POPLARVILLE, Miss. - The No. 10 Indians dropped a 7-3 decision to No. 1 LSU-Eunice in the NJCAA Region 23 championship game on Friday.
ICC (38-14-1) struck first when Macey Cox (Troy, Tenn.) tagged up and scored on a pop-up in foul terriority by Emma Grace Schell (Nesbit) in the top of the second inning. Eunice (45-6) answered with a solo home run and a two-run home run in the bottom half of the inning and added a grand slam in the fifth to take a 7-1 lead.
The Indians answered with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth when Jessica Davis (Cumberland) drew a walk to start the inning and scored on a wild pitch before Hannah Sparks (Mantachie) singled to score Joanna Vasquez (Southaven), who was running for Cox.
Cox finished the game 2-for-2 with a run scored.
Sparks, Summer Cryder (Tupelo), Ellie Meine (Olive Branch), and Makenzie Toombs (Ackerman) combined with Cox to total six hits in the loss. Mary Kate Butler (Pontotoc) was the pitcher of record after giving up five runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three in four-plus innings of work. Savannah Stamps (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) gave up two runs on one hit and a walk before Cox closed out the game with one hit and a walk with three strikeouts in two innings.
ICC will await the NJCAA's announcement on Monday to see who their next opponent will be in the opening round of the DII World Series in Clinton. The double elimination tournament is scheduled to being on Wednesday, May 22 with the first game starting either at 1:30 or 3:30 at Traceway Park. All ICC games will be available on LetsGoICCTV.com/red until the semifinals, then NJCAA TV will take over the broadcasting rights.