Wheeler Deals, Marlar Delivers in No. 14 Indians Win Over No. 1 Pearl River

FULTON, Miss. - No. 14 Itawamba went toe to toe with No. 1 Pearl River on Friday and came away with one of its biggest wins of the season, stunning the top-ranked Wildcats with a walk-off blast in the opener before battling through a tight second game in a split at home.

Game 1: No. 14 Indians 4, No. 1 Wildcats 1

ICC delivered the kind of win that can change the feel of a season.

Locked in a 1-1 game and down to its final inning, the Indians found their moment in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Skylar Partlow reached and Victoria Fields put pressure on the defense. Kaylin Lynch followed and reached on an error that moved Fields into scoring position.

AB Marlar did the rest.

On a 1-1 pitch, Marlar drove a three-run homer to center to send ICC into celebration and hand PRCC its lone loss of the day. The walk-off shot was the Indians' 43rd home run of the season, tying the program's modern-day single-season record.

Before that swing, ICC had spent most of the afternoon grinding behind Alanee Wheeler, who made her fourth start and seventh appearance of the season. Wheeler kept the Wildcats in check for 6.2 innings, allowing just one hit and one run while striking out five and walking seven. Pearl River's only run came in the first on an RBI double, but Wheeler never let the game get away.

That gave ICC time to hang around until the seventh, when the breakthrough finally came.

Meeks picked up the win after recording the final out in the top half of the inning, and the Indians made it count immediately after.

"It was a big win for our program," head coach Carson Owens said. "Especially in this part of the season, to get a win over the No. 1 team in the country speaks to the fight of our team. Super proud of AB for the big swing. We have talked a lot about coming through when it matters and boy did she. Proud of everyone on our team. It was just a gritty win."

Game 2: No. 1 Wildcats 6, No. 14 Indians 3

ICC did not fold after the opener and gave PRCC another fight in the second game.

The Wildcats struck first with a solo home run in the second, then took advantage of an error in the third to build a 2-0 lead. The Indians answered right back. In the bottom of the third, Lynch reached on an error that allowed Alana Dossey to score and cut the margin to 2-1.

ICC pulled even an inning later. After Emarie Boddie scored, Gracyn Snell lined a single down the left-field line to make it 2-2. The ball got past the outfielder and Snell advanced to third, but the Indians could not push across another run to take control.

PRCC answered in the fifth with a go-ahead double that moved the Wildcats back in front at 4-2, then added another run later in the inning to make it 5-2. ICC kept working and got one back in the sixth when Ella Duhon lifted a sacrifice fly to score Boddie and trim the deficit to 5-3.

The Wildcats added a solo homer in the seventh for the final margin.

"I thought we fought," Owens said. "Ramsey (Montgomery) continues to give us good starts. We have got to find ways to make plays in the big moments. If we play clean softball, we can compete with anyone in the country."

Up next, the Indians head to Coahoma on Tuesday before traveling to No. 3 Co-Lin on Saturday.

"Four big games this week," Owens said. "Coahoma will be tough coming off Easter break. We will have to show up and play well. Then traveling to Co-Lin will also be a tough environment to play. I think we are prepared for every situation, so I'm excited for the opportunities."