ICC baseball opens NJCAA Region 23 Tournament on Thursday
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

The Itawamba Community College baseball team will hit the road for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament Wednesday morning to make the nearly ten-hour journey to Eunice, Louisiana

"It's going to be a long trip to Eunice, but these guys are ready to get back to playing baseball," said ICC head coach Rick Collier. "Hopefully last week helped make the guys hungry again and refocused on playing the kind of baseball we know we can play."

The No. 7 Indians (38-11) will open the tournament against No. 20 and state champion Hinds Community College Eagles (33-16) at 3:00 p.m. Thursday in the double-elimination tournament that well feature three of the nation's Top 20 teams.

"It's going to be a tough tournament," said Collier. "You don't get to this part of the season by accident and last week's tournament proved you've got to be ready to play each time you step on the field."

The second game of the opening day will feature host and the top-ranked LSU-Eunice (49-4) taking on Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (29-18) at 7:00 p.m.

The losers from Game 1 and Game 2 will square off in an elimination game at 3:00 p.m. on Friday with the winners advancing to the 7:00 semifinal game. The winner from the elimination game will take on the semifinal game loser at 3:00 Saturday with the winner advancing to the 7:00 championship game. If necessary, the second championship game is scheduled for 1:00 Sunday.

The winner of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament will advance to the NJCAA D-II National Championship Tournament to be held May 26 through June 2 in Enid, Oklahoma.

For more information on ICC baseball and the nine other intercollegiate athletic programs visit the college website at www.iccms.edu/athletics.

ICC baseball to host open tryouts on May 22
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

Itawamba Community College will hold open tryouts for its MACJC North Division Champion baseball team on Tuesday, May 22 on the Fulton campus.

Coach Rick Collier will host baseball tryouts at 11:00 a.m. at Roy Cresap Field. For more information contact Coach Collier at 662-862-8118 or recollier@iccms.edu.

Tryouts are open to unsigned high school seniors or students with remaining NJCAA eligibility. All interested participants are encouraged to being proper equipment and workout gear for their respective tryout.

ICC softball schedules tryouts for May 22
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

Itawamba Community College will hold open tryouts for its MACJC North Division Champion softball team on Tuesday, May 22 on the Fulton campus.

Coach Andy Kirk has scheduled softball tryouts at 3:00 p.m. at the ICC Softball Complex. For more information contact Coach Kirk at 662-862-8159 or ankirk@iccms.edu.

Tryouts are open to unsigned high school seniors or students with remaining NJCAA eligibility. All interested participants are encouraged to being proper equipment and workout gear for their respective tryout.

ICC women earn Top 20 finish in NJCAA Tennis Championships
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

The Itawamba Community College women's tennis program finished No. 17 in the 2012 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tennis Championships last week in Tyler, Texas.

"I am proud of how the girls played all week long," said ICC Hall of Fame tennis coach Paul Johnson. "We didn't get the best draws of the tournament and that makes a big difference in where you finish as a team."

In singles action, No. 1 Amy Evans (Ravenshoe, Queensland, Australia), No. 2 Sommer Burnett (Aberdeen), No. 4 Anna-Blair Hunt (Senatobia), No. 5 Bianca Stephens (Hernando) advanced to the Sweet 16 of the championship bracket. No. 6 Brennan Harris (Amory) advanced to the consolation bracket quarterfinals while No. 3 Katherine Downing (Pontotoc) made it to the Sweet 16 of the consolation bracket.

In doubles play, the No. 1 duo of Evans and Burnett advanced to the Sweet 16 of the championship bracket while No. 3 duo Hunt and Harris advanced to the consolation bracket quarterfinals and No. 2 duo Downing and Frankie Turner (Pontotoc) finished in the Sweet 16 of the consolation bracket.

"We drew some of the nationally-ranked players early in the tournament, but the girls held their own against them," said Johnson, who was named MACJC Men's Coach of the Year in April. "They didn't let the rankings intimidate them and fought hard all the way to the end."

The Lady Indians spent the entire season ranked amongst the best in the nation according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) NJCAA Women's National Rankings starting preseason ranked No. 24 and entering the National Championships at No. 22.

"I'm really proud of the year we had," Johnson said. "I feel like we kept getting better as the season went along and started playing our best tennis in the postseason."

ICC earned its second-straight Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) tennis championship and finished runner-up in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament in April. The Lady Indians earned the highest finish in the national tournament amongst participating MACJC programs.

ICC baseball falls in state tournament, advance to Region 23
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

The ICC Indians saw a pair of big innings by the Hinds Eagles and Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs end their quest for their first MACJC Baseball title since 2009.

In the No. 7 Indians (38-11) first game of the day, No. 20 Hinds (33-16) scored 14 runs with two outs in the top of the sixth inning to send ICC to the elimination bracket with a 16-5 victory in seven innings.

"They've done that all season," said ICC skipper Rick Collier. "They can score a lot of runs in a hurry and once they got it rolling we couldn't do anything to find that third out to stop them."

In their second game of the day, the Indians scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth when Kirk Roberts scored on a single by Jeremy Ferguson and Tyler Tipton scored on a wild pitch to send the game into extra innings tied 4-4. Gulf Coast (29-18) answered in the tenth with four runs and the Indians only managed a single in the bottom half of the inning in the 8-4 loss to the Bulldogs.

"It wasn't the outcome we were looking for, but I am proud of how the guys battled all game," said Collier. "They could have easily given up after the first game, but they kept fighting to give us a chance at the end of the night."

The North Division champs scored a pair of runs on a two-run double in the third by Channing Nanney after the Bulldogs got a three-run home run by Ben Slaton in the top half of the inning.

In their first game of the tournament, ICC defeated Gulf Coast 9-4 to advance to the semifinals. Zack Randolph, Williams Goss and Jake Smithey had three hits each while Tipton added a pair of hits to go along with home runs from Smithey and Cody Shrewsbury in the Indians' 14-hit performance to help Ben Hudspeth improve to 10-0 on the season.

The Indians will advance to the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament this week at LSU-Eunice, with the bracket still to be announced.

ICC baseball continues to climb in latest NJCAA poll
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

The Itawamba Community College baseball team picked up some motivation heading into the state tournament when the latest baseball polls were released on Wednesday.

The Indians (37-9) moved up one spot to No. 7 in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) baseball poll after sweeping East Central Community College to earn a spot and the right to host the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) State Baseball Tournament.

"We're proud to be considered one of the top few teams in the nation, but right now we are focused on Gulf Coast and playing our best baseball this week in the state tournament," said ICC head baseball coach Rick Collier. "It's going to be a tough tournament because any of the other three teams in the tournament could very easily be the seventh team in the nation."

LSU-Eunice (48-4), host of next week's NJCAA Region 23 Tournament, remains No. 1 in the polls.

Defending MACJC champion Jones County Junior College (31-17) moves to No. 20 with Hinds Community College (31-16) falling out of the Top 20 after being ranked No. 17; both will participate in this week's MACJC State Baseball Tournament along with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (27-17).

The tournament starts Thursday at 2:00 p.m. with the No. 7 Indians taking on Gulf Coast at 6:00 and will run through the championship games scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday, with a second game to follow if needed.

ICC softball puts eight on All-North list, two earn All-Region 23 honors
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

The Itawamba Community College softball team had eight players named to the 2012 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) All-North teams when they were released on Tuesday.

Freshman outfield Jessi Patterson (Nettleton, MS) was named North Division Best Offensive Player along with being selected to the MACJC All-State and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-Region 23 teams.

Sophomore pitcher Kristyn Atkins (Columbus, MS) was an All-North Division first team selection and also earned spots on the MACJC All-State and NJCAA All-Region 23 teams.

Freshman third baseman Kami Roberts (Smithville, MS) was named to the All-North first team and MACJC All-State team while sophomore first baseman Courtney Dawson (Sequatchie, TN) was the third member of the North Division Champion Lady Indians to be named to the All-North first team.

Freshman catcher Anna Holley (Columbus,MS) was named to the All-North second team while freshman outfielder Ashley Camp (Amory, MS), freshman shortstop Holly Schlicht (Nettleton, MS) and freshman pitcher Rebecca Sloan (Oneonta, AL) were named honorable mention.

Patterson and Atkins are eligible for NJCAA All-American honors.

ICC (34-13, 22-2 MACJC North) finished fourth in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament in a record-breaking season that saw the Lady Indians set school records for most wins in a season (34) and most division wins in a season (22) while earning the program's first national ranking (16) and its second MACJC North Division title.

ICC to host MACJC State Baseball Tournament this week
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

Itawamba Community College will be the site for the 2012 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) state baseball tournament after the No. 8 Indians completed the two-game sweep East Central Community College on Saturday.

The three-day, double-elimination tournament will be held Thursday, May 10 through Saturday, May 12 at Roy Cresap Field as four teams vie for spots in next week's National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament hosted by LSU-Eunice.

The No. 8 Indians (37-9, 19-5 MACJC North) finished atop the MACJC North Division and will open up tournament play against Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (27-17, 13-11 MACJC South) in Game 2 on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Game 1 will see No. 17 Hinds Community College (31-16, 13-11 MACJC South) take on defending state champ Jones County Junior College (31-17, 17-7 MACJC South) at 2:00 p.m.

Friday's action will see the losers from Game 1 and Game 2 will square off in an elimination game at noon with the winners from Game 1 and Game 2 facing off at 3:00 p.m. The winner from the day's first game and the loser from the second game will close Friday's play with an elimination game at 6:00 p.m.

The championship game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday. If necessary, a second game will follow to determine the 2012 MACJC baseball championship.

Fans can attend this year's state tournament by purchasing at single-day pass for five dollars at the gate.

For more information on the 2012 MACJC State Baseball tournament and the 10 intercollegiate athletic programs visit the college website at www.iccms.edu.

ICC women in Top 15 after Day Two of NJCAA Tennis Championships
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

The Itawamba Community College women's tennis team entered the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Women's Tennis Championships ranked No. 22 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), but after a strong start to the tournament the Lady Indians find themselves No. 14 amongst the nation's best in Texas.

The Lady Indians won five out seven matches on Sunday, but only managed one victory on Monday when No. 6 singles Brennan Harris defeated Alexa Cabaltera of Lake County Community College 6-4; 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket.

ICC will continue their play in Texas with four matches on Tuesday as Harris continues to battle in singles action while teaming with her doubles partner Anna-Blair Hunt in the consolation round of the No. 3 doubles flight. The No. 1 doubles duo Amy Evans and Summer Burnett will take the court in the second round of the championship bracket while No. 2 doubles Katherine Downing and Frankie Turner continue play in the consolation bracket.

Lady Indians open NJCAA National Tennis Championships with fours wins in singles action
Adam Gore/ICC Sports Information Department

The No. 22 Lady Indians opened Day One of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Tennis Championships winning four out of their first five singles matches on Sunday.

No. 1 Amy Evans defeated Madison Porter of Mesa 6-1 and 6-0 while her doubles partner Sommer Burnett beat Heather Williams of Grand Rapids 6-0 and 6-2 in No. 2 singles action. Anna Blair-Hunt topped Lewis & Clark's Jenna Stevenson 7-6 (7) and 6-0 in No. 4 singles with No. 5 Bianca Stephens picked up the Lady Indians final win of the day over Alyssa Phillips of Snead State 6-3; 6-1.

The foursome will advance to the Round of 16 in the Championsip bracket on Tuesday.

No. 3 Katherine Downing and No. 6 Brennan Harris dropped their opening round matches to nationally-ranked opponents and will play in the second round of Tuesday's consolation bracket.
In the Lady Indians only doubles match of the day, the No. 1 duo of Evans and Burnett defeated Nikki Hall and Olivia Robbins of Abraham Bladwin Agriculture College.