Two Homers and a Late Charge, Indians Fall to Delta

FULTON, Miss. - The Indians had the Trojans on the ropes in the bottom of the seventh. ICC trailed by six going into the final frame, then made it a one-run game before running out of outs in a 9-7 loss to Mississippi Delta.

Jack Howell put the Indians on the board in the second with a two-run homer to right, then ICC tacked on another in the third when Cannon Graham drove in a run on a fielder's choice to make it 3-0.

Then the game turned in the fourth. Mississippi Delta flipped the script with a six-run top half, using traffic and patience to grab the lead. A walk with the bases loaded brought in one, a two-run single followed, then another bases-loaded walk pushed the inning to four runs and sent ICC into damage-control mode.

Delta kept adding and eventually stretched the lead to 9-3, and that is where it sat heading into the bottom of the seventh. ICC's offense had been quiet on the hit column all night, but it never stopped taking pitches. The Indians finished with 11 walks and made Delta throw every inning.

That approach finally cashed in late. Madden Butler launched a two-run homer to left to cut the deficit and wake the place up. Another run crossed on a bases-loaded walk to Howell, and ICC added one more on a passed ball to pull within 9-7 and put the tying run in reach. Delta escaped, but not before ICC made the final inning feel like a full-on sprint.

Howell led the way offensively with three RBIs, adding the two-run homer and drawing the bases-loaded walk in the seventh. Butler scored twice, homered, and drove in two. Jacob Pearl doubled and reached twice, while Reid Kent also had a hit and a walk as ICC tried to grind its way back into it.

On the mound, Noah Wilder struck out six in 3.2 innings, Wilson Rodriguez gave ICC a bridge with two innings of one-run work, and the deciding damage came in the later frames as Delta piled up 13 hits on the night.