‘The Southwest Mississippi Community College baseball team observed Sophomore Day Sunday afternoon, but it was a pair of freshmen who made the biggest mark on the day as the Bears swept an MACJC conference doubleheader from visiting Northeast Mississippi Community College, 8-7 and 11-1 (in six innings). The wins kept the Bears deep in the chase for a spot in the upcoming state playoffs.
Freshman outfielder L. D. Coney went 6-8 with six runs batted in, hitting for the cycle in game two, while fellow freshman Walt Aldridge was 7-9 with two doubles and a triple and three RBI’s.
For the Bears, the playoff scenario is simple. Sweep arch-rival Co-Lin in Wesson today and the Bears are in the playoffs.
A split with Co-Lin would mean the Bears would need some help from Pearl River (against Gulf Coast) and Northwest (against Holmes) who also are scheduled to play today.
The Bears (19-21, 12-14) made it 1-0 in the bottom of the first in game one when Coney led off with a double and raced home on Aldridge’s base hit.
Doubles from Aldridge (his first of his two in the game) and Richard and a Steven Williams single made it 3-0 in the second. The score went to 4-0 in the third when Richard was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Trent Gordy from third.
Northeast’s bats came alive in the top of the fourth and fifth innings as the Tigers scored a combined six runs to take a 6-4 lead. The Bears then tied it at 6-6 in their half of the sixth when Coney singled and scored on an error and Jarvis Warner scored on another error.
A single and double resulted in a Northeast run in the top of the seventh to put the visitors back on top, 7-6.
A Ross Buckley ground out scored Warner in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 7-7. Warner was on base for Aldridge who had tripled for his fourth hit of the game. The Bears then won it in a “walk off” when Coney was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Brady Anderson.
Brady Badon picked up the win in relief for the Bears, striking out both batters he faced in the top of the ninth. Dylan Spiers had a double, while Anderson and Gordy also hit safely.
The win in game two was much easier for the Bears. They took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Coney led off with a single and scored three batters later on a Kaleb Clarke base hit. Coney’s first home run of the season, with Richard on base, made it 3-0 in the second.
The Bears increased their lead to 7-0 in the bottom of the third when Richard’s base hit scored Tanner Whittington and Anderson and Coney’s double allowed Richard and Warner to score.
A single and error allowed the Tigers (10-26, 6-20) to avoid the shutout and make the score 7-1 in the top of the fourth. That would be as close as they would come, however.
The Bears increased their lead to 10-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Coney completed the cycle with a triple to right field to send Anderson and Spiers across the plate. Aldridge then picked up his third hit of the game to score Coney. The Bears then closed out the win in the sixth Spiers single with the bases loaded, his third of the game, scored Jesse Pittman.
Cliff Hurst allowed only five hits and an unearned run, while striking out six, to record the complete-game win for the Bears. Tanner Whittington had two singles in the game while Anderson and Warner also hit safely.
Weather permitting, the Bears and Co-Lin will begin their doubleheader at 4 p.m. The games will also serve as the back end of the Coca-Cola Baseball Challenge presented by Powerade. A sweep by the Bears will return the Challenge trophy, currently held by Co-Lin, to Summit. SMCC lost a home game to Co-Lin during the early part of the season and trails the series 1-0.
