By By Austin Bishop/Special To The Star
Feb. 8, 2001
DECATUR Opponents of the East Central Community College baseball team will definitely be seeing double this year, and veteran ECCC head coach Jamie Clark hopes they hate every minute of it.
The Warriors went 20-29 last year, which is something that irks Clark a little.
Despite the losing mark, ECCC qualified for the Region 23 tournament and came within an eyelash of beating Gulf Coast, one of the tournament favorites, in the first round.
While Clark said his Warriors would be wide-open on the base paths and wouldn't hesitate to steal bases or bunt the runners over, he also said they would have to be smart.
While Clark said the pitching staff could be the strength, he also said he is pleased with the freshman catching duo he has in Josh Chaney and Kenny Stewart.
A couple pitchers Clark hopes those catchers are playing defense for often are left-hander Brandon Fish and right-hander David Ryan.
Fish, a 6-foot-6 sophomore from Demopolis, Ala., is coming off an injury-plagued year.
Two other guys being counted on heavily on the mound are Corey Amis of Newton County High School and Shawn Soulier from New Roads, La. Other pitchers on the squad are Jason Wooten, Dustin Magee, Corey Blackwell and Chris Comans.
When they are not pitching, the Migliacio twins will be playing first base or seeing action at designated hitter. Also in the hunt for playing time at first is Adam McCurdy.
The middle infield will be made up of Neshoba Central's Turk Stovall and Newton High School's Josh Thoms. Stovall will likely start at second, with Thoms at short, but the two can be flip-flopped.
Justin Reed and Soulier will battle for time at third base, while Chaney may play some third as well when he is not behind the plate.
Center field will be held down by one of last year's leading hitters, Kent Chamblee. Hal Thompson or Louis Bradford will play right, while Reed, Thompson or Soulier could play in left field.
Others being counted on to provide depth for the Warriors, who compete in the MACJC's South Division, are Ryan Renfrow, Dwight Brannon and Robert Oswalt.
Clark said his Warriors have another ambitious schedule this season.
While Gulf Coast is a division foe and the Warriors won't face them until the Bulldogs pay a visit on March 17, ECCC doesn't wait long before they face the other three.
East Central opens the season Saturday, when Bevill pays a visit at 1 p.m. for a doubleheader, while Northwest is next with a Valentine's Day visit to Decatur for a doubleheader that also begins at 1 p.m.
On Feb. 23-25 the Warriors take part in the Rush Classic at Scaggs Field on the campus of Meridian Community College where the Warriors will face MCC on Friday, Jones on Saturday and East Mississippi on Sunday.
Another tough team that ECCC plays is Delgado of New Orleans, La., which pays a visit for a singe game on March 1.