No. 21 Indians Stay Alive with Win Over East Mississippi

DECATUR, Miss. - The No. 21 Indians stayed alive in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament on Thursday, beating East Mississippi 9-6 in an elimination game at East Central Community College.

ICC broke the game open in the fifth, added two more in the seventh and finished the game off late to move on in the bracket. Reid Kent delivered the biggest swing with a grand slam, Daniel Whitfield set the table throughout the evening and Solomon Smith gave the Indians seven needed innings on the mound.

ICC took control in the fifth.

With the bases loaded, Kent drove a grand slam to right to give the Indians a 4-0 lead. Later in the inning, Jack Cummings doubled to center to score Tre Gunn and Madden Butler and stretch the lead to 6-0.

"That swing gave us the spark we needed," Coach Slater Lott said. "Reid came up in a big moment and changed the game with one swing and gave us the big lift we were looking for."

ICC added two more in the seventh when Gunn singled to center to score Bryson Jackson and Butler for an 8-0 lead.

Whitfield played a major role in keeping the offense moving. He finished 4-for-4 and helped ICC keep pressure on the Lions before and after the big fifth inning.

"Daniel was huge for us," Lott said. "To go 4-for-4 in a game like that says a lot about how locked in he was. He just kept giving us quality at-bats and found a way to keep the lineup moving all night."

Lott also credited the lineup for staying with its approach early against East Mississippi's starter.

"I was really proud of how our guys competed at the plate," Lott said. "We were facing a really good arm and the hits did not come right away but nobody got frustrated and nobody tried to do too much. We stayed with our approach and when the game opened up, we were ready for it."

The Lions made a late push, including a two-run home run in the eighth but ICC had built enough room to finish the win.

The Indians added one more run in the ninth when Cannon Graham came home on an East Mississippi error off the bat of Gunn.

Kent drove in four runs on one hit with the fifth-inning grand slam. The bottom of the order also gave ICC a lift. Cummings, Whitfield and Will Caviness combined for five of the Indians' 10 hits, scored two runs and drove in two.

Smith earned the win after allowing four runs on nine hits over seven innings. He struck out four and walked one. Houston Green picked up the save after allowing two runs on two hits over the final two innings with one strikeout and one walk.

"Solomon was tough all game," Lott said. "He gave us exactly what we needed in that spot and kept us in control of the game. Then Houston came in and got the outs we had to have late. Those two really took care of business on the mound tonight."

The Indians will face No. 2 East Central at 2 p.m. Friday in their second elimination game of the tournament. The winner will advance to the championship round against Northwest and would need two wins to claim the title.