ELLISVILLE – The fourth-ranked Jones County Junior College Lady Bobcats are headed back to the state tournament.
JCJC defeated Mississippi Gulf Coast 4-1 Saturday afternoon at Community Bank Park/Gwen Magee Field in game two of their best-of-3 MACJC playoff series. Jones won game one on Friday, 5-2.
JCJC, 43-3, will advance to the MACJC Tournament on May 4-6 in Fulton on the campus of Itawamba Community College. Itawamba, East Central and Pearl River will be the other teams in the double-elimination event. The top three teams in the MACJC Tournament will go the Region 23 Tournament May 10-12 at a site to be determined.
JCJC has won two straight MACJC titles and five of the last six.
In Saturday’s series clinching victory, JCJC pitcher Madison Burge (Harrison Central) was excellent.
Burge, 14-1, gave up a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning to Madison Wall and did not allow a run the rest of the way. She scattered seven hits, allowed one walk and notched three strikeouts.
The Lady Bobcats took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Kelsha Loftin (Mendenhall) led off with a single, stole second and was sacrificed to third by Taylor Murray (Parklane Academy). Emily Robinson (Lafayette) followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Loftin. Callie Venable (Clinton, Louisiana) then singled to left and scored on an RBI double by Hallie Donald (Mooreville).
After Wall hit the home run in the bottom of the first, the score stayed that way until the sixth when Jones added a run.
Loftin singled and stole second. Robinson then lined a single to left to score Loftin and make it 3-1.
The Lady Bobcats added an insurance run in the seventh when Donald led off with a walk and was replaced by pinch-runner Sarah Brock (North Pike). McKennah Sikes (Van Buren, Arkansas) then doubled to the wall in center to drive in Brock.
Jones had several chances to score more throughout the game, leaving 11 runners on base. But they managed to get enough clutch hits to gain the win.
Loftin ended the game with three singles, while Donald and Sikes each doubled and singled. Robinson and McKinney each had two singles, while Venable had one single.
Betty Mingo took the loss for MGCCC. She went the distance, allowed four runs (all earned), 12 hits, walked two and struck out three.
Kaitlynn McGoey and Mya Hopson had two singles each for the Lady Bulldogs. Wall had the home run with Mingo and Lauren Hall adding singles.
MGCCC ends the season at 22-16.
