SUMMIT, Miss. — The East Central Community College softball team split a doubleheader at Southwest Mississippi Community College on Wednesday, rallying to win game one 6-5 in eight innings before dropping game two 8-6.

Game One: East Central 6, Southwest Mississippi 5

East Central overcame a deficit in the final innings to steal game one in extra innings. The Warriors trailed 5-5 heading into the eighth before Madye Bath reached on a pitcher's error with the bases loaded to plate the go-ahead run and give East Central the victory.

Kathryn Montz provided the offensive spark, hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning to pull the Warriors within one. Lanayah Henry added a double and an RBI, while Lyric Lay and Lynley Blackwell each had run-producing hits in the early innings as East Central built a 4-1 advantage.

In the circle, Neely Wolverton started before giving way to Lynleigh Burt and Manda Rie Leach, who closed out the victory in the eighth.

Game Two: Southwest Mississippi 8, East Central 6

East Central could not sustain the momentum in the nightcap, falling behind early and unable to complete another comeback. The Warriors trailed 6-3 after three innings following a pair of home runs by Southwest Mississippi's A. Dejean, who finished with four RBIs on the day. East Central pulled within two at 6-4 in the fourth on a Riley Ruple sacrifice fly, but Southwest Mississippi answered with a two-run triple from C. Talbot in the fifth to extend the lead to 8-4.

Lanayah Henry and Kathryn Montz each had multi-hit games in the loss, with Henry finishing with a double and two RBIs. Ava Mosley started in the circle before Manda Rie Leach took over, but the Warriors could not overcome the early deficit.

East Central combined for 12 hits across both games and showed resilience in rallying to win the opener, but the pitching staff allowed 13 combined runs in the two-game split.