Fulton, Miss. – No. 8 ICC picked up a crucial conference sweep Saturday defeating Southwest 5-2 in game one and 5-0 in game two.
Game 1: Indians 5, Bears 2
The Indians (25-5, 11-5 MACCC) took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning as Kara Hays (Mooreville) laid down a bunt that allowed McKenzie Patterson (Corinth) to score after a Southwest error, and Caroline Clark (Tuscumbia, Ala.) hitting a sacrifice fly to score Hays.
Southwest would answer with a run on an ICC error in the top of the second to cut the lead to 2-1.
Rayne Rippee (Sardis) extended the Indians' lead to 3-1 on a solo home run in the fourth and Hays drove in two more runs on a hard-hit single.
In the top of the fifth, Southwest scored one run on one hit and left the bases loaded.
Emily Robinson (Springville, Ala.) took over in the circle in the sixth and picked up the six out save to preserve the win. Madison Jenkins (Cleveland) picked up the win to improve to 11-0 this season and Robinson earned her seventh save.
Game 2: Indians 5, Bears 0
Ka'Mya Hampton (Pinson, Ala.) led the Indians to victory in the nightcap with a complete game shutout.
Hampton started the game picking up eight strikeouts in the first three innings.
While Hampton was dominating in the circle, the Indian offense made sure she had run support.
Hays tripled in the first inning and later scored on a sacrifice by Clark to give the Indians an early 2-0 lead.
A two-run scoring double by Haylee Alberson (Hernando) in the fourth extend the lead to 4-0, and Tayler Bishop (Ecru) scored the game's final run in the fifth off a sacrifice by Connor Stevens (Amory).
The 5-0 lead was more than enough for Hampton as she remain dominant for the remainder of the game allowing only four hits and striking out 14 without giving up a walk. Hampton improves to 11-2 this season
With the sweep, the Indians move up to third in the conference standings as the end of the season is quickly approaching. The Indians are scheduled to face conference rival Northeast on Tuesday with first pitch of game one scheduled for 4 p.m. in Booneville.
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