FULTON, MS — It's win or go home for the ICC softball team as the Indians head into the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament with their season on the line.
ICC (29-19) will take on East Central (24-18) in an elimination game Saturday at 5 p.m. at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. The winner will advance to face host and No. 3-ranked Co-Lin (40-4) in the double-elimination portion of the tournament. The loser's postseason ends abruptly.
Saturday's matchup is also a shot at redemption for the Indians. In March, ICC traveled to Decatur and dropped both games in a two-game sweep to East Central. The Warriors shut out the Indians 2-0 and 6-0, using timely hitting and strong pitching to hand ICC one of its toughest series of the season.
In the opener, ICC managed just two hits, both from AB Marlar. In Game 2, East Central took an early lead and never looked back, while ICC's bats remained quiet.
Now in the postseason, ICC looks like a different team. Marlar leads the offense with a .351 batting average, six doubles, and eight home runs. Delta State commit Joryie McKnight (.348) and Maddie Porter (.339) have also been key contributors.
In the circle, Alyssa Clifft has been the team's ace, posting a 1.86 ERA and tallying 162 strikeouts over 142.2 innings of work.
The winner of Saturday's game will enter a challenging double-elimination bracket featuring Co-Lin, No. 11 Northeast Mississippi (40-8), and No. 13 Northwest Mississippi (40-8).
The team that emerges from the Co-Lin pod will advance to the Region 23 Championship on May 8 to face the winner of the Jones College pod. Both teams that make the Region 23 championship game earns a spot in the NJCAA Division II Softball World Series, set for May 19-24 in Oxford, Alabama.
Know Before You Go: NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournament