Eunice, La. - In their opening game of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament, No. 13 Itawamba Community College fell to No. 8 East Central, 12-3 in eight innings.
The Indians (35-12) only picked up one hit the first time through the lineup while the Warriors rattled of eight hits to score five runs, highlighted by a two run home run in the third.
In the fourth, the Indians' bats started to started to come to life as Matthew Martinolich (Ellisville) doubled in a run and Gray Bane (Olive Branch) hit a run-scoring single to cut the lead to 5-2.
The Warriors quickly got the two runs back in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run home run and then added two more runs on a two-out infield pop up that wasn't caught by the Indian defense.
Ty Roberson (Ecru) singled in a run in the top of the seventh for the Indians, but a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth finished off the first day of the tournament, with the Indians falling, 12-3.
The Indians will face Northeast Tuesday at Noon in an elimination game. The game will be available on lsuebengals.net/DigitalNetwork