WESSON – It took just a few hours for emotions to swing wildly at Walter R. Sullivan Field on Wednesday, as No. 23 Copiah-Lincoln walked-off No. 2 Jones College, 4-3, in the opener before the Bobcats responded emphatically behind a
Brayson Graham no-hitter, 14-0, in the nightcap to earn a split.
Jones moved to 29-10 overall, 12-4 MACCC and Co-Lin moved to 24-15, 9-7 in league play.
The Bobcats travel to East Mississippi Saturday, April 11 for a 2 p.m. doubleheader.
Co-Lin 4, Jones College 3
The Wolves leaned on timely hitting and late-game execution to steal the opener in dramatic fashion.
Co-Lin struck first in the opening inning, manufacturing a run on a double-play ball to grab a 1-0 lead.
Jones answered in the second, taking advantage of free passes and a clutch two-out hit from
Gage Reeves, who doubled home a run before
Dakota Smith was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 2-1.
The Wolves kept pressure on throughout, tying the game in the third on Trey Davidson's RBI-double.
After a scoreless stretch, Co-Lin edged ahead in the seventh on a sacrifice bunt by Donovan Moore that plated Evan Holifield for a 3-2 lead.
Jones tied the game in the eighth when Reeves drove in his second run of the game on a groundout.
But in the ninth, the Wolves delivered the final blow. Davidson reached and later scored on a two-out, walk-off RBI-triple by Bradley Hanlon, sending Co-Lin to a 4-3 win.
The Wolves outhit Jones 11-4, with multiple hits from
Bryson Jones, Moore, Davidson and Holifield.
Nash Sturdivant (3-1) earned the win in relief, while
Trevor Hodges (6-1) suffered his first loss of the season for Jones.
Jones College 14, Co-Lin 0 (5 inn.)
The Bobcats wasted no time flipping the script in the nightcap — and this one was never in doubt.
Jones exploded for eight runs in the first two innings, highlighted by
Chase Russell's leadoff home run (11) and a flurry of RBI hits from
Dylan Champagne,
Eli Wheat and Reeves.
The offensive onslaught continued with multi-run innings in the third, fourth and fifth as Jones piled up 14 runs on 14 hits.
Champagne and
Sanders Ainsworth each drove in three runs, while Russell scored three times and added three RBIs.
That was more than enough support for Graham (4-2), who was dominant on the mound. The right-hander tossed a five-inning no-hitter, striking out eight while working around five walks to completely silence the Wolves' lineup.