The No. 10 nationally ranked East Central Community College softball team will host a Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges first-round state playoff series Friday and Saturday, April 27-28, at the Softball Park in Decatur.
East Central will be the No. 3 seed in the state playoffs. The opponent will be determined after all league games are completed this week.
Game one will be played Friday, April 27, at 4 p.m. Game two is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, at 1 p.m. Game three, if necessary, will immediately follow game two on Saturday.
The Lady Warriors finished the regular season 32-10 overall and 19-9 in MACJC play.
Admission each day of the playoff series will be $6 per person. Those age 12 and under will be admitted free. ECCC faculty, staff, and students will be admitted free with a valid college ID. MACJC passes will also be accepted.
The winners of the four first-round playoff series will compete in a double elimination state tournament May 4-6 at the home of the highest remaining seed.
No. 20 ECCC baseball wins fourth straight with sweep
The No. 20 ranked East Central Community College Warriors finished up an undefeated week in MACJC league play with a road sweep over the Itawamba Community College Indians last Saturday in Fulton.
East Central grabbed the lead in the sixth inning and held on for a 6-5 nine-inning win in game one. The Warriors scored all their runs in three innings and pounded out 16 hits in an 11-4 win in the seven-inning game two. The Warriors also swept Copiah-Lincoln on Wednesday.
East Central is now 27-11 overall on the season and 16-6 in the league. The Itawamba Indians are 25-11 overall and 11-9 in the league. East Central is still locked in a three-way tie for third place in the league and a quest to host a first-round playoff series in May.
The Warriors were to host Meridian Community College, one of the teams tied for third place, on Tuesday. The Warriors then welcome Elaine P. Nunez Community College (Chalmette, La.) to the Clark-Gay Baseball Complex in Decatur on Saturday, for games at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.
In game one, the Warriors broke a 4-4 tie with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth thanks to a two-run double from freshman Alex Hay of Lewisburg. After Itawamba closed the gap to 6-5 in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run, East Central pitchers Tanner Elders of Newton County and Dylan Marsh of Lake Cormorant kept the Indians scoreless the final three innings. Elders got the win and Marsh the save.
Freshman Deon Leflore of Leake Central had three singles for East Central, and Davis Lott of Lewisburg had two hits. Wyatt Ball of Nanih Waiya hit his third home run of the week in game one, a two-run shot in the first inning.
Five East Central pitchers combined to hold Itawamba to just four hits in game two. Payton Griffin out of Mount Hebron School in Pheba got the win in relief, throwing two innings of no-hit ball.
Trailing 2-0, the Warriors scored three in the fourth, three in the fifth, and five in the sixth to pull away from the Indians. Freshman George Farid (Mississauga, Ontario, Canada), Ryan Cupit of West Monroe, La., and Zack Hutchison of Ellisville all had three hits for East Central. Hutchison drove in four runs with a single in the fifth and a double in the sixth. Freshman Will Ross of Hernando hit a solo home run to lead off the top of the fourth.
