Lady Eagles get easy home victory
EUPORA – It hasn’t always been smooth for the Eupora Lady Eagles softball team in the first inning this year, but the team seems to get it going when the dust starts to clear.
It appeared it might go the same way on Thursday as the Lady Eagles gave up three base runners in the first and a run, but they settled in on defense. After getting out of the top of the first against Winona, the team exploded at the plate and rolled to a 16-1 victory.
“The first inning has been our nemesis all year long,”
Eupora head coach Amir Hunt said. “We gave up one run and got out of the inning and after that, we calmed down and played softball the rest of the game. We did what we did after the first inning what we’ve done all year long – played routine softball.”
Eupora (5-3) surrendered that run in the first as the opening runner reached on an error and it put together a couple of hits against Meleah Pogue. As a run came across, it wasn’t enough to severely damage the Lady Eagles’ confidence at the plate.
An aggressive approach paid off dividends in this game as Eupora sent 14 batters to the plate in the first inning with nine runs on six hits. It was 9-1 and Winona was already in over its head from there. Pogue and the defense put up zeros in the second and third inning to secure the easy win.
At the plate, it continued in the second frame with six more runs on eight hits and 10 batters brought around to make it 15-1 and the Lady Eagles got another run in the third to walk off with a runrule.
In not even three official innings, the Lady Eagles pounded out 15 hits in the victory. Makenzie Reedwood went a perfect 3-for-3 in the game with an RBI, Ally Bingham and Aubree Mason each had two hits and two RBI and Ella Harrison and Harper Doggett both went 2-for-2.
“Our first game or two we were really struggling to find barrels and get base hits, but (Thursday) we really came out and showed out,” Eupora assistant coach Lilli Moore said. “I think the girls were a little nervous at the start of the year, but they’re adjusting well. In my opinion, we’re not missing a beat.”
With Eupora starting to get some momentum going, the Lady Eagles now will travel to West Point tonight to take on the Lady Green Wave.
SENATOBIA — The Lions of East Mississippi Community College outscored Northwest Mississippi 40-23 in the second half to pull away with a 66-55 road victory over the Rangers during Wednesday’s MACCC North Division men’s basketball action played at Howard Coliseum.
After getting down by nine points (13-4) 4 minutes into the contest, the Lions used a 15-4 run to temporarily take a 19-17 lead with 8:06 left in the half on a Hunter Mccutcheon layup that came moments after the freshman guard’s 3-pointer knotted the score.
The home-standing Rangers responded by outscoring the visitors 15-7 for the remainder of the opening half to take a 32-26 advantage into the halftime break. Both teams shot 39 percent from the field during the opening 20 minutes of play.
That would all change, however, during the second stanza when the Lions caught fire from the floor and locked down on defense.
While still trailing by six points (41-35) with 15:29 left following Deantoni Gordon’s basket, EMCC scored eight unanswered points over the next minute-plus on a pair of Mccutcheon treys that sandwiched a Nick Walker bucket.
Midway through the half, the Lions created some separation by going on another 8-0 run that lengthened their lead to 5344 with 8:43 remaining in the contest. Another Mccutcheon 3-pointer capped the game-deciding stretch that also included Traemond Pittman’s three-point play and a Blake Butler bucket.
With its lead reaching double digits (57-46) on a Jakorie Smith basket at the 7:06 mark, EMCC’S advantage stayed at eight points or better the rest of the way en route to the 11-point triumph and a regular-season sweep of the Rangers.
During the second half of play, the Lions made twice as many field goals as the Rangers (14-7) while both teams attempted the same number of shots (25). Along with out-shooting Northwest (56%-28%) following the halftime break and holding the Rangers to 35% shooting for the game, EMCC owned a decisive 45-30 rebounding advantage in the contest.
East Mississippi’s quartet of double-digit scorers was paced by Mccutcheon’s 14 points. Smith followed with 13 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while Walker and Arecko Gipson Jr. added 11 points each for the winners.
Currently riding a three-game win streak, coach Billy Begley’s 10-4 EMCC Lions (8-3 in division play) are scheduled to play host to the Trojans of Mississippi Delta on Monday (March 15) on the Scooba campus. Tip-off for Monday’s EMCC-DELTA men’s contest is set for 6 p.m. at EMCC’S Keyes T. Currie Coliseum.