by Michael D. Gunnell
SMCC Sports Information
The Southwest Mississippi Community College Bears scored three runs in the fourth inning then held on for a 3-1 victory over the visiting Hinds Community College Eagles in the opener of their doubleheader Saturday.
Hinds came back to gain the split with a 5-3 win in the nightcap. Both teams now stand at 18-14 overall.
Southwest catcher Kyle Wheeler put the Bears up 1-0 in Game 1 when he led off the fourth inning with a solo blast over the left field fence.
“When somebody leads off with a big hit, the whole team gets behind them,” Wheeler said. “When I hit the homer, we felt like we took control of the game. We put together more hits and everybody started playing better defensively.”
Darron McKigney and Cody Dillard followed with back-to-back singles. McKigney scored on a Luke Gipson sacrifice bunt while Dillard later scored on a two-out Johnny McKenzie single that gave the hosts all the runs they needed.
The Eagles scored their only run of the game on a Tyler Akins home run in the top of the seventh. It was only Hinds’ third hit off starting pitcher Dylan Gregoire.
Gregoire (4-2) went the distance to pick up the win. In addition to giving up only three hits, he struck out three batters and issued three walks. McKenzie added a second single in the game while German Hays and Luke Gipson also hit safely.
Southwest picked up an early 3-0 lead in the fourth inning of Game 2 as well.
Wheeler scored on a McKigney single. McKigney later scored on a McKenzie single. Later, Justin Crowell’s base hit plated Cody Dillard.
The Hinds bats came alive in the fifth inning when three hits and two walks allowed them to get back to within two runs at 3-2. The Eagles added two more runs in the sixth to go up 4-3, and picked up their final run in the seventh.
Southwest pitcher Shelby Johnson went five innings, striking out two batters and walking two while giving up three runs. Reliever Trey Setzer (4-4) gave up one run in the sixth to absorb the loss.
Southwest will now have a few days to prepare for its next games. The Bears play host to arch-rival Co-Lin for important South Division games on Wednesday.
The games also serve as the final round of the Coca-Cola Baseball Challenge. Game one of the twin bill is set for 3 p.m.
lady bears sweep PRCC
The Southwest Lady Bears made sophomore day a memorable one Friday with 7-6 and 8-2 wins over visiting Pearl River.
This marked the second consecutive sophomore day sweep for Southwest. Last year, the Lady Bears (14-6, 6-10 MACJC South Division) took two from Co-Lin.
The teams battled back and forth in the opener with Southwest holding a 3-2 lead after three innings. The Lady Wildcats (17-15, 9-7) took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth on Alyssa Graeter’s two-run homer.
Southwest scored three runs to go up 6-4 in the fifth inning with Tipheri Grimes scoring on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded and Erin Stuckey and Whitney Moore scoring on a Pearl River error. The Lady Wildcats tied the game at 6-6 in the top of the sixth on Heather Hester’s two-run home run.
The game appeared destined for extra innings as the first two Southwest batters were retired in the bottom of the seventh. But Aseye Attipoe reached after a catcher error on a strikeout, and the Lady Bears had new life.
Southwest snatched the victory when Shelbi Conerly singled and Attipoe scored on the last of Pearl River’s seven errors in the game.
Hali Sasser and Moore both recorded two singles in the game while Bethany Wall, Tipheri Grimes and Stuckey also hit safely. Grimes also had a double in the game. Ashlyn Grisaffe was the winning pitcher with three strikeouts and no walks in her seven innings. She allowed eight hits.
In the nightcap, the Lady Bears took a 5-0 lead in the third inning when Grimes blasted a double to score two runs and later scored on a wild pitch. Attipoe added an RBI single.
After Pearl River picked up a solo run in the top of the fourth, the Lady Bears answered with a Lindsay Clark solo homer in the bottom of the frame to go up 6-1. The Lady Wildcats added their final run in the top of the fifth to make the score 6-2.
Southwest picked up its final two runs on a two-run Attipoe homer in the bottom of the inning that also scored Karlee Clinton.
Stuckey had two singles in the game while Shelbi Conerly, Clinton, Sasser and Grimes also had singles. Clark added a double.
Moore pitched a complete game to earn the win, striking out five batters, walking none and scattering six hits.
“Any win in the division is big right now,” said Southwest coach Patsy Sandifer. “The girls battled and fought today and they deserved to win both (games).
The Lady Bears will travel to Ellisville Tuesday for a doubleheader at Jones County. Game 1 is set for 3 p.m.
