EMCC hosts Judge's Cup tonight

By By Ryan Satcher / staff writer
April 15, 2002
For the third straight year East Mississippi Community College and East Central Community College will square off in a baseball battle called the Judge's Cup.
This year the game will be played at EMCC's Poole Field tonight at 6:30.
Judge Little Sporting Goods will be sponsoring the event. Free giveaways will be given to fans each inning and there will be no charge to get into the game. Each person entering will get a ticket and a chance to win a prize. Prizes range from a rain suit and EMCC apparel to a free sweatshirt that can be taken to Judge Little's in Meridian to get something pressed on it.
Originally the teams would play a doubleheader earlier in the year and then play the Judge's Cup and that would be the only time they faced off. This year, because of the Rush Classic hosted by Meridian Community College, the teams will face off four times in the regular season.
East Central has won both Judge's Cup games played so far. The first game was played in Scooba and the game last year was played at East Central. Both contests have proved to be exciting and this year is expected to be the same.
East Mississippi is 2-1 against the Warriors of East Central on the season. The Lions swept East Central in a doubleheader early in the year. The Warriors came back to beat East Mississippi in the Rush Classic. East Central took the victory in extra innings of an exciting ball game. Both teams should be ready to resume the rivalry, even though they both have losing records.
East Mississippi will be sending Bill Cotton to the mound. He is a product of Central Academy in Macon and is 1-3 on the season. The Lions are lead by Kent Lewis, a Southeast Lauderdale graduate, who is hitting around .340. Ben Mason is hitting .350 with 28 RBIs, while Chad Carlson has three game-winning hits for the Lions. Former Kemper Academy player Wade Whitaker is batting .325 and is 14-for-17 in the stolen base department.