1996

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WEEK OF

ECCC Begins Baseball Action By Hosting Delta Baseball season gets under- The ECCC hurlers are led by way February 14 at East Central sophomore Willis Lally of Marcus Thames, a product of Community College in Decatur, Breaux Bridge, LA, who posted a Louisville High School, is the and all indications point to 3-1 mark in 1995. Clark said Lally ''big surprise" on this year's another successful campaign for has added velocity and better staff. Clark said Thames looked head coach Jamie Clark and his off-speed pitches this year. He good in high school but has since Diamond Warriors. has already committed to conti- added weight and velocity. His ''The biggest difference in this neu his athletic career at the fast ball was clocked at 89 miles year's team compared to the '95 University of Southwestern per hour during a recent practice squad concerns attitude and Louisiana. game. work habits. Last year's team Also returning on the mound Also expected to help out on never really came together as a is Joey Rigdon of Decatur who the mound is freshman Jason unit; too many guys we were was 4-2 last year. Clark said Latham of Morton who has a counting on did not surface as Rigdon has a "very good" curve "great'' arm but needs to gain we thought. But this year's play- ball and "just really enjoys being experience to become even more ers made up their minds in fall a pitcher." successful, Clarkadded. practice that 1996 was going to Louisville product Ray Ivy Another team strength is the be a season that everyone pulls will see plenty of mound action. infield where many talented together," said Coach Clark. Clark said Ivy has a good off- players are battling for positions. Clark stated the team's off- speed assortment of pitches. The defense is led by Lambert, season workouts should play a Hurler Mark Davis of Stonew- who has been described as the big part in helping produce all split time in 1995 with Brooks best defensive short stop in MS another winning campaign. Bryan of Philadelphia as the by some scouts. Dumas, a second Coach Clark said thre are ''bullpen ace" but had some arm baseman, is a great. competitor, many ''keys" to a successful '96 trouble last fall. He is expected to as is Lambert, Clark Said. campaign, which begins at 1 fully recover and should have a Clark said his main concern is p.m. Wednesday against visiting productive season. team hitting. His other concern is Mississippi Delta in a non- Clark is also expecting a lot replacing several key players division double-header. from his freshmen pitchers, led from last year's squad. For the Diamond Warriors to by southpaw Kenny Estep of After EC opens with Delta, the have a successful offensive out- Bastop, LA, who posted a 17-1 Diamond Warriors host put, Clark said lead-off hitter high school mark in 1995, Alabama-Southern in a single Carey Lambert, a sophomore in- "throws very hard" and has an contest beginning at 2 p.m. on fielder from Gonzales, LA, and "excellent" curve ball. Friday, February 16.

freshman infielder Nick Dumas of Chatom, AL, who bats second, must get on base and produce runs. They will be followed (in order) by freshman outfielder Brandon Williams, also of Gon– zales, LA; sophomore outfield Greg McBride of Newton; fresh– man pitcher I outfielder Marcus Thames of Louisville; first base– man Eric Butler of Clarkdale; freshman first baseman Ray Ivy of Louisville and sophomore outfielder Tommy Bost of Phi– ladelphia. Last season McBride batted .290 and had five home

ECCC 1996 Baseball Schedule

Date February 14 Febraury16 February 17 February23 February24 Febraury27

Oponent Delta Alabama Southern Delta Wallace Selma Holmes East Miss. Holmes Bevill

nme. 1p.m. 2p.m. I p.m. 12noon

Place Decatur Decatur* Moorhead Selma Decatur* Scooba* Goodman• Fayatte, AL• Decatur Decatur"'

1p.m. 3p.m. 1 p.m. 1p.m. 3p.m. 5p.m. 4p.m. 3p.m. 6p.m. I p.m. 2p.m. 3p.m. 6p.m.

Marchi March2 MarchS March8 March9 March 14 March 15 March 16 March 19 March21 March22

Pearl River Northwest

Copiah-Lincoln Wallace-Selma

Wesson Decatur Decatur*

APPEAJ: runs, while Bost hit .277 and collected 27 RBS's. CART One of the team's major NESH strengths entering the '96 season NEW~ is the pitching staff, Clark CLAR stressed, which features out- standing returnees and several promising freshmen.

Three Rivers Three Rivers Southwest Jackson State Northeast

Decatur Decatur Decatur* Booneville•

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• Single games All other games are double-headers.

Coaches: Jamie Oark, Ricky Harrison, DavidMartin

WEEK 0 F _--l.l(.piL-__u..l0:.._·-l,q.,J::::(p_ _ _

Cooley-inks with Phillies

I Fonner East Central Community College and Newton County High S~hool standout Shannon Cooley of Htckory has signed a professional baseball contract with the Philadel– phia Phillies. Cooley was taken in the 24th

round. Thts pa~t year at Northeast Louisiana, Coole) batted .346 "'ith 23 doubles and seven home runs He scored 55 runl> and stole 27 bases. H1~ 74 hits th1~ spring arc \he schoor:. record.

La. Tech bound East Central Community College center fielder Tommy Bost of Neshoba Central has signed a sch?l~rship to play at Lou1s1ana Tech next spring. This spring he bat· ted .336 with 1 0 doubles 10 triples, seven hom~ runs and 43 RBis. He was named first-team all-con– ference.

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Gressett named to All-Star team . Don Gressett of Lake has signed o baseball scholarship with East Central Community Co ege in Decatur. Playing for the Lake Hornets Gressett posted o record of six wins and three :osses wth on ERA of 1.56. In the 49. 3 innings he pitched during his senior year. Gressett threw 82 str:Keouts. Don was selected to ploy In the Mississippi High School All-Star baseball game to be PiOyed at Taylor Field on the USM campus in Hattiesburg Saturday night at 7: p.m.

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WEEK OF S· J..7- q"

WOOD SIGNS WITH ECCC - Greg Wood (seated at left) of Newton County High School recently signed a national letter-of– intent to continue his baseball career at East Central Community College. Wood, a third baseman/first baseman, led the cougars in home runs with 11 and is expected to provide plenty of offensive power for the Diamond Warriors next year. Wood is shown during , signing ceremonies with ECCC head baseball coach Jamie O ark (seated at right) and his parents (standing) ·Mr. and Mrs. Keith Wood ofDecatur. (EC Photo)

CHANEY SIGNS WITH ECCC - Jeremy Chaney (seated at left) of_, . Newton County High School recently signed a national letter-of– APPEAl intent to continue his baseball career at East Central Community College. Chaney, an outfielder, hit eight h ome runs for the Cougars CART this past season and is expected to provide plenty of offensive NESH power for tile Diamond Warriors next year. Chaney is shown NEWl during signing ceremonies with ECCC head baseball coach Jamie CL.AR Clark (seated at right) and his parents (standing) Mr. and Mrs. 'Eugene Chaney of Decatur. (EC photo)

:OUNTY TIMES.____ u>PEAL.____ _ N COUNTY JOURNAL.___ lN STAR.____

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s alive

Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star

Gulf Coast's Heath Kelly, left, collides with tea

Deason as he attempts to make a throw to first base.

the top of the third mrung, t e Warriors put together fou r con– secuti\'C hit:, - after a Bulldog error - and puo:hed acros~ four runs to go out in front 1-1. a lead they never rehnqui,;hed. Cary Lambert' hm-nm dou– ble was the biggest hit of the

rnlly. wlltlc Brandon Williams added an RBI-single • Gulf Coast 8, ECCC 2: In the opener, GulfCoa~;tjust sim– ply did everything right and put the Warriors away quickly. See ECCC, Page 38 -<

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Warriors keep playoff ECCC splits with visiting Gulf Coast By Ricky Sullivan The Mer dian Star

\;\;\; Cont nued from page 1 B

DECATUR - It's one thing to know 'vhat you've got to do in order to qualify for the play– offs, but it's quite another to accomplish the feat. Coach Jamie Clark's Warriors of East Central entered Saturday's game need– ing to win at least one game of their South Division double– header with Gulf Coast Community College, and that's just what they did. After losing the opening game 8-2 to the South Division champion Bulldogs, the Warriors managed to salvage the crucial split. "We knew we had to come out and beat a great team at least one game today, and we did that," Clark said. "We would have liked to have -.:wept, but we didn't With the split, the Warriors moved to 30-19 over 1!1 and 14- 9 in the league, but must wait on the re::,ults of the Hinds and Jones County contest before determining exactly where they stand in the playoffformat. The Bulldog-.. who have already clinched a spot in the playoffs. went to 35-15 and 19- 4. To earn the all-important split, ClaTk turned to freshman lefthander Kenny Estep, who held the talented Bulldogs in

The Bulldogs got an excellent pitching performance fro m Terrell Dea,on, whq ran his sea- on recol"d to 9-1. Deason scat– tered the hits, ::-truck out seven and ga\e up only one earned om - a so]o homer by ECCC's .J.ason Lathem. . "(Dea,.on) ts the best p1tcher \\'e've "een all venr and we've seen him twtce-and .he's domi– nated us both times " Cla rk said. "He's JUSt an experienced college pitcher." The Bulldog' jumped out in front 5-0 after four innings of play- behind Anthony Green's :two-run ,..,mgle i'l the third and Eric Hogue',:, two-run homer in the fourth - and never looked back. Green had a n incredible day at the plate for the Bulldogs , oing 6-for- w1th ~ix singles.

Lalley came in to get the save, "I got a little tired there in the end and couldn't seem to get the last out," Estep said. "But we knew what we hod to do and went out and got the job d01w." After falling behind 1-0 in

check until late in the ::;eventb mning when they struck for a pair of runs on three hits. Up until that point, Estep (9- 5) had only allowed five hits. But after two outs in the la:.t frame, the Bulldogs started to get lo the freshman and Willi"

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EC's fate rests with games at Jones By MARTY STAMPER Democrat sports editor bottom of the lir.,t 'With a ~ingle for the \\ar– rior!> only hit of the contest M .. reu... Thame~ (0-3) took the loss as EC committed ,e,en errors. of the thud \\ ith two coming on a home run b) Brandon \\ 1lllam,. EC', Tomm) Bo~t had a pair of double , \\hlle C3.1) Lambert and Greg McBride each had a n)e and a double. Kenn> Estep (S-4)

The East Central Community College Warriors won just two of six baseball games last week but still managed to improve the1r position in the race for a Region 23 Touma– ment berth as Jones went 0-4. EC is I-2-7 in league play, wh1le Jones I'> 10-9. At 16-2. Gulf Coast seems a lod. fo r the top spot from the South Di vision. EC visits Jones today and hosb Gull Coast on Saturday. Both are I p.m. twinbills. • Itawamba 17-5, EC 1-1: The Wanior~· week got off to a dismal start w1th a pair of losses to !tawamba on April 16 in Decatur. In the opener. Jason Latham led off the

In the second game. Thame' led EC \\Jth a smgle and a double The \\'amors led 1-0 after an uming. but a three-run e.. me gave Ita\\ amha the lead for ~ood I Lltha (1-4 took the los for _b- " EC • Hind., h- 1. rc 3-ll: The \\amors Eagh:-. '~ In a p.ur of game, Titursda~ aft_er– noon at Ra) m nd In the opener. EC led 3-2 unul HinJ, -.co11:J tour run' 10 the bottom of the t1fth. 1\Jo,t ot the dan .tge c. .~mc on a three-run homer h) .-\mh Steven-;. 1 he \\ am11r:- 'cored three n111s t!l the top

the

-3 nllo\\ ed on I) one run Ill and ,;ot :Ul the offen e he nee1.kd

\\hen the \\amors ract..ed up rune run\ m the 1 p of th. ~nd mmng Bo!>t had a grand :ht the upn,mg. ~larcu Th me:. had a homer and a o;ingli! tnr EC freddse Gemr~ had a smgk and uuuble. "htle ~kBride and Enc Butler t h had a double , the Wamors put the run r1le tnto effect alter fl, e mnings. EC', record went to 11-6 in the Sl h lam 1 h

today, Gulf Coast Saturday

Division and 27-16 overall. Hinds went to I0-4 and 18- 12 • EC S-5, Hinds l -6: The Warriors and Eagle~ '>plit another twinbill Saturday after– noon 111 Decatur. In "inning the opener, Cary Lambert reached on an error and scored on a double pl,t) tn the bottom of the fifth to snap a 1-1 tie. Jonathan Crowe added a pair of in!>urance run~ \\-Hh a homer in the sixth. l\hck Gamt) Iatt:r smgled and scored in that inmng. Joe> Rigdon (5- I) aiJo,\ ed onl~ one run and five hits to get the win. He <;truck out II\ C. Andy Lee (4-4) took the lo~s despite gi\ • mg up JUSt ~ix hits. ~lareus Thames had a pa1r of s1ngles for

EC, while Wes Muse homered for Hinds. In the nightcap, EC starter Jason Latham gave up four runs in just I 1/3 innings as the Warriors were unable to complete the sweep. EC led 3-0 after one inning, before the Eagles scored four times in the second. Steven Hester's solo homer off Willis Lally (8-4) to start the sixth snapped a 5-5 tie and proved to be decisive. Marcus Thames had a single and a double to drive in a pair of oms for the Warriors. Tommy Bost had a ~acrifice fly while two Warrior runs scored on a botched pickoff try. Brian Compton (6-2) got the win. EC"s record went to 12-7 tn the South Division and 28-17 overall. Hinds went to Il-5and 19-13.

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~iamond. Girls ~t East Central Commu, 7Y Col ege are (front row from left) Whitney Salter Tonya Cov– mgt?n; J11J ~artm, Heather Eakes, Jess ca .". arren second row) Tonya Williamson Stephanie Cook Chnst1~a . M11Jer, Nesa G:essett. KePdra Gage ~·ro row) Lanette Lynch , Karen McRae Erica Rober~ son, V1ck1 Adcock, and A1mee Chandler. '

Juco South (Through April14) Dlv.

All

Gulf Coast

12·2 27-11 7-3 15-11 10·5 26-13 10-5 25-9 7-9 16-16 4-14 13-21

Hinds

East Central

Jones

Pearl River

Copiah·Uncoln

9-26

Southwest

3-15

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WEEK OF __ ...,._.:....1.._~

ECCC stays in thick of playoff chase The East Central Commumty College Warriors went 5-1 on the diamond last week to run their over– all record to 26-13. They need only five more wins in their remaining II games to break the school record set last spring. At 10 5 in the South Division, the Warriors still have a good shot at making the state tournament and Region 23 Division I tournament. Friday's scheduled contest at Holmes was postponed due to a seri– ou~ automobile accident involving the wife of Bulldog coach Quinby Morgan the previous day. Four games involving EC and Hinds th1s week will help son out the playoft p1cture. EC hosts the Eagles Saturday at I p.m. • EC 16, East Mississippi 2: The Warriors hammered 17 hits to grab the April 8 wm at Decatur. Tommy Bost had three singles to lead EC's off ens~.-. Greg McBride had a single and a triple, while Marcus Thames and Jonathan Crowe both had a single and a double Brandon Williams added a pair of singles. The 22-12 Warriors took a 5-0 lead m the bottom of the first with Bost having a two-run single and Crowe ripping an RBI-double. Thames added a two-run double in the sixth Craig Yowell, the founh of five EC hurlers. got the win with two mmng~ of scoreless relief to run his record to 1-0. EaM Mississippi fell to 10-16. • EC 6-4, Copiah-Lincoln S-0: Wilhs Lally tossed a one-hitter in the Ap1il 10 mghtcap in Decatur as the Warriors completed a sweep to By MARTY STAMPER Democrat sports editor

Members of the East Central Community College baseball team from Neshoba County (from left) are catcher Bryan Madison, infielder Jonathan Jones, outfielder Tommy Bost, and pitcher Craig Vowell. The 26-13 Warriors are slated to host Hinds in a key division doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. in Decatur. improve to 24-12 overall and 8-4 in the South Division. Lally struck out five and walked only one Wolf to improve to 7-3. Jonathan Crowe, Cary Lambert, and Mick Garrity each had a single. Eric Stokes (3-4) took the loss. Mark Jones and Chris Hill each had two single!> for Co-Lin.

Estep tossed a three-hiller in the five-inning blowout Sunday after– noon at Decatur to improve to 8-3. The Warriors gave him more than enough suppon with nine runs in the bottom of the first inning. Marcus Thames had an R BI-double, while former Louisville teammate Ray Ivy · followed with a run-scoring single. Jones then issued five straight walks and mixed in an assortment of passed balls and wild pitches before Brandon Williams had a two-ruh triple and scored the ninth run on another wild pitch. EC added two more runs in the second inning after again receiving five consecutive walks with two outs. Of EC's five hits, Williams had two with a si ngle and a triple. Tommy Bost had a single. The second game was suspended due to heavy rain with Jones holdin a 3-2 lead in the top of the third. Th contest will be resumed at that point on April29. Jones got its runs in the top of the first on four hit\. EC got doubles from Cary Lam, bert and Thames to score twice in the bottom of the first off Bobcat ace Ryan Kennedy. Both teams went to 10-5 in th South Division. EC is 26-13 overall while Jones is 25-9.

EC scored in the bottom of the first when Brandon Williams ingled and cored on a throwing error in a rundown following Marcus Thames' double. Nick Dumas scored on a passed ball in the fifth. Eric Butler had an RBI-single in the sixth, while Jonathan Jones' infield grounder scored EC's fourth run. Marcus Thames had a single and a double for EC, while Tommy Bost had a single. Chris Ard (2-3) took the loss as Co-Lin fell to 13-19-1 overall and 4- 12 in the South. In the opener, EC led 5-2 entering the top of the seventh only to have Co-Lin draw even with three runs. Joey Rigdon (3-1) came on in relief of Kenny Estep to get the win. In the bottom of the seventh , Jason Latham led off with a walk and went to third on a single by Bost. Thames singled in the winning run. Bost had tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first with a massive two-out homer to right field. Dumas went 3-for-3 with three singles to lead EC's offense. Greg McBride added a double, while

• EC 10-3, Southwest 3-4: The Warriors spill a twinbill at Summ1t Saturday. In the opener, Joey Rigdon (4-1) tossed a six-hit complete game, strik– ing out five Bear~. Carey Lambert bad a double and a home run, \\ hi1e Marcus Thames bad two singles and a triple. Ray Ivy added a single and a double. The Warriors scored three runs in the top of the third, added four more in the fifth, and closed with a three– run seventh. All three Southwest runs came in the s1xth and were unearned. David Guy toot... the loss. In the nightcap, Thames had a single and a homer. while Lambert also hit a four-bagger to lead EC. Tommy Bost hit his ninth triple of the year. Jason Latham (1-3) took the loss, while Brad McCrol) got the \\oll1. The Bears fought back from a 2-1 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. EC's record went to 25- 13 overall and 9-5 in the division. Southwest's went to 9-26,3-15. • EC 11, Jones 1: EC's Kenny

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WEEK OF

\ ECCC OUTFIELDERS - Outfielders on the East Central Commu.nity College baseball team for the 1996 campaign include (kneeling fr~m left) Brandon Williams of Gonzales, LA and Coby Miller of Louisville, and (standing from left) GregMcBride of Newton, Monte McMullan of Stonewall, Tommy Bost of Philadelphia and Danny Hight of Leakesville. The Diamond Warriors are led by head coach Jamie Clark and assistant David Martin. (EC Photo)

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Etcc PITCHERS • Pitchers on the East Central Community College baseball 'team'lor the 1996 ca~paign include (kneeling from left) Joey Rigdon of Decatur, Tony, ~.er~zo, f?l !-~~~;]~~§.n'Latham of M~rton, Willis Lally of Breaux Bridge, LA and (standing from left) RaY. Ivy ,9f ~~p,mv!IJ.~, Q.'~ig yowell of Philadlephia, Mark Davis of Stonewall, Coleman Smith of L-eake~ ville, K.ell?Y..E~t~}JJ,'JJastrop, LA; Marcus Thames of Louisville and Germaine Chambers of Noxapater. The Diamond Wap-iros are led

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MERlDIAN STAR__________

WEEK 0 F __ LJ;_. _ ,_-.;__.:.._i - - - --

P8ul• Merritt/The Meridian Star ltawamba's ..Jacob Bruce beats the throw home to East Central's M1ck Garrity East Central Warrior,s lose a pair to visiting Itawamba

From Staff Reports

do the nght thing:s and East Central continued to struggle as the Indian~ :·mept the Warriors. The indians stole a total of nine ba1'es on the aftemoon and never made an error. .Jn;;:on Lathem, now 1-4, was saddled with the lo. 1n the :;econd contest. "Tht•y just came down here and pretty much showed us who the boss was," ECCC coach Janue Clark said. "The) showed us how the game \\OS to be pla)ed andju::;t t.'Ompletely dom– mated us from :::tart to finish." The Warriors \"l~it Hmcls Community College Thursday at 2 p m for a crucial :South Division doubleheader

East Central Communit) College's Warriors dropped a twinbill to vi:·dting Itawamba Community College Tuesday bv scores of 17-1 and 5-l. In the first contest, the Warriors Jed off the bottom of the first with a bal'c hit but didn't get another one for the remainder of the conte;;t. In the meantime, the lnd1an:- took full advantage of seven East Central mi;;cue.... to put n e game away in five innings. ~larcus Tha~es, now 0-3. wa" handed the loss m the opemng malchup. In t he second game, Itawamba continued to

APPEAl CAR 1

NESH

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WEEK OF __ ..:!~:....Llu....._- ...,q~l<' ----

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ECCC DIAMOND WARRIORS...These athlete from l\eshoba County are members of the East Central Community College baseball team for tb~ 1996 campaign. From left are catcher, Bryan Madison, infielder, Jonathan Jones and outfielder. Tommy Bost, all of Nesboba Central, and pitcher, Craig Vowell, a product of PbiJadelphia High School. The Diamond Warriors are coached by Jamie Clark and assistant Da,·id :\tartin.

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Ec,cc t-ake·s- tn re-e I from Iowa Blue Jays Warriors win 17 of last 20

C') n3:S: mO Oz !X'~ () s

the March 26 fi rs t-game win tn Decatur. The Warriors scored twice in the first, fourth, and fifth frames as Pcro zo improved to 1-0. Brandon Wi lliams and Jonathan Crowe each had a double for EC. The Warriors added another win by forfeit in the nightcap. • EC J8, Iowa Western-Clarin– da 0: The Warriors got a two-hit per– formance from Joey Rigdon to take Friday's win at Decatur. Rigdon struck out seven as he evened his record at 1- 1. Cary Lambert had three hits for the 20-9 Warriors, while Eric Butler had two hits and drove in four runs. The Warriors have won 17 of their last 20 games after a 3-6 start.

By MARTY STAMPER Democrat sports editor

The Eas t Central Community College Warriors ran their record to 20-9 with a three-game sweep over the Iowa Western-Clarinda Blue Jays in last week 's baseball action. South Division doubleheaders with Hinds and Jones were rained out and have been rescheduled. The Jones twinbill has been set for April l4 in Decatur. The Hinds dou– blehead er has been tentative ly rescheduled for April 18 at Ray– mond. • EC 6-7, Iowa Western-Clarin– da 0-0: Tony Perozo pitched a one– hit shutout against the Blue Jays as the Warriors improved to 18-9 with ~·

ECCC catcher Bryan Madison chases a foul ball in recent action.

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baseball scholarship with East ·central

( ted) of Philadelphia recently slgnpe~ a d Bobby Hardy and Tornadoes coach

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Bnan Hardy sea hown are his parents am an Community Coll~ge. AHisods ·s currently 3-2 on the mound. Scott Hill (back nght). ar Y '

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ECCC TOP HITTERS- Expected to provide plenty of offensive power for the East Central Community College Diamond Warriors this season are the above sluggers (from left) Nich Dumas of Chatom, AL; Tommy Bost, Philadelphia; Cary Lambert, Gonzales, LA; Greg McBride, Newton; Brandon Williams, Gonzales, LA; Jonathan Crowe, Cleveland; Jonathan Jones, Philadelphia; Ray Ivy, Lousiville; Eric Butler, Clarkdale; and Marcus Thames, Louisville. The Diamond Warriors are coached by Jamie clark and assistant David Martin. (EC Photo)

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ECCC DIA.'\iO. :0 WARRIORS - These student athletes from Newton County are members of the East Central Community College baseball team for the 1996 campaign. From left are sophomore pitcher Joey R.gdon of Decatur, freshman infielder Freddie Gentry of Hickory and sophomore outfielder Greg ~icBride of ~ewton. The Diamond Warriors are coached by Jamie Clark (head) and David Martin bsstittnu. (EC Photo)

ECCC INFIELDERS - Infielders on the East Central Community College baseball team for the 1996 APP season include (kneeling from left) Cary Lambert of Gonzales, LA; Nick Dumas of Chatom, AL; Freddie Gentry, Hickory; and Jay McLendon, Belzon i; and (standing, from left) Jonathan Jones, Ci Philadelphia; Ray Ivy, Louisville; Eric Butler, Oarkdale; Eric Cook, Carthage; and Jonathan Crowe, Nl Cleveland. The Diamond Warriors are led by head coach Jamie Clark and assistant David Martin. (EC N ffiPftJN KEC U 1UJ / n u" oJ .&. v 1 " '-''-' '·.n .. .. • , -

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Diamond lVaniors These Scott County alnletes ere members of the East Central Community Corlege baseball team for the 1996 campaign. Tony Perozo em of _c"e s a sophomore pitcher and Jason Latham JS a freshmen hurler from Morton. The Diamond Warriors are coacned oy Jamie Clark and assistant David Martin.

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akes pair from

Co-Lin, State splits

From combined reports Ea:st Central Communtl\ College's Warrior,., continued their winning Y.ay.... 'aturda) a!; they swept a twmbJII from home– standing Copiah Lincoln. The Warriors have no" put together a 3-game win streak. all three in leagut' play. to imprm:t 8-7 overall. ECCC has also nO\\ won five of their last s1x contestl'. In the first game. the Warnors overcame .1 5-4 defiCJl to capture a 9-5 victory. Trailmg 5-4 in lht' :-eventh inmng, Brandon WiJhams Jed off the fr ame with a double before Louisville product Ra\ h·y canw on and drilled a two-out double to unload the bases us the• Warriors exploded for five unan– swered pomts to cla1m the win. Kenny Estep. now 4-2. struck– out three and gave up six hits to cla im t he v ictorv for ECCC, while Kerrv Lambert led the Warrior eight-hit attack w1th a pair of s ingles. In the n ightcap, t he Warr ior:;' .J onathan Crowe broke open a scoreless contest with a two-run single in the fifth inning on ECCC's \\ay to a 6-1 division win. Willis Lalley, now 3-2. went the di~ta nce for the Warriors wh ile fanning six and allowing seve n h its. Greg McBride. a Newton graduate, had a double fo r the Warriors. Next action for the \\'arrior-. will come Thursd

College Baseball • Florida 10-4, Mississipp St 0-7: Brian Clark and Brat Freeman each hit RBI singles i1 the eighth inning a~ l\1ississipp <.. e earned a doubleheude1 spill by beating Flonda 7-4 ir the second game or ll .;;, llthea~tern Conference base· ball series. Flotida !14-5. l-ll. which Mw its five-game winning streak bro– ken by that loss, won the first game 10-0. In the second game, E~ic DuBose 1:3-0l struck out 10 to earn the complete-game \'ictory for .i\llsstssippi State IR-5, 11 1 .• The Florida Gaton.' .Josh Fogg (2-lJ took the loss for the second game. In the first game, Chris Chism and Eric Castaldo (•ach hH two-run homers and Tomnw Brewer 14-01 pitched a fivt•-hi't "hutout Keith Oilgard 10-2l took the loss. • Ba ylor 6 , Southern Miss 5: The Ba\'lor Bears got a p.1 of unearned runs 1 n th(.• top of the ninth inning Saturday to s(~al ,a 6-5 victory frotJ! Southt·rn ~Ii,.,s, The lo:-;s for thl' Golden Eagles I 9-41 snapped n 16-game home winning streak. dating ba£~ to last season. Baylor tmprovt·d to 10·7 with the VICtory The Bears struck for a pa11· of run!'\ in the eighth 1nn ing Qff Hl'ath Cantrelle t2-l 1 to clo!'-e what had heen a 5-2 deficit to !). i

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:CCC Baseball Team Members of the 1996 East Central Community College baseball squad nclude, (from left, front) shortstop Jason Bailey, Brandon; second baseman Nick )umas, Chatom, Ala.; outfielder Brandon Williams, Gonzales, La.; pitcher Jason atham, Morton; pitcher Tony Perozo, Lake; pitcher Joey Rigdon, Decatur; out– ielder Greg McBride, Newton; third baseman Freddie Gentry, Hickory; middle, etcher Mike Garrity, Slidell, La.; catcher Bryon Madison, Philadelphia; pitcher Nillis Lolly, Breaux Bridge, La.; shortstop Cary Lambert, Gonzales, La.; third >aseman Jonathon Crowe, Philadelphia; outfielder Coby Miller, Louisville, and

outfielder Donny Hight, leakesville; bock, outfielder Monty McMullan, Stonewall, outfielder Tommy Bost, Philadelphia; third baseman Jonathan Jones, Philadel phia; pitcher Craig Vowell, Philadelphia; pitcher Mark Davis, Stonewall, pitche Coleman Smith, Leakesville, first baseman Eric Butler, Clarksdale, pitcher Kenn} Estep, Bastrop, La.; outfielder Marcus Thames, Louisville, first baseman Eric Coo Carthage; first baseman Ray Ivy, Louisville; catcher Steve Ricks, Carthage; an pitcher Germaine Chambers, Noxapater.

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EMCC uses seven-run seventh inning to overcome visiting Warriors By Ricky Su llivan The Meridian Star

players build confidence." The Warriors established a 4-0 lead in the sixth inning with Jonathan Crowe's two– run homer and Willis Lalley's four shutout innings doing the most damage. But the Lions made it a 4-3 ballgame in the bottom of the sixth frame. Brian Goodman got EMCC started v.;th a solo home run to open the inning, while Mack Snell sin~led and scored on a ECCC double-play and Shane Gonzales scored off f Brodie We._.'- RBI-.:.·u.a,.:;.<..,. The W" am tbree-nm ,pun m t.'le .ap of the -.evcnth . T·::::.:ny Bo~t led off with a single and later scored on Crowe's double. After one out, Crowe and Marcus Thames, who had singled, managed to cross the plate on Cary Lambert's sacrifice-fly. But disaster struck for the Warriors' pitching staff in the bottom-half of the inning as the Lions sent 11 men to the plate and erupted for seven runs. ECCC used two different pitchers in the frame, walking four, before Craig Vowell came on and col– lected the final out. "What it boils down to is Estep just couldn't get them out and when we brought Thames in it got even worse," Clark said. "But Vowell came in and did a good \job again like he has everytime we've used him this year. Maybe its time I woke up and started throwing him a little more." Estep started the inning by walking the

first two Lion batters before getting the next two out with infield grounders. But two pitches later, Shane Gonzales parked a three-run shot over the right-center field fence to make it 7-6. "What was so big about that hit was the fact that (Gonzales) has been struggling and it would have been easy to make an out there, but he got his hands extended and drove the ball well with a perfect swing," Baldner said. Jeffrey Murphy followed with a "ingle, an t en hame• entere t e onlt'St. El\ICC pinch-hitter Jimmy Cockrell then delivered a three-run double down the left field line, 'giving the Lions a 9-7 advantage. EMCC added an insurance run when Thames made a throwing error to first, allowing Cockrell to come home. Byron Harris collected the win for the Lions, while Jay Wasdworth was credited with the save. The Lions, now 3-4, will host Merdian Communtity College today at 2 p.m., while the Warriors slipped to 3-6 and will visit Holmes Friday for a 1 p.m. contest. ecce .o1o 021 3oo - 1 11 4 EMCC 000 003 70x - 10 10 1 WP- Byron Harris (1-0). LP - Marcus Thames (0-2). 2B - Jonathan Crowe, Ray Ivy (2), ECCC. J1mmy Cockrell, EMCC. HR - Crowe, ECCC; Brian Goodman, Shane Gonzales, EMCC. Multiple hitters ...:.. Crowe, Thames, Ivy (3), ECCC; Gonzales, Jeff Murphy EMCC.

SCOOBA - To steal a phrase made famous years ago by the late, great Yogi Berra: "It ain't over til it's over." The same still holds true today, and the East Central Community College Warriors found out the hard way Tuesday when the homestanding East Mississippi Lions rallied from behind and captured a hard-fi ught 10- ; ,;ctocy mer their rival:> '"\Ve reall~· had the game put awa~ tWlce. I thought, but basically you\·e got to g~ve credit to (EMCC) for coming back," ECCC coach Jamie Clark said. "Too many times when the game is over the losing team doesn't want to give credit where credit is due, but they put the ball in play when they needed to, and when the game was on the line they made the defensive plays and we didn't." Twice the Warriors held 4-run leads (4-0 and 7-3), but both times the Lions respond– ed with rallies. The second time around in the seventh inning, the Lions exploded for seven runs to capture their first lead of the afternoon - a lead they never relinquished. ''We just stayed patient at the plate and the next thing you know we put a couple of balls in play and that got us back into it," EMCC coach Bill Baldner said. "We are a young team learning to play on the college level and comebacks like this helps your

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Paula Merritt/The Meridian Su East Mississippi's Shane Gonzales runs down and tags out East Central's Marcus Thames between third and home

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will host Holmes Saturday several key players from last year's squad who include: 1) pitcher Jason Wilkins of Enterprise who posted an 11-2 mark and Wih named All Region 23 and All South Divi5ion; 2) tbird baseman Ricky John of Philadelphia, a two-year starter who batted .375 and was selected All Region 23 and All-State; 3) Brooks Bryan of Philadelphia, a two-year starter in center field who was also a successfu l pitcher and became ECCC's all-time base !-.lealer last year: and 4) Will Mcleod of Louisville, and out-

standing defensive catcher who threw out 14 runners in ' 95. After East Central opened with Delta. the Diamond Warriors hosted Alabama Southern in a single contest on Friday. February 16.

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Warrior baseballers open at 2-3; Baseball season is underway at East Central Community College in Decatur, and all indications point to another successful cam– paign for head coach Jamie Clark and his Diamond Warriors. have a successful offensive out– put, Clark said lead-off hitter Carey Lambert, a sophomore infielder from Gonzales,

action. Clark said Ivy has a good off-speed assortment of pitches. Hurler Mark Davis of Stonewall spin time in 1995 with Brooks Bryan of Philadelphia as the "bullrcn ace" but had some arm trouble last fall However, he is expected to fully recover and should ha"e a productive season. Clark is also expecting a lot from his freshmen pitchers, led by southpaw Kenny Estep of Bastrop, Louisiana. Estep, who posted a 17-1 high school mark in 1995, "throws veT) hard'' and has an "excellent" curve ball. Marcus Thames. a product of Louisville High School. is the "big surprise·· on this year's staff. Clark said Thames looked good in high school but has since added weight (about 15 pounds) and velocity. His fast ball was clocked at 89 miles per hour dur– ing a recent practice game. Also expected to help out on the mound is freshman Jason Latham of Monon who has a "great" arm but needs to gain experience to become even more. successful, Clark added. Another team strength is the infield where many talented play– ers are battling for positions. The 'defense is led by Lambert who has been described as the best defensive short stop in Mississippi by some scouts. "He has a great arm and good speed, and is even stronger than last year." Clark said. and added, Dumas is learning to switch-hit and has great athletic ability. Clark said his main concern is team hitting, which he hopes will come together. The Warriors will host Holmes this Saturday at 1:00 p.m. His other concern is replacing

Louisiana, and freshman infield– er Nick Dumns of Chatom, Alabama. who bats \ccond. must get on base and produce runs. They will be followed (in order) by freshman outfielder Brandon Williams, also of Gonzales, sophomore ou tfielder Greg McBride of Newton, freshman pitcher/outfielder Marcus Thames of Louisville, first base– man Eric Butler of Clarkdale, freshman fir~t baseman Ray Ivy of Louisville and sophomore out– fielder Tommy Bost of Philadelphia. Last season McBride batted .290 and had five home runs, while Bost hit .277 and c.ollected 27 RBI's. Clark said Butler had a great fall practice, as did Williams and McBnde. One of the team's major strengths entering the '96 season is the pitching staff, Clark stressed, which features out– standing returnees and several promising freshmen. The ECCC hurlers are led by sophomore Willis Lally of Breaux Bridge. Louisiana, who posted a 3-l mark in 1995. Clark said Lally has added velocity and better off-speed pitches this year. He has already committed to con– tinue his athlct1c career at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. Also returning on the mound is Joey Rigdon of Decatur who was 4-2 last year. Clark said Rigdon has a "very good" curve ball and "just really enjoys being a pitcher as he clearly demonstrates." Louisville product Ray Ivy will also see plenty of mound

Last year ECCC posted a record 30 season victories and Coach Clark expects his team to continue its winning ways, espe– cially if the talent-ladened Warriors stay focused and healthy. "The biggest ditference in th1s year's team compared to the '95 squad concerns attitude and work habits. Last year's team never really came together as a unit; too many guys we were counting on did not surface as we thought. But this year's players made up their minds in fall practice that 1996 is going to be a season that everyone pulls together," said Coach Clark. He added, "The 1996 squad is not only dedicated but also a pleasure to coach. To this point, this is the most enjoyable group we've had here-they are really working hard." Clark also stated the team 's off-season workouts should play a big part in helping produce another winning campaign. "We had the best off-season I can recall. All team members improved themselves physically. We also developed a much-need– ed mental toughness which of course plays a big part in main– taining a positive attitude," he said. Coach Clark said there are many "keys" to a successful '96 campaign, which began at I p.m. Wednesday against visiting Mississippi Delta in a non-divi– sion double-header. For the Diamond Warriors to

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EC baseball off t02-3 start The East Central Commurut} College Warriors opened their 1996 baseball season last \\eek l\sth defending Region 23 champion Mississippi Delta adnurustenng three losses in four games EC bumped off Alabama Southern to hung a 2-3 record into this week. • Miss. Delta 9-7, EC l -2: The Warriors found the defendmg Region 23 champion to be rude gue<;l\ in their season opener Wedne.<;(by afternoon sn Decatur. '" In the opetfi:r, Delta scored h runs dunng the flfSt two innings and got a complete game from Mark Esta\e to take a 9- 1 win. Carey Lamhert singled and soored on a fielder's choice in the fourth for EC' s only nm. Kenny 6 tep (0..1) took the loss. In the second game, Delta's Bryan Grace ripped a three-run homer in the top of the fifth to break up Willis Lally's shutout bid. EC had taken a 1..() lead an the bottom of the first when Tommy Bost singled home Nrck Dumas. Bost also had a solo homer in the third to ~­ count for the Warriors other run. Lally (0 l) took the loss for the 0-2 Warriors, while Steve Young got the win for the 2 3 TroJan • EC 7, Alabama Southern 5: The Warriors got their first "" in of the year Friday attemoon m Decatur. EC. 1-2. scored three runs sn the bottom of the eighth to take the win over the bagle'>. Jonathan Cro'-~

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Miss. Delta spoils EC's opener DECATUR- You couldn't pick nice day to open the college base– ball season, but the East Central Community College Warriors ouJd have liked a different out– come. ECCC opened its season ednesday afternoon hosting Mi... 1ssippi Delta Community eon~ in a doubleheader. The Mississippi Delta Trojans ~great pitching to take a pair ,r' m" from the Warriors by core<: of9-l and 7-2. I saw a lot of good things 'ldn~. pl"•bably the best thing was l I'hisslppi Delta's pitching," ~CC coach Jamie Clark said. We had not been able to get out n( the field for the past six days, n"''e knew we were going to have she problems." ut be Trojans, the defending 23 on 23 champs, came in with Jd rismg 0-3 record. The team fielded was much better than - record would lead you to . \"e Delta dropped three ill- s at Okaloosa-Walton last ~e !nd, but the losses came after straight days offofthe field. at's >t Central returns to action bi,s • at 2 p.m. hosting Alabama 1e s ~m in a single game. s a he first game, freshman left– use · Kenny Estep started for 1 x.as rriors. p struck out the first batter By Gary Myers The Mendian Star

Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star

Miss. Del tas Dexter Wheatly steals third against East Central's Jonathan Jones.

on four pitc&.e, .. things got ::,hak. .A Matt Peeple~, he\\"&.!- d!at!gt'd a balk which ~ed the second. The next bat er Grace, was hit by a pt p:lSsed ball core Peeple=.. Chad Cooper ~ot th T an– first hit, a :;ing1e whiCh d.m;;e m Grace to give Delta a --0 E step camE bac and nd– wiched a ba.;e on b IE be· een two strike out'-. With two on ~e fi De ta m the second, Chad Cooper pounded a homer off the -.coreboard m k!ft centerfield and the Troj~ \\'"ellt on to score fuur ruil5 J ason Latham came m to relieve Estep to open the fnur.h and held the TroJan- at bay through that inning The Warrior: ~• on ihe board

,n the fourth using a Carey Lambert single, a base on balls and a fielder's choice that brought Lambert around to make the score 6-1. The Trojans added one in the fifth and two in the sb.ih to come away with the 9-1 victory. Delta's Mark Estaue pitched a ...trong seven innings for the win, Estep took the\ loss for the Warriors. Cooper lead the Trojans with t "'0 hits and four runs batted in. Delta 240 012 0-9 ECCC 0 0 0 10 0 0 - 1 • Miss. Delta 7, ECCC 2 (sec· ond game): In the second game, East Central's Willis Lally pitched a shutout for four and two thirds innings until Bryan Grace con– nected \vith his one bad pitch for a

three-run home run to centerfield. ECCC had jumped out to the early lead when Nick Dumas scored from third on a Tommy Bost single. Dumas walked, moved to second on a fielder's choice and stole third to get m scoring posi– tion. In the third, Bost came up big again hitting a solo home run to straight-away center. The Warriors were cruising at 2-0 until the Grace homer put the Trojans ahead 3-2. Grace was 3-for-4 and drove in four runs to lead the Trojans. Bost lead the Warriors hitting going 2- for-4 and a one run batted in.

Lally took the loss for ECCC and Steve Young won it for Delta. Delta 0 0 0 0 3 1 3 - 7 ECCC 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 2 -------------------------------

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· FormerDiamondWarriors .·SignWith Senior Colleges Eight ~embers . of the 1996 Delta State University; pitCher ECCC baseball team will con- .Kenny Estes of Bastrop, LA and tinue their athletic careers at outfielder Tommy BoSt of Col– various senior colleges and uni- linsville, LA Tech; pitcher Willis -versities, announced Diamond Lally of Breaux Bridge, LA; Warrior head coach JamieClark. Southwestern LA; shortstop . Signees include pitcher Tony Cary Lambert of Gonzales, LA, Perozo of Lake, who inked with Southeastern LA; outfielder

Greg McBride of Newton, Al– corn State Unive~ity; third base– man Jonathan Jones of Philadel– phia, Belhaven; and first base– man Eric Cook of Carthage, Millsaps College. · Retruning sophomore Marcus Thames, a pitcher/outfielder from Louisville, was drafted in the 30th round by the New York Yankees but has decided not to go pro and will return for the 1997campaign. As a team, East Central batted .292 and the pitching staff posted a3.91 ERA. During Coach Clark's tenure at East Central, which began in 1987, 51 of his former players have received senior college scholarshps or have been drafted by professional teams. Concerning the 1996 Diamond Warriors, which registered a re– cord 31 seasorl victories and qualified for their first appear– ance in the Region 23 · Tourna– ment, Coach Clark commented: 'This was another fine group of men who really represented East Central well-in the classroom and on the field. They won 61 games in their two years here and have set a standard for future Warrior baseball teams to try to match." Assisting Coach Cla_rk are Da– vidMartin and Ricky Harrison.

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