In a battle of Mississippi JUCO titans, the East Central Community College Warriors and Pearl River Community College Wildcats squared off in Enid in the winner's bracket. For the third straight game for ECCC in Enid, it was a one-run decision; however, unfortunately, it was a walk-off double from PRCC that secured a 7-6 victory for the Wildcats.
The back-and-forth affair saw multiple lead changes, like ECCC's other Enid contests. The Warriors jumped ahead early with a four-run second inning, sparked by a two-RBI triple from Pablo Roque and RBI hits from Nic Arender and Eli Smith. The Warriors held a 4-1 lead before the Wildcats responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, including a two-run homer from Topher Jones and an RBI single by Jackson Hood to even the score at 4-4.
East Central regained the lead in the seventh when Eli Smith drove in Arender with a single, taking advantage of a Pearl River miscue to make it 5-4. But the Wildcats quickly answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, tying the game again.
Briceton Johnson briefly gave the Warriors hope in the top of the eighth with a solo home run to give ECCC a 6-5 edge. However, Pearl River countered once more, tying the game at 6-6 after a chaotic sequence in the bottom of the frame, where Jackson Hood scored during a strikeout-throwout play.
In the bottom of the ninth, with one out and the winning run on base, Topher Jones delivered the final blow—a walk-off RBI double that scored Jacob Keys and ended the Warriors' run in the winner's bracket.
Bryson Goff pitched six innings for ECCC, giving up five runs on seven hits with five walks and three strikeouts. Marbin Lezcano took the loss in relief, allowing the final two runs on four hits while striking out five.
At the plate, Arender and Johnson each scored twice, while Smith and Roque combined for four RBIs. Defensively, the Warriors turned two double plays but also committed a costly error.
East Central (44-15) now moves to the elimination bracket and will face Southeastern Iowa at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, at 3 p.m.