MERIDIAN, Miss. – After starting pitcher Bailie Springfield (Mantee) had to be helped off the field due to an injury in the top of the second, freshman Macey Cox (Troy, Tenn.) stepped in and helped lead the Indians to a 9-4 victory in the first game of the day.
Cox peppered 10 hits throughout six innings of work and struck out two to improve to 2-2 on the season.
The Indians took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when Cori Childs (New Site) walked and scored on a single by McKenzie Piper (Pell City, Ala.) but the Eagles answered with a run in the bottom half of the second to tie the game.
ICC broke open the game with three runs in the third to take a 4-1 lead.
Childs drew her second walk of the game and scored on a single by Hannah Williams (Philadelphia) after stealing second. Williams advanced to second on the throw home and scored on a single by Piper. Samantha Conley (Mandeville, La.) singled and scored on a ground out by Cox.
Meridian was able to get a run back in the bottom half of the inning, but the Indians responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. Shelby Newsom (Cleveland) drew a five-pitch walk and scored on when Joanna Vasquez (Southaven) reached on a three-base error. Vasquez scored on a ground out to second by Childs.
The Eagles plated a run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Indians got the run back in the top of the fifth on a single by Newsom to score Lilli Moore (Fulton).
Leading 7-3, the Indians plated a pair of runs to put the game away in the sixth.
Williams started the inning with a single to left and stole second base before scoring on a throwing error after an infield double by Conley, who also came around to score on the error. Meridian picked up a run in the bottom of the sixth and both teams traded scoreless frames in the seventh for the Indians to pick up the 9-4 win.
The Indians had nine hits in the win. Williams, Conley and Piper each had multiple hits for the Indians in the victory.
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