderboard going into the final round Tuesday.

    Dylan Brown ended Monday with an opening-round score of 75 and a second-round score of 73. Former Lamar standout Easton Key fired a first-round score of 77 and ended his opening day with a 74 in Round 2.

Alex Grannon ended the first day with scores of 78 and 75, while T.J. Morgan fired a 79 and 76 to round out the day for the Eagles.

— from school reports

LATE JUCO SOFTBALL

ECCC wweeps Co-Lin;

qualifies for state tourney

     East Central Community College’s fast-pitch softball team will have an opportunity to defend its MACJC state tournament title thanks to a pair of victories against Copiah-Lincoln Community College on Saturday on the Decatur campus.

    The Warriors officially clinched a playoff spot by capturing the opener 4-2 followed by a 10-3 win in the second contest.

    With the victories, EC improved to 28-11 overall and 12-6 in the MACJC South Division.

     In the first game, Kelsi Watson’s solo home run followed by Neshoba Central High School product A. J. Peeler’s two-run double and Haelie Allen’s RBI single in the fifth inning broke open a scoreless contest and gave EC a 4-0 advantage.

    Co-Lin responded with two runs in the sixth to complete the scoring.

    Lajoya Griffin of Philadelphia and Marlee Massey of Neshoba Central each contributed a single and scored a run. Allen also singled and scored.

    Tenna Patterson picked up the win on the mound, allowing two earned runs on eight hits through seven innings.

    In the second contest, Haylee Roberts of Enterprise belted a three-run home run in the fifth inning and added a two-run single in the sixth to lead the offense. Kaetlen Brown also homered.

    Other sluggers were Peeler, three singles; Allen, Massey and Dakota Vowell of Neshoba Central, two singles each; and Griffin and Brittany Pounders of Southeast Lauderdale, singles each.

    Peeler, Massey, Pounders, Brown and Griffin were also credited with an RBI each.

    Co-Lin scored two runs in the first inning and added its final run in the third.

    Mary Sanders picked up the win, allowing three earned runs on 13 hits through five innings.

    The Warriors travel to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College today in doubleheader action getting under way at 3 p.m. on the Perkinston campus.

     The MACJC state tournament is scheduled April 26-27 and will be hosted by the North Division winner.

— from school reports

LATE JUCO RODEO

EMCC men place third at UT Martin event

     MARTIN, Tenn. —Continuing their successful spring season, the East Mississippi Community College men’s rodeo team posted a second straight third-place team finish this past weekend at the 44th Annual Spring College Rodeo hosted by the University of Tennessee at Martin at the Ned Ray McWherter Agricultural Complex and N.W. (Doc) Robinson Arena.

    Along with the Lions’ third-place team showing, EMCC freshman cowgirl Kellie Hailey claimed all-around individual honors to lead the EMCC women to a fourth-place team finish. Hailey accounted for all of EMCC’s 215 team points on the women’s side with a second-place effort in the goat tying event and a fifth-place finish in the barrel racing competition.

    In the men’s competition, the Lions scored most of their 270 team points in the calf roping event. Freshman cowboy Martin Walker earned 150 points for his first-place finish in the event, which included a time of 8.2 seconds in the short-go round. Fellow EMCC freshmen Scooter Scarbrough and Marshall Harrison also placed in calf roping.

     Freshman Ethan Bobo was responsible for EMCC’s other 70 points with a fifth-place showing in steer wrestling.

    The top two men’s teams in the Ozark Region of the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association maintained their respective spots atop the regional standings with Missouri Valley College edging host UT Martin by 15 points, 795-780. With their third-place finish at UT Martin, the EMCC Lions now trail Southern Arkansas University by just five points (2195-2190) for third place in the current Ozark Region men’s team overall standings.  EMCC opened the spring slate with a runner-up team finish at the Cossatot Community College rodeo in Texarkana, Ark.  

    UTM and MVC switched places in the women’s competition as host UT Martin out-scored Missouri Valley, 495-325, to take the team title and gain ground on front-running Southern Arkansas among the regional team standings.

    For the season, EMCC’s Hailey takes over the No. 1 spot in the women’s all-around category for the Ozark Region with 778.33 cumulative points. For the Lions, Scarbrough and Bobo presently stand fourth regionally in the calf roping and steer wrestling events, respectively, with composite point totals of 375 and 350.

— from school reports

LATE JUCO BASEBALL

East Central, Hinds split doubleheader

    After their rally fell short in a 6-4 setback in the opener, East Central Community College’s Diamond Warriors rallied in a big way to claim a 12-8 decision in the nightcap of a MACJC South Division doubleheader played Saturday at the Clark/Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur.

    Following the doubleheader split, EC’s record stood at 23-15 overall and 10-6 in league play, while Hinds’ mark is 27-9 and 11-5. Jones County leads the tight division race at 10-5. The Bobcats are 22-15 overall.

    In the first contest, EC trailed 6-0 until a four-run sixth inning closed the gap.

    Newton County High School product Xavier Franklin belted a two-run single to lead the offense.    Right-hander Fernando Gonzalez took the loss. Gonzalez allowed one earned run on five hits through 2 2-3 innings. He fanned four batters and walked two.

    In the second contest, EC overcame an early 8-1 deficit thanks to a nine-run fourth inning that put the Warriors ahead to stay. East Central, which led 1-0 after the second inning, added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings and held on.

     Tim Anderson belted a grand slam home run in the fourth inning and added a solo blast in the fifth inning to lead the offense.

     Terrence Steele of Neshoba Central and Fred Hampton also had productive outings at the plate. Steele blasted three singles and collected two RBIs, while Hampton recorded two doubles and a single and knocked in a run. Steele also scored three runs and Hampton scored once.

     Right-hander Evan Humphries of Louisville picked up the win in relief. Humphries pitched 1 1-3 innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits.

— from school reports