Indians sweep Bevill-Fayette; move to No. 12 in new rankings

FAYETTE, ALA. – The ICC baseball team moved up three spots to No. 12 in the most recent NJCAA DII baseball poll and flexed their nationally-ranked muscle in a sweep of Beville State (Ala.) Community College in Fayette, Alabama on Tuesday.

No. 12 Indians 4, Bevill-Fayette 1

Kyle Crigger (Corinth) set the tone early with a two-run home run in the top of the first inning to give Indians a 2-0 lead over the Bears.

The Indians took a 4-0 advantage when LaBryant Siddell (Tupelo) and Justin Medlin (Ripley) scored when Russell Bunch (Saltillo) and Brett Coker (Hendersonville, Tenn.) both reached on a fielder's choice in the fourth.

The Bears got a run back in the bottom half of the inning on a bases-loaded walk.

Crigger came in to pitch in the bottom of the fifth and closed the door on the Bears' rally and pick up the save in the Indians' three-run win in game one. Hunter Hughes (Saltillo) picked up the win after giving up one unearned run on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts in four innings of work.

No. 12 Indians 14, Bevill-Fayette 3 (6 innings)

Jackson Lancaster (Corinth) and Crigger both drew a walk to start the second game of the day. Medlin singled to score Lancaster and Hayden Palmer (Saltillo) doubled to push across Crigger to give the Indians a 2-0 lead. Medlin and Kylan Carter (Houston) both scored on a pair of ground outs to jump out to a four-run lead in the top of the first.

Bevill-Fayette answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning to cut the Indians' lead in half.

Braden Ellis (Saltillo) doubled to score Carter to push the lead to 5-3 in the third. Caleb Whittle (Fulton) singled and scored on a double by Lancaster, who stole third and scored on a wild pitch to take a 7-2 lead after four innings of play. The Bears cashed in on an Indian error to make it a 6-3 contest after five complete.

Crigger tripled and scored after beating the throw home when getting caught in a rundown to take a 7-3 lead. Ellis scored a run after drawing a five-pitch bases-loaded walk before Ray Sandroni (Tupelo) blasted a double down the line to clear the bases and give the Indians a dominate 10-run advantage.

Whittle scored in the top of the sixth to give the Indians a 14-3 lead.

David Rowland (Florence, Ala.) picked up the win after giving up two unearned runs on two hits and a walk while striking out a pair of batters in two innings.

Lancaster went 3-for-4 with a walk with four stolen bases, pair of runs scored, and a run batted in. Whittle, Crigger, and Palmer each had a pair of hit in the win. The Indians scored 14 runs on 13 hits and six walks to complete the sweep of the Bears.  

No. 12 ICC will travel to Meridian on Saturday to open conference play against the No. 7 Eagles. The First American National Bank opening pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and will be available on LetsGoICCTV.com/red.

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