DECATUR – A four-run rally in game one over the final two innings and a five-run rally in the sixth of game two helped East Central sweep a doubleheader over Jones by 7-6 and 11-6 finals Sunday at Clark-Gay Baseball Complex.
EC improved to 9-7 with the sweep, while Jones fell to 4-11. Five of the Bobcats' last seven losses have been by two runs or less.
Jones will host Baton Rouge in a 3 p.m. doubleheader on Wednesday (was Tuesday) at The Bank.
East Central 7, Jones 6
Leading 6-3 after six, a two-run home run from Jesse Boydstun in the seventh and a pair of RBI-doubles in the eighth helped the Warriors rally for a come-from-behind victory.
Kade Dees sent a hanging curveball over the left field fence in the second for his first home run of the year to give Jones a 1-0 lead.
Trailing 2-1 in the fourth,
Murray Hutchinson's RBI-single tied the game before an error at first allowed
Kirkland Trahan and Hutchinson to score and make it 4-2.
The lead grew to 6-3 in the sixth when
Tyler Ducksworth stole home and Hutchinson scored on a wild pitch.
Wyatt Blalock tossed four gutsy innings, scattering six hits, three walks, a strikeout and an earned run before giving way to
Zach Flaskamp and
Coleton Ausbern.
EC started its rally in the seventh on a two-run homer to get to 6-5 and took the lead in the eighth on a pair of doubles that proved to be the difference.
JC got the tying run to third in the ninth after a walk, groundout and wild pitch, but a flyout and groundout ended the Bobcats' threat 90 feet away.
East Central 11, Jones 6
Jones rallied from a 5-0 hole after two innings to tie the game at 6-6 in the sixth, but a two-out, five-run rally for EC in the bottom of the sixth helped the Warriors sweep the day.
Basiel Williams Jr.'s RBI-single helped the Bobcats begin their rally in the third, with Hutchinson's two-run double and
Gabe Lacy's RBI-single pulling JC within 5-4.
Bailee Hendon's two-run homer helped tie the game in the sixth.
But EC would come up with the go-ahead five runs – all with two outs – to hit JC with another tough loss in the bottom of the inning. An intentional walk got the wheels spinning for EC and they followed with runs off two RBI-singles, a wild pitch and error.
Jones went 1-2-3 in the seventh.
Tanner Knight went the distance for EC to improve to 4-0. JC used five pitchers, with
Cole Mozingo taking the loss in an inning of work.