ICC to face East Central in best-of-three playoff series

FULTON, Miss. – ICCs baseball program is headed to the playoffs for the third straight year and will face East Central beginning Thursday in Decatur.

The Indians (30-14, 16-12 MACJC) finished sixth in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) to earn their playoff berth and East Central came in one spot higher at fifth.

Both teams spent time in the national rankings this season with the Indians reaching as high as No. 2 and the Warriors at No. 5. In their regular season meetings, the Indians fell 6-5 in game one and 11-4 in Fulton. 

The Indians finished the season with four consecutive road dates with a 5-3 record, so going on the road for playoffs will be something the tribe is accustomed to. 

After 44 regular season games, the Indians enter the playoffs hitting .313 as a team while East Central hit .296 in 46 games.

LaBryant Siddell (Belden) leads the Indians with a .381 batting average, and Justin Medlin (Ripley) had a team-high 31 RBI in the regular season. The duo is part of eight Indians who finished the regular season batting over .300.

On the mound, the Indians have used 14 pitchers including Austin King (Fulton) who leads the starters with a 2.81 ERA and Houston Harding (Walls) who has struck out 79 batters in 14 appearances. King and Harding are sure to make an impact for the Indians in the three game series, and Hunter Hughes (Saltillo), who moved from the pen to a starting role and finished the season with a 5-0 record, could affect the series as well.

East Central's biggest offensive threat is sophomore Wyatt Ball, who led the Warriors with a .366 batting average and 48 RBI.

The winner of the best-of-three series will earn a spot in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament that is set to begin May 16 in Eunice, La. 

First pitch of the series' first game between the Indians and Warriors is set for Thursday night at 6 p.m. Game two is slated for Friday at 2:30 p.m. with game three to follow if necessary. The games will streamed live at https://www.eccc.edu/eccc-media. 

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