No. 13 Indians Open Region 23 Tournament Sunday Against No. 6 Jones
The No. 13 Indians will face No. 6 Jones at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 4, in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville.
FULTON, Miss. – Softball's postseason road will begin with a familiar opponent and a field loaded with national rankings.
The No. 13 Indians will face No. 6 Jones at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 4, in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville. The matchup comes one week after the two teams closed the regular season in Ellisville, where the Bobcats picked up 13-8 and 8-7 wins.
The Pearl River pod will be played May 3-5 and features No. 2 seed Pearl River, No. 3 Jones, No. 6 Itawamba, No. 7 Meridian and No. 10 Northeast. Meridian and Northeast will meet Saturday in the play-in game, with the winner advancing to face host Pearl River at 2 p.m. Sunday.
After the play-in round, the tournament shifts to a double-elimination format.
A win Sunday would send ICC to a 4 p.m. winner's bracket game against Pearl River or the play-in game winner. A loss would put the Indians in an elimination game against the loser of that matchup. If ICC wins its first elimination game, the Indians would play again at 7 p.m. against the loser from the winner's bracket.
ICC enters the tournament 35-15 overall and 17-11 in conference play. The Indians went 18-6 at home, 10-8 on the road and 7-1 in neutral-site games.
The Indians bring one of the deeper offensive lineups in the field into Poplarville. ICC is hitting .312 as a team with 415 hits, 81 doubles, 11 triples, 53 home runs and 300 RBI. The Indians have also stolen 112 bases and carry a .401 on-base percentage with a .508 slugging percentage.
AB Marlar has been at the center of that production, hitting .439 with 58 hits, 16 home runs, 48 RBI and an .848 slugging percentage. Victoria Fields has added a .340 average with 51 hits, 20 doubles, six triples, four home runs and 32 RBI, while Ella Duhon has hit .333 with 37 hits, 36 runs scored, 22 RBI and 22 stolen bases.
Taylar Shands gives the Indians another run-producing threat with nine home runs and 45 RBI, and Maddie Porter has returned from injury to provide impact with a .397 average, seven doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI.
In the circle, ICC has been anchored by Ramsey Montgomery and Lizzie Meeks, who have combined for 28 wins and 313 strikeouts. Montgomery enters the tournament 14-8 with a 1.95 ERA, 12 complete games, five shutouts and 194 strikeouts in 136.2 innings. Meeks is 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA, 12 complete games and 119 strikeouts in 102.2 innings.
As a staff, ICC owns a 2.52 ERA with 372 strikeouts in 322 innings. Opponents are hitting .226 against the Indians.
The winner of the Pearl River pod will advance to face the winner of the Jones College Region 23 pod, which includes No. 1 seed Co-Lin, No. 4 LSU-Eunice, No. 5 Northwest, No. 8 Hinds and No. 9 Southwest.
Tickets for the Pearl River pod are $15 per day and can be purchased online at PRCCAthletics.com/tickets. State passes will be accepted. The PRCC box office is card only, and cash will not be accepted.
Pearl River will livestream all tournament games for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold.
