1998

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cap.

By MARTY STAMPER Dt•mocllll Sports Editor Halfway through the 1998 junior college baseball season, the Warriors of East Central are basically right where they want to be. After Saturday's 7-1, 4-1 South Division sweep at Southwest, EC trails league– leading Gulf Coast by only one game. Gulf Coast has to travel to Decatur on April 18 for a dou– bleheader. The Warriors entered this week with a 19-15 over all record and an 8-4 showing in the South Division. Gulf Coast is 9-3 in league play. "We have eight of our last 12 conference games at home," EC coach Jamie Clark said. "That ought to be worth some– thing. "We're two games ahead of Hinds and Co-Lin for the state tournament and four ahead of Jones for the region tourna– ment. "Right now, it looks like the Warriors are right back in the middle of it again." Jason Willis (5-2) to~sed a five-hit complete game in Sat– urday's 7-1 win at Southwest. In his l ast 14 innings, the Neshoba Central grad has given up only one run and it was unearned. Willis struck out seven and walked two. Willis also had a home run, his seventh of the season.

The Warriors have been playing shorthanded for much of the season. Top pitcher Seth Hebert went down with an arm injury in the second inning of the very first game. Top closer, Clark Tyson, has missed several weeks due to tricep injury in his right arm. Both are expected to return to the lineup soon. "We expect to get Hebert back by the end of the week," Clark said. "That's got to help us down the stretch and Tyson had seven saves in our first 12 wins. He also plays third base." Pitching bas helped t h e Warriors stay in the playoff hunt. .· "It's true the league is not quite as good as it's been in recent years, but our No. 2 pitchers, Willis and Gressett, are as good as anybody's," Clark said. This week could go a long way toward settling the War– riors' playoff situation. They will host Copiah-Lincoln in a South Division doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 3 p.m. On Friday, EC will host Hinds in another division dou– bledip beginning at 1 p.m. Other remaining league games are at Jones on Tuesday (April 14), against Pearl River on April 22 in Decatur, and at Co-Lin on April 25.

Jamie Clark

Brodie Meadows had a two– run homer for the Warriors in the three:run sixth inning. The Warriors needed an extra inning to complete the sweep. EC scored three times in the top of the eighth to give Dan Gressett (6-1) the win. Dustin Matthews led off the eighth with a homer to give the Warriors the lead for good. Chad Champion added a two-run double that plated Michael Hall and Joey Allen for some insurance. Gressett struck out seven and walked only one in tossing a seven-hitter. Chris Tullos tossed the bot– tom of the eighth for h1s third save. Greg Wood hit his 12th homer of the season and the 21st of his career in the night-

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