EMMANUEL BASEBALL GOES 2-2 AGAINST MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE
 
CLINTON, MS – The Emmanuel Baseball team opened the 2024 season with a four-game series against the Mississippi College Choctaws. The Lions fell in Game 1 of the series, 6-5 before taking Game 2, 17-7. In game 3, the Choctaws won 9-7, and the Lions took the final game 7-4 to even the series, 2-2. 
 
GAME ONE 

The Emmanuel Baseball team opened their season up today against Mississippi College. The Lions took an early lead, but gave up two runs in the 7th, 8th and 9th inning to fall to the Choctaws in heartbreaking fashion, 6-5. 

The Lions offense started clicking in the 2nd inning. After senior, Brody Campbell walked, junior, Nick Dietsch singled up the middle to advance Campbell to second. Junior, Cooper Tomkinson kept things going with a single to shortstop to advance the runners. Junior, R. Muniz followed that up with a walk that scored Campbell. Junior, Van Gupton Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Dietsch, giving the Lions a 2-0 lead.  

Junior, Thomas Collins, who led the team in home-runs with seven last season picked up right where he left off in his first at-bat of the game, to give the Lions a 3-0 lead in the 3rd. 

In the fourth inning, the Lions bats stayed hot. After Cooper Tomkinson was hit by a pitch, Ryan Muniz singled down the right field line advancing Tomkinson to third. Van Gupton Jr. reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Tomkinson from 3rd, to make it 4-0 Emmanuel. 

Emmanuel added another run in the 5th. Tommy Collins singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Brody Campbelldrove him in on a single to right field to make it 5-0 Lions. 

After an uneventful 6th inning, the Choctaws got on the board in the 7th on a home-run by Caleb Reese. Mississippi College would tack on another run on a sacrifice fly to make the score 5-2, Emmanuel. 

In the 8th, the Choctaws added two more runs on a home-run by Tyler Jacobsen to make the score 5-4, Emmanuel. 

In the final inning of play, the Lions went down in order. The Choctaws started things off with a single by Wesley Sides. Cole Drake advanced the runner with a single. Both runners stole a base to leave 1st base vacant. After Jacobsen was intentionally walked, the Lions walked in two runs and the Choctaws took the opener, 5-6. 

Junior, Colby Fields started the day on the mound for the Lions. He pitched 5 innings for the Lions, facing 16 batters. He struck out 4 and gave up three hits. He was relieved in the 6th inning by Sophomore, Chase Lupton. Lupton would pitch 1.5 innings and would give up a run, 2 hits, and hit one batter. He was relieved by Senior, Dosie Drakeford in the 7th. Drakeford closed out the inning and was replaced by senior, Simon Boggie in the 8th. Boggie would give up 3 hits, 2 runs, and a walk before being replaced by senior, Clifford Brown after facing 6 batters. Brown would earn the loss on the night, finishing out the game on the mound. 

Tommy Collins ended the night going 3-5 with a home-run with Ryan Muniz going 2-3 with an RBI. 

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow at 4PM EST. 

For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com. 

GAME TWO –
 
The Emmanuel bats were hot in game two of the series as the Lions earned a 17-7 win!
 
Ryan Muniz started things off in the 3rd with a home-run to make the score 1-0, Lions. The Choctaws responded with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning to make the score, 4-1 Choctaws. 
 
The Choctaws added to their lead in the bottom of the 4^th with a home-run, making the score 5-1.
 
In the 5^th, D. Bowden went yard on the first pitch he saw, making the score 4-2 in favor of the Choctaws. Van Gupton Jr. was hit by a pitch, and Thomas Collins brought him home with his second home-run of the season to bring the Lions within one, 5-4. Next, Brody Campbell walked and Zack Bergstrom entered the chat, homering to left center, scoring Campbell to give the Lions their first lead of the day, 6-5. 
 
In the bottom of the 6^th, the Choctaws scored one run on two hits and left two on base, knotting the game up at 6. 
 
The Lions bats exploded in the top of the 7^th. Jesus Cruz got things going with a single. Tommy Collins followed that up with a single to left. B. Wollin doubled to score Cruz, making the score, 7-6 Lions.  Brody Campbell followed that up with a ground-out that scored Collins, 8-6 Lions. After Bergstrom walked, he stole second on a Tomkinson pop-up. Ryan Muniz walked and D. Bowden followed that up with a full-count walk, that scored Collins, making it 9-6 Lions. Gupton Jr. singled to center, advancing to second on a throwing error, scoring Eavenson (pinch runner for Bowden), Muniz, and Bergstrom, making it 12-6 Lions. In the bottom of the 7^th, the Choctaws got one back with a home-run to make the score 12-7, Lions. 
 
The scoring picked back up for the Lions in the top of the 9^th. Muniz got things going with a single to left, and advanced to 2^nd on an Eavenson walk. Nick Dietsch cleared the bases with a homer, making the score 15-7, Lions. Jesus Cruz kept the momentum going for Emmanuel with a single, followed by a single by Collins. Runners advanced on a wild pitch, and Cruz scored on a ground out by H. Beall, 16-7 Lions. Babich (pinch runner for Collins) scored on a single by Stroud, which gave the Lions a 17-7 win to end the inning and the game. 
At the plate, five Lions (Bergstrom, Collins, Dietsch, Muniz, and Bowden) hit home-runs and Brock Wollin added a double. Jesus Cruz went 3-4 at the plate, with Bergstrom going 2-2 and Muniz going 3-4. 
 
Ethan Pooler got the start for the Lions, going 4 innings and facing 20 batters. He struck out five and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits. Noah Cantleberry pitched 2 innings and earned the win. He faced 9 batters and gave up 1 run on 3 hits, striking out one. Barrett Barkley faced five batters and walked three, giving up one hit and one run. Dosie Drakeford pitched one inning and faced six batters, giving up 2 hits. Noah Olson closed out the game facing four batters in an inning and striking out three.
 
With the win, the Lions improved to 1-1 on the season. 
 
GAME THREE-
 
The two teams faced off again for game three on Saturday morning, with the home team Choctaws earning a 9-7 victory. 
 
The Lions got off to a quick start in the 1^st with Tommy Collins picking up where he left off, singling to right field. Brock Wollin followed that up with a double, advancing Collins to third. Brody Campbell grounded out, scoring Collins to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. Nick Dietsch cleared the bases with a home-run to make it 3-0 Lions. 
 
Mississippi College answered back in the bottom of the 3^rd inning, after a batter reached on a walk, advancing on a fielder's choice, and scoring on a ground-out, to make the score 3-1, Emmanuel. 
 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Choctaws tied the game up at 3 after a runner reached on a walk and scored on a home-run. 
 
The Lions retook the lead in the top of the 5^th with a home-run by Tommy Collins, his third in three games, making the score 4-3 Lions. 
 
The score would stay this way until the top of the 7^th, when Emmanuel's bats caught fire. 
Jesus Cruz started things off with a single, followed by a single from Tommy Collins. Wollin advanced the runners with a single to third base, and Cruz scored on a wild pitch making the score 5-3 Lions. After Brody Campbell was intentionally walked, Cooper Tomkinson walked, scoring Collins and giving the Lions a 6-3 lead. Ryan Muniz then walked to score Wollin, giving Emmanuel a 7-3 lead, and Dobbs Bowden flied out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 7^th, the Choctaws added four runs on three hits and one error to tie the game, 7-7.
 
After a scoreless 8^th, the Choctaws finished the game with a 2-run homerun to earn the 9-7 win. 
 
At the plate for Emmanuel, Tommy Collins went 3-4 with a homerun. 
Hunter Parks got the start on the mound for Emmanuel and faced 21 batters in 5 innings of work. He gave up three runs on one hit, striking out five and walking five. Eli Roach pitched faced four batters, striking out one and walking one. Chase Lupton was next for the Lions, and faced just three batters, giving up a run on one hit. Lucas Meehan faced one batter, giving up a run on one hit, and Bubba Luke faced two, giving up two runs on a hit. Clifford Brown closed out the game for the Lions, facing 10 batters and giving up two runs on two hits and a walk, striking out two. 
 
With the loss, the Lions sit at 1-2 in the game and series. 
 
GAME FOUR – 
 
The final game of the series was played on Monday and the Lions were able to take away a 7-4 win to even the series. 
 
The scoring started in the 2^nd inning with a double by Cooper Tomkinson to left center. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out by Ryan Muniz to give the Lions a 1-0 lead. 
 
Emmanuel added to their lead in the 3^rd when Jesus Cruz reached on an error. He stole second, then the Choctaws walked two batters in a row to load the bases. Nick Dietsch was hit by a pitch, which scored Cruz and Tomkinson reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Collins to make it 3-0 Lions. In the bottom of the 3^rd the Choctaws got two runs back on a homerun to make the score, 3-2. 
 
In the top of the 5^th, Tommy Collins started things off with a single up the middle, advancing to second on a ground-out. The Choctaw pitcher would then hit Campbell and Dietsch to load the bases. Tomkinson would reach on a fielder's choice, scoring Collins to make the score 4-2 Lions.  Muniz singled to right field to score Campbell, closing out the inning with the Lions leading 5-2. 
 
After a few scoreless innings, the Choctaws scored a run on two hits in the bottom of the seventh, making the score 5-3. 
 
In the bottom of the 8^th, the Choctaws would make things interesting earning a run on two hits, leaving two on base to make the score 5-4 Lions. 
 
The Lions answered in the top of the 9^th. Brock Wollin singled to left center and scored on a homerun by Brody Campbell to give the Lions a 7-4 win. 
 
At the plate, Tommy Collins and Ryan Muniz went 2-4, with Brody Campbell getting his first homerun of the season and Cooper Tomkinson hitting a double. 
 
On the mound, Hunter Pirkle got the start going 4.2 innings and facing 19 batters. He gave up 2 runs on 3 hits and struck out 4. Noah Cantleberry earned the win, pitching 1.1 inning and facing 5 batters. He struck out two and gave up one run on two hits. Barrett Barkley faced nine batters and gave up one run on two hits and Dosie Drakeford closed out the game, pitching one inning giving up one hit and striking out a batter. 
 
With the win, the Lions improve to 2-2 on the season and finished the series against the Choctaws 2-2. 
 
Next, the Lions will face Trevecca Nazarene University on Tuesday, February 6. 
 
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.