Softball captures series against East Central

Softball captures series against East Central
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

FULTON, MS – The No. 11 Lady Indians punched their ticket to the MACJC Softball Tournament with an 8-4 win in Game 3 over East Central Community College on Saturday.

Sophomore Emilee Henderson (Burnsville) went 2-for-3 with a double, 3 RBI and a run scored while Delta State signee Kory Watterson (Nesbit) continued to swing a hot bat going 2-for-3 with a walk, a RBI and a run scored.

"I didn't really have to challenge our sophomore," said Coach Andy Kirk. "They knew it was win or go home and they weren't ready to go home."

Henderson ripped a two-out double off the fence to score Catherine Carver (Hernando) and Watterson to give the Lady Indians (37-11) a 2-0 lead in bottom of the first.

"We need a quick start to the game and Henderson did a great job giving us that start in a clutch situation because she had struggled in the first two games and you could see it in her eyes that she wasn't ready for the season to end between games," said Kirk.

ICC added three runs in the third on a RBI single by Henderson, an East Central (33-16) error and a sac fly by Rachel Elder (Guntown).

"That was a big hit by Elder," said Kirk. "It kind of took the wind out of their sails when we went up 5-0 on them."

The Lady Warriors scored a run in the fourth, but the Lady Indians answered in the bottom half of the inning when Haley Moore (Booneville) walked and stole second and third before scoring on single by Watterson.

"I was really proud of the fight the girls had," said Kirk. "Every time East Central would score a run or start to get some momentum they had an answer throughout the entire game."

Click here to see highlights from Game 2 and 3

ICC took an 8-2 lead on a pair of bases loaded walks before holding off a seventh-inning rally by the Lady Warriors to advance to tournament play with the four-run victory.

East Central 5, Itawamba 3 (Game 2)

In Game 2, East Central got a two-out double in the sixth and got out of back-to-back innings with the tying run coming to the plate for the Lady Indians to pick up the 5-3 win.

Watterson hit her 13th home run of the season and Carver went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.

ICC to host MACJC Softball Tournament

The Lady Indians will host No. 2 Jones County Junior College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and Pearl River Community College Friday, May 2 through Sunday, May 4 in the double-elimination MACJC Softball Tournament.

For more information on ICC softball, follow ICC Athletics on Twitter (@LetsGoICC).