By By Austin Bishop/EMG Regional Sports Director
April 20, 2002
The first team to two wins.
That's the situation facing Meridian Community College and Bossier Parish (La.) Community College as they square off in a key three-game Miss Lou Conference baseball series in Bossier City today and Sunday.
The two teams are tied for second in the three-team Miss-Lou, so whichever team wins the weekend series will qualify, along with league champion Delgado (La.), for the six-team NJCAA Division I Region 23 Tournament to be played at MCC's Scaggs Field May 9-12.
It has been more than a decade since Meridian has failed to make the field.
Meridian goes into today's 1 p.m. doubleheader with a 17-23 overall record and a 3-6 league mark. The Eagles' last losing season came in 1987, Corky Palmer's first year at the helm.
Federico said his team knows that is ahead and is ready for the challenge.
Todd Doolittle (5-2) is expected to get the start in game one today, while Federico was leaning toward Justin Rayborn (4-4) in the second game.
Adam Smith is hitting over .370 going into the game, while Tyler Scarbrough is next at .333.
Two other teams Jones Junior College out of the MACJC South and Mississippi Delta out of the MACJC North have already clinched spots in the Region 23 event.
Gulf Coast has the edge as the second team out of the South, holding a two-game lead over Southwest, while Northeast Mississippi holds the upper hand in the North for the second spot.
Northeast is 8-12 in league play, while East Mississippi is 4-14. The Lions are still in the hunt, but at the very least need to win four of their last six games, including a doubleheader sweep over Northeast in Scooba on April 27.
The Lions play host to Holmes, currently second in the overall North standings, in a doubleheader in Scooba today beginning at 4 p.m.
East Central has been eliminated from the North race with a 3-17 league mark.