Indians drop back to No. 11 in NJCAA poll

FULTON, Miss. – The Itawamba Community College softball team dropped back to No. 11 in this week's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Top 25 poll, the NJCAA announced Monday.

Last week, ICC opened the week with a conference sweep over Mississippi Delta with a 6-1 win in game one followed by a 4-3 victory in game two and later traveled to Meridian to come away with a split, winning the first game 4-0 before dropping the nightcap 7-3.

At the plate, AB Marlar has been one of the team's top performers early this season. The sophomore is hitting .526 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs through 27 games. Victoria Fields has also been a key contributor offensively, posting a .369 batting average along with 14 doubles, four triples and 19 RBIs. Taylar Shands leads the team in runs batted in with 31 and has added eight home runs.

Inside the circle, ICC's pitching staff owns a 1.95 ERA with 227 strikeouts across 182.2 innings. Ramsey Montgomery leads the group with a 9-3 record, a 1.43 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 73.2 innings pitched. Lizzie Meeks holds an 8-2 mark with a 2.85 ERA and 62 strikeouts, while Alanee Wheeler is 2-0 with 19 strikeouts in 23 innings.

ICC has also been aggressive on the basepaths. Ella Duhon has crossed the plate 21 times and stolen eight bases, while Alana Dossey has scored 19 runs and leads the team with 11 steals. As a team, the Indians are batting .320 with 35 home runs, 189 runs scored and 61 stolen bases through 28 games.

No. 11 ICC will be back in action on Wednesday, March 18, as they continue conference play with a road doubleheader at Northwest, starting at 3 p.m.