Lady Indians to host MACJC State Softball Tournament

Itawamba Community College will be the site for the 2012 Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) Softball Tournament Thursday, April 26 and Friday, April 27 at the ICC Softball Complex on the Fulton campus.

The Lady Indians (33-10, 22-2) earned the right to host this year's single-elimination tournament by winning the North Division and will play Pearl River Community College, the No. 4 seed out of the South Division, Thursday at 4:00 p.m. in the opening round of the tournament.

"This has been a special season," said first-year softball coach Andy Kirk. "We didn't do too well during the spring and the girls took upon themselves to set certain goals and go the extra mile to be able to reach and even surpass those goals. We look forward to being able to host this year's tournament and hopefully a long run in the postseason."

Northwest Mississippi Community College (North No. 2) and East Central Community College, (South No. 3) will open tournament play at noon on Thursday. Jones County Junior College (South No. 1) and East Mississippi Community College (North No. 4) will square off at 2:00 p.m. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (South No. 2) will take on Northeast Mississippi Community College (North No. 3) in the opening day finale at 6:00 p.m.

Friday's semifinals will be played at noon and 2:00 p.m. with the championship game scheduled for 5:00 p.m.

The two-day event will be the fourth MACJC championship event the college has played host to this sports season.

"It has been a special year in athletics," said ICC Athletics Director Carrie Ball-Williamson. "We've been fortunate enough to enjoy a lot of success this season and look forward to another opportunity to showcase our athletes and outstanding facilities we have here at ICC."

The Lady Indians, who have set records for most wins in a season (33) and most division wins in a season (22), and Jones County have already qualified for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 23 Tournament next week in Clinton.