Itawamba and Northeast’s roads might be different, but they still lead south.

Both schools' softball teams will soon turn their attention to the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.

The Indians boast the third best team ERA (2.52) in the MACCC. The effort is led by former Mantachie standout Ramsey Montgomery and former Pine Grove standout Lizzie Meeks. Montgomery was second in the conference in ERA (1.95) and first in strikeouts (194). Meeks was fifth (2.32 ERA) and fourth (119) in those respective marks.

“I don't think we can put into words what they not only mean for our team, but for our program,” ICC coach Carson Owens said. “I think we've taken a big step forward this year as far as our program goes.”

The Tigers boasted the third highest on-base percentage (.454) and the second-best slugging percentage (.625) in the conference. Kendall Bragg was second in the conference with a .463 batting average. Sophie Gant’s 60 RBIs were good for fifth.

“This has been a year that we have relied on our offense, and our offense has come from behind in a lot of games,” Tigers coach Jody Long said. “And our offense is definitely the biggest contributor to our success this year.”

Games will be played at Pearl River Community College in Poplarville and Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Wesson. Pearl River and Co-Lin will each host separate double-elimination pods, with the winner of each playing for the region championship.

Both the Tribe and Tigers are in the Pearl River pod. Itawamba’s tournament journey starts on Sunday when it faces Jones at 5 p.m. Northeast will take on Meridian on Saturday at 4 p.m.

“If we can execute and be sound and solid defensively,” Owens said, “I think we have a really good chance to go really far.”

“We're going to have to really play well. I think they'll play well,” Long said of Meridian. “And whoever can throw that last punch on Saturday will come out on top.”