ELLISVILLE –
Makynlie Jones (Vardaman) hit a walk-off, two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift No. 4 Jones College to a 7-5 victory over No. 14 East Central Saturday afternoon in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament at Community Bank Park/Gwen Magee Field.
The victory puts the Bobcats into the Ellisville Regional final at 2 p.m. Sunday vs. ECCC. The Warriors eliminated No. 6 Pearl River 5-3 on Saturday night. ECCC must beat the Bobcats twice to win the tournament.
The winner of the Ellisville Regional earns an automatic berth into the NJCAA Division II World Series May 20-25 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The winner of the Ellisville Regional plays the winner of the Wesson Regional on May 11 for the Gulf District championship.
After the Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, Jones answered with four runs in the bottom of the frame.
Meredith Fontenot (Lafayette, Louisiana) opened the inning with a home run to center.
With two outs,
Elise Jackson (Purvis) reached on an infield single, which advanced
Gracey Harbour (South Panola) – who had earlier singled – to second base. Brooklyn Montana (Gulfport) walked to load the bases and
Jayden Sawyer (Mobile, Alabama) followed with a two-run single.
Emily Mizelle's (Mobile, Alabama) single scored Montana and gave Jones a 5-1 lead.
But the Warriors tied it up in the fifth.
Sophia Romero and Janci Aube led off the inning with singles and Kaitlyn Jones was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Lauren Dunbar followed with a grand slam to left to tie it up at 5-5.
In the bottom of the eighth with one out, Mizelle doubled and Jones followed with her game-winning shot deep over the left field wall.
Reanna Nieman (Deer Park, Texas) entered the game in relief in the fifth and was solid in the final 4.0 innings. She allowed no runs, one hit, no walks and had three strikeouts to get the win. She is now 18-5 on the season.
Mizelle doubled and singled twice with Jackson getting three singles. Fontenot homered and singled and Sawyer singled twice. Jones homered and Harbour singled to round out the 12-hit Bobcat attack.
Dunbar homered and Jenna Chamblee doubled for the Warriors.
Aube pitched the final 4.2 innings and took the loss, falling to 12-0. She allowed two runs, four hits, walked one and struck out two.
