No. 6 Indians drop playoff heartbreaker to No. 7 Gulf Coast... again

No. 6 Indians drop heartbreaker to No. 7 Gulf Coast... again
Adam Gore/LetsGoICC.com

ELLISVILLE, MS – The No. 6 ICC softball team fell 7-6 to No. 7 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in the opening round of the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Softball Tournament Friday evening at Jones County Junior College.

The Indians (38-11-1) opened the game with three runs in the top of the first inning. Alex Brown (Pontotoc) reached on an error and scored on a single down the line in right by Mamie Hollenhead (Mathiston). Hollenhead, who advanced to second on the throw home, scored on a double off the wall by McKenzie Piper (Pell City, AL), who would later score on a single by Bre Harford (Southaven).

Hollenhead went 3-for-4 with a RBI, run scored, and stolen base.

The Bulldogs (38-10) answered when Lexie Mathis reached on a fielder's choice before scoring on a two-out double by Izzy Werdann. Gulf Coast tied the game, 3-3, with a pair of runs in the second before taking a one-run lead in on a single by Aidan Nichols in the bottom of the third.

Meg Sullivan (Springville, AL) drove a 3-2 pitch over the wall in left-center to tie the game, 4-4, in the top of the fourth inning.

ICC rallied to retake the lead, 5-4, in the top of the fifth when Maura Jane Autry (Holly Springs) lifted a single on the head of the shortstop to score Kelcie Yates (Yazoo City), who was running for Kaitlyn Rhodes (Alexandria, AL).

Gulf Coast rallied to take a 7-5 lead on a two-out, three-run home run by Werdann in the bottom of the sixth. The Bulldogs score all seven of their runs with two outs.

Harford singled and advanced to third on a throwing error when Cori Childs (New Site) reached on a bunt single. Harford scored on a groundout by Caroline Dickins (Batesville) to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 7-6. A two-out, four-pitch walk to Brown put the tying run at second, but Gulf Coast got a strikeout to end the rally and secure the win.

The Indians had 11 hits to the Bulldogs' 12 hits on the afternoon.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE INDIANS' LOSS TO GULF COAST 

Déjà Vu: In the opening round of the 2016 MACJC State Tournament, also at Jones County, Werdann hit a two-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth to help give the Bulldogs a 3-2 victory over the Indians.

ICC will face No. 8 East Central Community College (42-7) Saturday at 3:00 p.m. in the first elimination game of the tournament. The Warriors dropped a 9-0 decision to No. 1 Jones County (45-2) in five innings on Friday.

The winner of the 3:00 game will face the loser from the Jones County and Gulf Coast game in the second elimination game of the day.

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