Ellisville, Miss. - A walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College ended Itawamba Community College softball's run at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament, and their season in heartbreaking fashion.
The Indians (29-17) took an early 1-0 lead as Jess Smith (Senatobia) hit a sacrifice fly to score Sarah Kate Thompson (Myrtle), who hit a leadoff single to start the game.
Gulf Coast tied the contest int he bottom of the third, but the Indians forced the Bulldogs to leave two plus runners on base in four innings including Julia Shaw (Hernando) getting out of a jam in the fourth after she entered with two on and no outs.
The Indians had a big opportunity in the top of the fifth, but the Bulldogs forced them to leave the bases loaded and keep the game tied.
As the game moved forward the scoring chances diminished for both squads, but in the bottom of the seventh, a two-out single allowed the game winning run to score.
The loss eliminated the Indians from the tournament and put a close to a successful season that saw the Tribe ranked nationally for nine weeks and were ranked as high as 14. Also, five sophomores signed to the next level and Emily Robinson (Springvile, Ala) setting the program's career strikeout record with 291.