POPLARVILLE, Miss. - The No. 10 Indians dropped a 5-2 decision in the NJCAA Region 23 semifinals to No. 1 LSU-Eunice in nine innings on Thursday.
Leading 2-1 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians (37-13-1) saw Madison Monson lift a solo home run to tie the game before heading to extra innings after a routine fly ball to centerfield ended the inning.
Samantha Conley (Mandeville, La.) started the top of the eight with a single and was replaced on the bases by Makenzie Toombs (Ackerman) before a double play got the Bengals out of the inning. LSU-Eunice (46-6) went quietly with a three up, three down home half of the eighth. The Indians went three up, three down to start the night before back-to-back walks to start the bottom half of the inning was followed up by a three-run home run from Kelci Bodin to give Eunice the win in walk-off fashion.
ICC cashed in on an error by Eunice in the third to take a 1-0 lead when Mattie Meine (Olive Branch) reached on a fielder's choice and scored when Conley reached on an error. The Bengals pulled even when Abby Higginbotham singled and scored on an error in the bottom of the fourth. The Indians took advantage of another Bengal miscue to retake the lead, 2-1, when Hope Harbin (Columbus) singled and scored on when Rachel Sternisha (Olive Branch) reached on a throwing error in the fifth.
The Indians managed five hits in the game. Conley had a pair of singles while Meine, Harbin, and Maggie Smithey (New Albany) each adding a single in the loss.
Kaylee Nelson (Moulton, Ala.) had an impressive outing against the top team in the country. The freshman scattered three hits and walked five while striking out three batters in four scoreless innings of work. Olivia Burns (Grenada) was the pitcher of record for the Indians after giving up four runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout in 4-plus innings. Monson's solo home run broke a streak of 25 consecutive innings without allowing a run by Burns.
ICC will face the winner between Co-Lin and Pearl River an elimination game scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and will be available on LetsGoICCTV.com/red.