FULTON, Miss. – Austin King (Fulton) had a career outing Wednesday to lead the No. 11 Indians to an 8-3 game one win over rival Northeast.
King got off to a slow start and saw his team go down 1-0 in the second, but he gathered himself, retiring 10 Tigers consecutively and finished the game with 10-strikeouts in seven and two thirds innings while allowing only five hits. The lone run the Tigers scored on King was unearned as he improved to 5-0 this season.
"I felt good and I found my curveball," said King. "My defense was making plays for me and my hitters were getting hits so I just kept rolling. It feels really good to get this win."
After falling behind early, King told his teammates that if they got the lead he would hold it, and the Indians (20-5, 6-3 MACJC) responded scoring five runs over the fourth and fifth frames.
The Indians took the lead in the fourth on a run scoring triple by Drake Wallace (Amory) and a Jackson Lancaster (Corinth) RBI single.
In the fifth, the Indians would extend their lead to 3-1 on a sacrifice fly by Drew Thomas (Nesbit) that allowed Kyle Crigger (Corinth), who lead off the frame with a double, to score.
Justin Medlin (Ripley) then hit two-run line drive home run to right to push the Tribe's lead to 5-1.
Hunter Nabors (Montevallo, Ala.) went 3-for-4 in the game and picked up an RBI in the seventh that was part of a two-run frame for the Indians. Medlin also scored in the seventh courtesy of a pickoff attempt at second that went into centerfield.
The Indians' final run of the contest came off a Crigger sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Northeast (14-12, 5-6 MACJC) pushed across two runs in the final frame as part of a two out rally, but Hunter Hughes (Saltillo) was able to close the door to secure the 8-3 victory.
The Indians finished the game with 12 hits and picked up five extras base hits as Russell Bunch (Saltillo), LaBryant Siddell (Belden) and Crigger picked up doubles to compliment Wallace's triple and Medlin's home run.
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