EMCC falls to Delta in Region XXIII Tournament

By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
May 7, 2004
Mississippi Delta Community hit East Mississippi Community College with a barrage of runs in the third and fourth innings en route to a 15-7 win in the opening game of the Region XXIII Division I Baseball Tournament on Thursday.
The Trojans (25-19) tallied nine runs on seven hits, including two home runs, in the third and fourth to take control of the game at Scaggs Field.
The EMCC Lions, who will be facing elimination from the tourney, take on Gulf Coast Community College at 4 p.m. today in the second round.
MDCC erased a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the third with an RBI single from first baseman Derrick Weeks to tie the score at two.
Trojans right fielder Mark Vance followed with a sharp grounder down the third-base line, which jumped off the ground, hit the Lions third baseman in the side of the head and rolled to the outfield. Vance advanced to second on the hit and brought home two runs for a 4-2 lead.
MDCC added another run on a wild pitch to take a 5-2 advantage after three innings.
Lions catcher Justin Faulkner led off the top of the fourth inning with a home run, and EMCC second baseman Nathan Mordecai brought home another run with a groundout to cut MDCC's lead to 5-4.
The Trojans didn't let the Lions stay near the lead long, scoring five runs on four hits and an error in the bottom of the fourth.
MDCC catcher Winn Diggs brought home a run with a sacrifice fly to right field, and center fielder Tucker Bullard broke the game open with a three-run homer over the left-field wall for a 9-4 lead.
Weeks followed the three-run shot with a solo home run, sending the first offering from EMCC's relief pitcher over the left-field fence for a 10-4 lead.
The Lions and Trojans traded runs in the fifth and sixth innings.
EMCC posted one run on an RBI double from Faulkner in the fifth to cut the Lions' deficit to 10-5.
MDCC got the run back in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI double of its own from Diggs for an 11-5 advantage.
The Lions cut into the Trojans' lead again in the top of the seventh knocking in two runs with an RBI double from shortstop David Nanney and a groundout that brought home a run from Faulkner.
MDCC answered in the bottom of the seventh with two runs on one hit and three errors to take a 13-7 lead. Trojans designated hitter Parker Hite drove in a run with a double, and he scored on a throwing error to second by the Lions catcher, who was trying to stop a runner from stealing.
MDCC posted two runs in the eighth with RBI singles from John Michael Cummings and Freddy Trinidad to end the game by the eight-run rule.
The Lions took a 2-0 lead in the top of second scoring on an error and a groundout by first baseman Lance Burnham. The Trojans cut their deficit to 2-1 in the bottom half of the second with an RBI single from Vance.
Weeks went 4-for-4 for MDCC with a home run and two RBIs, and Vance went 3-for-5 with four RBIs. Louis Gonzalez and Freddy Trinidad each tallied two hits for the Trojans.
Lions right fielder Chris Stamps went 3-of-5 with one RBI, and Nanney and Faulkner each had two hits.
MDCC starting pitcher Tony Evans (7-5) picked up the win, allowing seven runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Robert Tucker (3-4) took the loss for EMCC, giving up nine runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
The Trojans will play at 7 p.m. today in a winners' bracket game.
Gulf Coast 10
Northeast 2
Gulf Coast (33-11) notched three runs in the first inning and didn't relinquish the lead the rest of the way to move on in the winners' bracket of the Region XXIII tournament on Thursday.
Bulldogs centerfielder Sal Aleman, who went 2-for-3, ended the game in seven innings with a two-run homer in the bottom the seventh for the eight-run rule to be put into affect.
Daniel Varnado (7-2) picked up the win for Gulf Coast, scattering 10 hits over seven innings with six strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
Northeast (20-20) closed Gulf Coast's lead to 3-2 in entering the bottom of the fourth innings, picking up one run in the third and fourth.
The Bulldogs didn't let the Tigers stay close to the lead long, notching four runs in the bottom of the fourth for a 7-2 advantage. Gulf Coast added one run in the sixth inning before ending the game in the seventh.
The Tigers will play in an elimination game at 1 p.m. today.