DECATUR – It was another tough pill to swallow for No. 3 Jones County.
No. 10 East Central scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning and edged the Bobcats 11-10 here Friday night in a winner's bracket game of the Region 23 Tournament at the Clark/Gay Baseball Complex.
It was ECCC's third straight walkoff win over JCJC. Last week, the Warriors beat the Bobcats 14-13 and 13-12 in the MACJC Tournament in Ellisville, scoring the winning run both times in the bottom of the ninth.
JCJC, 46-8, will meet No. 1 LSU-Eunice in an elimination game at 2 p.m. on Saturday. LSU-Eunice, 51-5, knocked Northwest out of the tournament with an 11-5 victory earlier Friday. The Rangers end the season at 29-21.
The JCJC/LSU-Eunice winner faces East Central, 39-15, at 6 p.m. Saturday in the title game. If East Central loses, another game will be played at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The winner of the tournament heads to the NJCAA Division II World Series in Enid, Oklahoma, May 28-June 4.
JCJC was in control for most of the game.
The Bobcats led 3-0 after three innings and 8-1 after five. They took a 9-1 lead in the top of the sixth, but the Warriors responded with five runs in the bottom of the sixth, tied it with a three-run seventh and took a 10-9 lead with a run in the bottom of the eighth.
JCJC tied it in the ninth.
John Alan Wall was hit by a pitch to start the inning and Jonathan Parker sacrificed pinch-runner Josh Keel to second. Keel took third on a groundout by Marcus Hardy and scored on a passed ball.
In the bottom of the ninth, Michael Davis led off with a double and was sacrificed to third by Blake Morton.
Dylan Snypes then singled past a drawn-in infield and the Warriors took the win.
The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead in the first when Shelton Wallace walked and Tanner Huddleston blasted a two-run home run.
In the second, Parker walked and Dalton Skelton was hit by a pitch. Fred Franklin's groundout drove Parker home.
The Warriors got on the board in the fourth when Cole Prestegard walked and later scored on T.J. Lockett's single.
Clint Sasser got JCJC's five-run fifth started with a single. He took second on a passed ball and scored on a Wallace single. Wallace went to third on an error and scored on a Mason Irby single.
Huddleston followed with a double and Irby scored on a wild pitch. Wall's single scored Huddleston. Parker walked and Skelton was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Wall would score on a passed ball to make it 8-1.
JCJC made it 9-1 in the sixth when Sasser reached on an error and took second on Wallace's groundout. Irby was intentionally walked and Huddleston followed with an RBI single.
East Central got back in the game in the bottom of the sixth.
Matt Mitchell and Lockett singled and Reagan Warren was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Davis walked to force Mitchell home and Nathan Roseberry's ground out scored Lockett. Snypes and Will Kennedy followed with run-scoring singles and Prestegard's groundout scored a run to make it 9-6.
The Warriors tied it up in the seventh.
Lockett led off with a single, took second on a groundout and scored on a single by Davis. Roseberry followed with a single and both runners advanced on an error. Kennedy followed with a two-run single to tie the game.
Huddleston homered, doubled, singled and drove in three runs for JCJC. Wallace tripled and singled twice. Sasser, Irby, Wall and Franklin added singles.
Ben Stiglets started and went 5-plus innings. He allowed five earned runs, six hits, walked three and struck out five. Jay Simpson pitched 1/3 of an inning, allowed one earned run and two hits. Will Brand pitched 1 2/3 innings, allowed three runs (two earned), four hits, walked one and struck out one. Zach Taylor pitched to two batters and allowed a hit.
Logan Robbins, 4-1, went the final 1 1/3 innings and took the loss. He allowed one earned run, two hits and struck out one.
Kennedy had three singles and three RBIS for ECCC, while Snypes, Mitchell and Lockett also singled three times. Davis doubled and singled with Roseberry adding a single.
Channing Wall went the final 3 2/3 innings and got the win. He allowed one run (unearned), three hits, walked none and struck out three.
Brock Morris started, went 2 1/3 innings, allowed three earned runs, two hits, walked two and struck out one. Tyler Ladner pitched two innings, allowed three earned runs, three hits and struck out one. Peyton Lott went 1/3 of an inning, allowed two runs (one earned), two hits and struck out one. Christian Bellew went 2/3 of an inning, allowed one run (unearned) and walked two.
 

Region 23 Tournament

Decatur
East Central Community College
Clark/Gay Baseball Complex
Thursday's results
Game 1, JCJC 8, LSU-Eunice 2
Game 2 East Central 3, Northwest 2
Friday's games
Game 3, LSU-Eunice 11, Northwest 5
Game 4, East Central 11, JCJC 10
Saturday's games
Game 5, LSU-Eunice vs. JCJC, 2 p.m.
Game 6, East Central vs. Winner G5, 6 p.m.
Sunday's games
Game 7, if necessary, 3 p.m.