FULTON, Miss. – The No. 2 Indians advanced to the semifinals of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament with a 5-2 win over No. 1 LSU Eunice Thursday night in Fulton.
The Indians (41-6-1) took an early lead by taking advantage of an LSU Eunice mistake as LaBryant Siddell (Belden) singled to score Kyle Crigger (Corinth), who reached on an error. However, the Bengals (49-7) tied the game in the bottom of the opening frame on a passed ball.
In the third, the Indians regained the lead as Hayden Palmer (Saltillo), who walked, scored from third on a ground ball to the right side of the infield by Jackson Lancaster (Corinth).
Austin Powell (Star City, Ark.) gave the Indians an insurance run in the sixth with a sacrifice fly that allowed Siddell to score, but LSU Eunice got one run on two hits in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead to 3-2.
Siddell picked up his second RBI of the game in the eighth with a single that score Lancaster and Lane Domino (Fulton) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to put the Indians up 5-2.
LSU Eunice led off the following frame with a single but Brett Coker (Hendersonville, Tenn.) made a great play to start a 6-4-3 double play to kill the Bengals momentum.
With the three run lead, Crigger, who entered to pitch in the seventh, was able to pick up the save and Justin Medlin (Ripley) earned the win with an 11 strikeout performance.
The Indians will face Pearl River in the semifinal game at 3:30 Friday in Fulton. The game can be seen live on LetsGoICCTV.com/blue.
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