Indians Earn Split at Hinds Behind Big Bats in Opener

RAYMOND, Miss. - The Indians came close to leaving Saturday with a sweep.

Instead, ICC powered its way through a high-scoring opener, then watched Hinds answer late in the second game to force a split in a doubleheader that had momentum swings all afternoon.

"I was proud of the way we competed all day long," Coach Slater Lott said. "I thought our first inning of the day offensively set the tone."

Game 1: Indians 16, Hinds 13

That tone showed up immediately.

ICC came out swinging in the opener and never really stopped, piling up 18 hits and answering every Hinds push in a game that stayed tense deep into the afternoon.

Cannon Graham opened the day with a two-run homer to right, and Will Caviness followed with a two-run shot to left as the Indians jumped in front 4-0 in the first.

Hinds answered in the bottom half and kept working back into the game, but ICC kept producing. Graham delivered a two-run double in the second to push the lead to 6-4, then Tre Gunn tripled in the fourth before Caviness followed with an RBI double to stretch the margin to 8-5.

When the Eagles eventually pulled even at 8-8 in the fifth, the Indians answered with the biggest swing of the opener.

ICC broke it open with a five-run sixth to reclaim control at 13-8. Gunn drove in a run to start the surge, Bryson Jackson added an RBI single, Gunn stole home during the inning and Graham capped the burst with a two-run single to center.

Hinds kept fighting and cut the lead to 13-12, but ICC delivered one more answer in the ninth. Caviness singled to center and brought home Gunn and Reid Kent for a 16-13 edge.

Caviness finished 4-for-6 with five RBI, while Graham drove in six and delivered key extra-base hits early before adding the two-run single in the sixth.

Houston Green earned the win in relief after allowing one earned run on three hits over 1.2 innings.

Andrew Williams shut the door to secure the opener, working the final two innings and allowing just one hit with no runs, one walk and three strikeouts for the save.

"I thought Andrew Williams was great to close us out," Lott said.

Game 2: Hinds 8, Indians 7

The second game felt like it was setting up for ICC to finish off the sweep.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Indians pulled even in the fourth on Madden Butler's two-run homer to left. ICC then grabbed control in the fifth with a four-run inning. Tyler Pickens homered to center, Kent added an RBI single, Butler reached on an error that brought in another run and a balk scored one more to make it 6-2.

"We did a really good job in game two early on, grabbed a four spot late and put ourselves in the driver's seat to finish," Lott said.

But in the MACCC, leads can disappear fast.

Hinds answered immediately in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game with a double, a hit batter and a walk. The Eagles then moved in front in the sixth on a two-run single to take an 8-6 lead.

"That's baseball and life in the MACCC," Lott said. "Credit to Hinds for how they answered, not only that moment but all day long."

ICC had one last push left in the seventh when Kent led off the inning with a solo homer to left to trim the deficit to 8-7, but Hinds held on from there to split the doubleheader.

The split left ICC with a strong offensive day that still carried some frustration after letting a late lead get away in the nightcap.

"To get where I want us to go we have to find a way to finish these games when we are ahead, and I have to put our guys in the best positions possible to do so," Lott said.

The Indians step out of conference play Tuesday when they travel to Millington, Tenn. to face Southwest Tennessee. Game 1 is scheduled for 2 p.m.