Pictured above-Jon Andy Scott looks to strike out another batter on February 13, 2009 against Arkansas Baptist at Harold T. White Field.

February 16, 2009

NEMCC BASEBALL SWEEPS DOUBLEHEADER SEASON OPENER

BOONEVILLE, Miss. -- Northeast Mississippi Community College's baseball team opened up the 2009 campaign on a winning note, sweeping a doubleheader from Arkansas Baptist at Harold T. White Field on Friday, February 13.

Head Coach Kent Farris and his team hoped to start off the season on the “right foot,” however; they ended up starting off the season on the “left arm.”  The left arm of Northeast’s starting pitcher freshman Jon Andy Scott a Booneville, Mississippi high school graduate.

Scott (6’4”, 210), an Ole Miss signee, picked up the first win of his collegiate career in game one against the Buffaloes. 

Scott (1-0) stymied the Buffaloes in the first of two games on Friday evening, throwing 95 pitches in six innings and recording nine strikeouts in his college debut. 

“It was a good game,” Scott explained.  “I got some pitches working early and got ahead in the count a few times and had my off-speed working and it just worked out good for me.

“It felt real good to get my first win. I graduated in 2007 and haven’t pitched in a game in a while so I had a lot of nervousness when I first got out there but it really felt good.”

Northeast sophomore pitcher Lee Paine (Oxford, Miss.) relieved Scott in the top of the seventh inning to close-out the game for the Tigers.

The Tigers also had some solid hitting against the Buffaloes and were led off by sophomore Jake Mills (Lafayette County) who drove in the freshman third baseman Brandon Farley (Cookeville, Tenn.) on a single for the first score of the game for Northeast to tie the ball game up at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Tigers would go on to add seven more runs to make the final score 8-1 for the first game of the doubleheader.  Hunter Mize, Brandon Farley, Nick McGregor, and Jake Mills each had two hits apiece.  Ty Shirley, Farley and McGregor each had doubles.

In the second game freshman starting pitcher Brad Luna (New Albany) was equally as impressive, throwing five complete innings and recording six strikeouts on his way to the five-inning victory over the Buffaloes.

Freshman Neal Tice (Wheeler, Miss.) put Northeast on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning after Farley hit a sacrifice fly to put the Tigers up 1-0.

Northeast picked-up nine more runs, including five-spot in the bottom of the second to close the game out 10-0 after five innings and make a clean-sweep against the first year program Arkansas Baptist Buffaloes.

Farley picked up two more hits, one of which was a double.  Larry Roscoe and McGregor also had doubles.

Coach Farris and his team will look to continue in their wining ways when they hit the road on Tuesday, February 17, to face Northwest Shoal in a doubleheader.

First-pitch between the Tigers and Patriots is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

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