ELLISVILLE – The No. 15 Jones College Bobcats had a tough day here at Community Bank Park Tuesday vs. No. 5 Meridian.
Trailing 2-1, the Eagles scored twice without a base hit in the seventh inning of game one and went on to defeat the Bobcats, 5-2. In game two, Meridian broke a 4-4 tie with three runs in the top of the seventh and defeated Jones, 7-5. Jones led 4-2 after four innings of that game.
The Bobcats, 30-12 overall and 15-7 in the MACCC, will host Mississippi Delta in a 2 p.m. doubleheader Saturday.
Meridian, 31-9 overall and 17-5 in the conference, travels to Northeast Saturday.
Meridian 5, Jones 2
The Bobcats took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when
Tristan Pearson (Biloxi) walked and
Gatlin Sanders (Madison Central) followed with a two-run home run to right.
The Eagles got on the board in the fifth when Chris Watson homered to left to make it 2-1.
In the top of the seventh, Ross Polizzi was hit by a pitch to start the inning. One out later, Watson was hit by a pitch. Rhett Ketchum then reached on an error to load the bases with one out.
A wild pitch scored Polizzi to tie the game. Dalton McIntyre was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and Cooper Chaplain was hit by a pitch to force in the go ahead run.
The Bobcats got a leadoff triple from
Josh Cary (Petal) in the bottom of the seventh and
Peyton Bell (Mobile, Alabama) was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and third with no outs. But a fly out to shallow right, a strikeout and a ground out ended the threat.
In the bottom of the eighth with one out,
Marquette Gibson (D'Iberville) and
Luke Lycette (Northwest Rankin) both walked and
Chase Honeycutt (DeSoto Central) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. But Cary lined into a double play to end the inning.
Sanders singled in the bottom of the ninth, but Jones got no other baserunners.
Starter
Eli Walker (Gulfport) pitched well for Jones. He went 5.0 innings, allowed one earned run, four hits, one walk and had two strikeouts.
Beau Bryans (Madison Central) went 1.2 innings and got the loss. He allowed two runs (one earned), no hits, walked none and struck out three.
Charlee Strickland (Northeast Jones),
Francisco Elvira (West Jones) and
Tate Duncan (Columbia Academy) also pitched for the Bobcats.
Sanders homered and singled twice with Cary getting a triple. Bryans,
Jakob Wax (Prairieville, Louisiana) and Gibson added singles.
Reliever Josh Taylor got the win for the Eagles. He tossed 1.1 innings, gave up a hit, no runs, walked two and struck out one. Seth McCartney went the final 1.2 innings and got a save, allowing no runs and one hit.
Watson homered and singled for MCC.
Meridian 7, Jones 5
The Bobcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Bell led off with a single off Ole Miss signee Gunnar Dennis and advanced two bases on consecutive wild pitches. Gibson singled Bell home and took second on a wild pitch. Sanders followed with a single and Wax's ground out scored Gibson.
Hays Carley (Columbia Academy) doubled Sanders home.
After MCC cut the lead to 3-2 in the third, Jones made it 4-2 in the fourth when Cary led off with a single and later scored on a passed ball.
The Eagles tied it at 4-4 with two in the fifth.
MCC scored three runs in the seven using a pair of RBI singles and a wild pitch to take a 7-4 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Sanders, Wax and Carley walked to load the bases with one out. Lycette then walked to force home a run, but a 1-2-3 double play ended the game.
Starter
Drew Druckenmiller (Mobile, Alabama) was charged with the loss. The Southern Miss signee went 6.2 innings, allowed seven runs (five earned), eight hits and three walks. He had six strikeouts.
Kace Matthews (West Jones) got the final out on a strikeout.
Gibson and Cary each singled twice for Jones. Carley had a double with Bell, Sanders and Honeycutt adding singles.
Reliever Waylon Sebren got the win, going 2.0 innings, allowing no runs, one hit and notching three strikeouts. McCartney got his second save of the day, getting the final two outs.
Study doubled and singled for MCC with McIntyre and Chaplain adding singles.
