Baseball season comes to a close with tough Game Three loss
Lee Adams/LetsGoICC.com
MERIDIAN, MS – Itawamba Community College's baseball program came to an end in a hard fought Game Three to Meridian Community College in the first round of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior College (MACJC) playoffs Saturday night.
With the series tied at one game apiece, the intensity rose and for the first three frames of game three, neither team seemed to hold an advantage. That is until the Indians (27-20) got three consecutive singles by Ty Wheeler (Tupelo), Austin Carpenter (Belmont) and Tyreque Reed (Houlka) in the top of the fourth.
Carpenter's single plated the game first run and the Indians added to their as Hagan Box (French Camp) pushed across a run by reaching on a fielder's choice and a run scoring double by centerfielder Russ Payne (Fulton).
A ground rule double by Reed in the fifth gave the Indians a 4-0 lead that would hold until the bottom of the sixth when the Eagles rallied to score six runs on three hits and four walks.
The teams exchanged runs in the seventh, and the Eagles (39-10) held a 7-5 advantage when the game moved into the ninth inning.
A double by Drake Rowton (Marion, AR) and two walks loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth, but a strike out and a hard line drive caught by the first baseman, who stepped on first for the double play, ended the threat giving the Eagles the series win.
The Game Three loss was the second heartbreaking loss in less than 24 hours for the Indians and it closed the book on an impressive late season run where they won 12 games in April to earn a playoff spot.
For more information on ICC Baseball, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).