After getting off to a poor start to begin the season, East Marion has turned the corner and sitting pretty in the playoff picture as the No. 2 team in its district.
While the Eagles (5-8, 4-2) were walloped in a doubleheader at Bogue Chitto March 24, they bounced back to win Game 3 and establish themselves as a contender in the district.
At Bogue Chitto, East Marion struggled in all aspects, losing the matinee 15-0 and the nightcap 11-1. Head coach Mandell Echols said the Eagles just didn’t come to play, weren’t aggressive at the plate and were sloppy defensively with several errors.
But when Bogue Chitto visited East Marion Friday for the series finale, the Eagles flipped the script to win 8-6.
“We were more aggressive at our place at the plate, didn’t watch a lot of pitches, put some balls in play and made some plays (defensively). I changed some stuff up and moved some guys from the outfield to the infield just to mix something up, and I’m hoping that combination works because we played a lot better,” Echols said. “I put a kid in the outfield (Jordon Martin) that doesn’t play much, and he dove and caught a couple balls. His energy sparked the rest of the guys, so he’s earned him a spot in the outfield.”
He added while Martin isn’t comfortable on offense, he told him that he just needs him to continue bringing that type of effort defensively. Yet, Echols said Martin hit a ball hard to the outfield to drive in a run and singled in the victory.
Jacob Johnson earned the win on the mound in five-plus innings of work, and Echols said he was impressed with how he threw strikes and kept the ball low to induce groundballs. Caden Mingo picked up the save, shutting down Bogue Chitto in the seventh inning.
Echols said it’s reassuring that East Marion is off to a 4-2 start in Region 7-2A and took one from Bogue Chitto, who was expected to be competing solely with Loyd Star (7-6-1, 3-0) for the district crown.
“Loyd Star is coming off a South State run, and they were saying Bogue Chitto was going to be right there with them. For us to come out and not play well the first two games at their place then come back and play well at our place to get the win, that’s very encouraging,” he said.
The Eagles started their series with Loyd Star Tuesday night in Brookhaven, but results were unavailable at press time. They will wrap up the three-game series with a doubleheader Friday at East Marion.
Echols said if they are going to compete with the Hornets, they need to throw strikes, play good defense and remain focused for all seven innings.
“Our kids have so much stuff going on,” he said. “Some of them have jobs, some of them run track; their minds are so spread out so it’s hard for them to just focus. I’m trying to get them to understand when they’re running track to worry about track and when they’re playing baseball, worry about baseball. If we can do that and stay focused, we have a chance.”
