Meeks, No. 11 Indians Salvage Split with Game 2 Win Over No. 15 Hinds

FULTON, Miss. - No. 11 Indians and No. 15 Hinds played the kind of doubleheader that felt like it could swing either way all afternoon, with the Eagles stealing an extra-inning opener before the Indians answered behind a dominant start from Lizzie Meeks to earn a split.

Game 1: No. 15 Hinds 5, No. 11 Indians 4 (11 innings)

The opener looked like it might get away from ICC early.

Hinds struck in the first, then added three more in the second to build a 4-0 lead and put the Indians in an early hole. But ICC never let the game drift. Instead, the Indians started chipping away and turned a rough start into an 11-inning fight.

The first answer came in the bottom of the second. Gracyn Snell lifted a sacrifice fly to get ICC on the board, Victoria Fields followed with an RBI double and Kaylin Lynch added an RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-3. Just like that, the Indians were back within one and the tone of the game had changed.

From there, Ramsey Montgomery settled in and gave ICC every chance to complete the comeback. The right-hander worked through 10 innings, allowed just seven hits and five runs with only one earned, struck out 12 and walked two. She kept Hinds from finding another breakthrough for most of the afternoon and let the Indians stay within striking distance.

That opening finally came again in the seventh.

With ICC still trailing by a run, Fields stepped in and delivered the biggest swing of the opener, driving a full-count pitch over the wall in right to tie the game at 4-4.

ICC had chances from there, but Hinds finally broke through in the 11th on an RBI single that gave the Eagles a 5-4 lead. The Indians could not find one more answer in the bottom half, ending a comeback effort that came up just short.

"We had multiple chances in Game 1 to walk it off, but we didn't execute," head coach Carson Owens said. "I think we are right on the cusp of being a great softball team. We just have to figure out how to put everything together for seven innings."

Fields led the offense with two hits, including the game-tying homer and an RBI double. Ella Duhon also had two hits as ICC finished with eight, one more than Hinds, but the Indians could not quite finish off the rally after climbing out of the early four-run deficit.

Game 2: No. 11 Indians 4, No. 15 Hinds 2

The response looked like a ranked team protecting home field.

After letting the opener slip away late, ICC grabbed control early in Game 2 and never gave it back. The Indians scored in the first, added two more in the second and rode Meeks the rest of the way to split the day.

"I was really proud of our team for bouncing back in Game 2 and getting a win over a Top 15 team," Owens said.

ICC wasted no time getting started. In the first, Skylar Partlow put the Indians in front with an RBI single that brought home Alana Dossey for a 1-0 lead.

The Indians added on in the second when Snell scored on a Hinds error, then Dossey followed with an RBI double to make it 3-0. That early cushion gave ICC exactly what it needed with Meeks in command in the circle.

Hinds scratched across a run, but the Indians answered in the fourth when Neely Hodum singled home a run to push the lead to 4-1. It was another timely swing in a game where ICC kept Hinds from gaining much traction.

From there, Meeks took care of the rest.

She struck out a season-high 12, allowed just three hits and two runs over seven innings and did not issue a walk. Every time Hinds tried to build something, Meeks shut the door and kept the Eagles from ever stringing together the big inning they needed.

The Indians will be back in action on Saturday when they take on Southwest in Summit. Game 1 is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

"The bye comes at a good time for us," Owens said. "It allows us to kind of rest up and get a little healthier before we go into April. Southwest will be another really solid team, so we will have to prepare well and come and execute."