Gibbs' walk-off HR lifts Indians past Jackson State in extra innings
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com
FULTON, MS - Luke Gibbs (Oxford) hit a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the eight inning to give the Indians an 11-9 Game 1 win over Jackson State.
Jackson State took an 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but the Indians rallied to plate a pair of runs in the bottom of the third when Gable Butler (Tishomingo) singled and scored on a wild pitch before Bryce Williams (Ridgeland) scored on sac fly by Drew Wheeler (Mooreville).
JSCC answered with three runs in the top of the fourth, but once again the Indians rallied to stay within striking distance in the bottom half of the inning.
Austin Welch (Hamilton) reached on a fielder's choice and scored on a single to center by Butler before Gibbs smashed a triple to the gap in center to plate Butler and Williams to give the Indians a 5-4 lead.
Welch added another run in the fifth with a single to right field to score Gill.
Jackson State rallied with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 6-6 before taking a 9-6 lead after pushing across three runs in the top of the eighth.
Gill started the bottom of the eight with a single to left before advancing to second when Welch reached on an error and scoring on a two-out single to right by Cameron Coker (Germantown) to set up Gibbs for his late-game heroics.
Gibbs went 2-for-4 from the plate with a walk, a triple to go along with his game-winning home run, five RBI and a run scored.
Gill, Welch and Butler each added a pair of hits to round out the Indians' 10-hit performance.
Ben Aldridge (Tupelo) picked up the win in relief duty after giving up three earned runs on one hit, four walks and four strikeouts in the final three innings of play.
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