Fulton, Miss. – In a final tune-up doubleheader before hitting conference play, the No. 10 ranked Indians split with Snead State, falling 4-3 in game one and winning game two 12-2 in five innings.
Game 1: Snead State 4, No. 10 Indians 3
The Indians (11-5) were swept by the Parsons (15-3) back on Feb. 17 in Boaz, Ala., and were engaged in a battle from the jump in game one.
Snead State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first and extended it to 3-0 in the second courtesy of a solo home run.
The Indians began to chip away in the bottom of the second as Payton Springfield (Steens) drove in a run with a double and Tyler Murphy (Columbus) scored during a fielder's choice.
In the third, Snead State was able to get a run back to take a 4-2 lead, but Murphy was able to score on a ground out after singling in the fourth to cut the lead to 4-3.
David Rowland (Florence, Ala.) entered in relief for the Indians in the second and threw the remainder of the contest in a gutsy and much needed performance in a stretched thin Indian pitching staff.
Game 2: No. 10 Indians 12, Snead State 2 (5-innings)
The Indians struggled early in the opening frame and went to the bullpen after three batters. With the bases loaded, Jonathan Whittington (Columbus) came in and got out of the jam with limited damage as Snead State plated only 1-run.
Snead State's 1-0 lead would hold until the bottom of the third went Brett Coker (Hendersonville, Tenn.) hit a no-doubt grand slam to left field to put the Tribe up 4-1.
In the following frame, Snead State plated a run to cut the lead to 4-2, but the Indians would plate four runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Riley Davis (Collierville, Tenn.) scored on a sacrifice fly and Connar Gardner (Southaven), who went 3-for-3 in the game, scored on a wild pitch. Lane Domino (Fulton) scored on the second sacrifice fly on the inning and Murphy hit a RBI single to extend the lead to 8-2.
Murphy made his presence felt in the fifth as well hitting a bases loaded double to score three runs and later scored on an error to give the Indians the run-rule victory and the split.
Next up for the Indians will be the MACJC opener against Meridian that is scheduled for Saturday, March 14 in Fulton. Game one of the conference doubleheader will be a 9-inning affair and first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m., and the 7-inning night cap will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
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