RAYMOND- The Hinds Eagles baseball team notched a sweep of the NJCAA eighth ranked Meridian Community College Eagles with a wild 18 – 17 victory followed by an 8 – 1 win in a pair of games in Raymond at Joe G. Moss Field Tuesday afternoon (Apr. 2).
 
The Hinds baseball team found itself in an offensive battle in the first game of the double header against Meridian with Hinds jumping out to an early 8 – 1 lead as they notched seven runs in the bottom of the first inning. Meridian would not lay down, however, as they scored six runs in the top of the third inning to bring the lead down to one to which Hinds responded with a nine-run bottom third to make the score 17 – 7. Yet, the big innings were not finished for Meridian as they scored eight in the top of the fourth before both teams locked-down on defense throughout the rest of the game. Meridian would tie the game at 17 in the seventh inning setting up for a great finish. The Hinds Eagles would take the lead for good in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out, RBI (run batted in) double off the bat of Connor Carter (Madison).
 
With so many runs, there were undoubtedly many quality offensive performances for the Hinds team. Carter, Jovante Dorris (Raymond), Colby Collier (Clinton), and Walker Burchfield (Clinton) led the way in hitting with three, three, four, and five hits, respectively. Carter collected two doubles including his game-winner while Burchfield smacked one of his own. Luke Clement (Olive Branch) would post the only other extra base hit for the Eagles in the game with his second grand slam of the season. Adding to the 21-hit total, Clement and John Bolton (Memphis, TN) each had two hits. Clement and Dorris led the way in RBI's with five each while Burchfield brought in three of his own.
 
In a game of tough sledding for pitchers, Garrett Ramsey (Brandon) would set Hinds up for the victory with one and two-thirds innings of shut-down pitching setting him up for the win while Josh Banes (Learned) sealed the deal with a scoreless ninth inning giving him his first save of 2019.
 
Game two was a much different game as a pitcher's duel ensued with Hinds' Preston Johnson (Crystal Springs) coming out on top with a complete game performance. His seven innings of work included one run on five hits with four walks and an impressive 16 strikeouts which was a season-high for Eagle pitchers.
 
The two teams fought a low-scoring, back and forth battle that produced a 3 – 1 game through the top of the sixth in favor of Hinds. Then, the Hinds Eagles unleashed five runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game on ice at 8 – 1 and complete the sweep of Meridian.
 
The second game featured some notable offense for the Hinds team as Bolton, Josh Cofield (Madison), Carter, and Clement each had two hits. Cofield and Pablo Lanzarote (Barquisimeto, Venezuela) each had two RBI's with Lanzarote gathering his RBI's on a two-run double that put the Eagles up for good in the fourth inning. Notably, Carter made his extra base hit total four for the double header as he had a double and a home run in game two.
 
The sweep of No. 8 Meridian puts the NJCAA No. 13 Hinds Eagles at 20 – 5 (8 – 2) on the season. Their 8 – 2 MACJC record places them at a tie for first place in the conference standings.
 
For their next matchup, the Eagles will take on East Mississippi Community College in Scooba at Gerald Poole Field on April 6 at two and five p.m. Fans can view the game via live stream on the East Mississippi athletics page through the link provided: http://emccathletics.com/video/YouTubeLive. Fans can also follow the Hinds baseball team on Twitter at @HindsCC_BB for updates on the program.


#34 Preston Johnson threw 16 strikeouts in game two.