Lady Warriors of East Central take two wins over from Jones

By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
April 3, 2002
DECATUR Twice East Central Community College spotted the Jones Junior College Lady Bobcats a quick 2-0 lead in Tuesday's South Division doubleheader. And twice the Lady Warriors rallied for wins, taking a 7-2, 5-2 sweep.
ECCC improved to 8-4 in the MACJC South Division and 17-5 overall. Jones fell to 5-7 and 11-7.
Gulf Coast and Pearl River entered the day atop the standings with 7-3 league marks.
ECCC committed four errors in the doubleheader. Jones had 10 boots, five of which came in the final three innings.
Jones jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning of the opener as Demetrice Jones led off with a bunt single and scored when Courtney Harrington's sacrifice bunt turned into a three-base error.
Harrington then scored on a two-out single by Amanda Smith.
Emily Casey (9-2) allowed only two more hits the rest of the way for the Lady Warriors. She finished with six strikeouts and two walks in the four-hitter.
ECCC took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, turning five hits, a walk, and an error into six runs. Faith Whitfield, Frances McDougle, and Sommer Averett each had an RBI-single in the inning with Jenny Battle adding a two-run single that gave the Lady Warriors a 3-2 lead.
The Lady Warriors added an insurance run in the fifth as Anna Moore singled with pinch runner Krystal Moore crossing the plate on a double to right-center by April Bufkin. Bufkin went 2-for-3 in the opener.
ECCC outhit Jones eight to four.
Lindsey Freeman (5-4) took the loss.
The Lady Bobcats again took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the second game as Harrington reached on an error and scored on Kim Bishop's double.
Bishop was thrown out after taking a wide turn at second base. Mandy Gibson followed with another double and scored on Smith's single.
Bufkin, who allowed four hits in the top of the first, gave up only three more the rest of the game to improve to 8-3.
The Lady Warriors got one run back in the bottom of the first as Casey reached on a two-out throwing error and scored when Bufkin's ground ball to third base was booted.
ECCC got four hits in the bottom of the third in taking a 4-2 lead. Rhonda Munn, Averett, and Casey reached on bunt singles to load the bases. Munn and Averett both scored on wild pitches. After a single by Bufkin, Casey scored on an infield out by Whitfield.
Jones loaded the bases with two outs in both the sixth and seventh frames, but Bufkin was able to keep the Lady Bobcats from scoring both times.
Jones outhit ECCC seven to six in the second game with Bishop getting a single and a double.
Holly Neal (6-3) took the loss.
Jones travels to Scooba Thursday to play East Mississippi in a 1 p.m. doubleheader, while ECCC's next action is Saturday at Hinds in a twinbill starting at 11 a.m.