Bulldog arms lead ICC sweep

Mississippi Gulf Coast got stellar work by the bullpen in Game 1 and a great start in Game 2 to sweep Itawamba on Sunday.

The Bulldogs (19-7, 5-1 MACCC) rallied to win the first game 7-6 in 11 innings and beat ICC 5-2 in the second. The games were played at Scooba because of other activities on the Fulton campus Sunday.

In the opener, the Bulldogs bullpen threw 7.1 innings of one-run ball, allowing just five hits. Brayden Scott (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) went 3.1 innings, allowing just a solo homer. Adrian Byrd (So., Wiggins/Stone) struck out four without allowing a hit in three innings, and Cade Mattison (So., Hattiesburg/Lamar Christian) struck out two in the 11^th to earn the win.

Blake King (So., Petal/Petal) struck out six in six innings of the second game, allowing five hits and two runs. Mattison struck out two in the seventh, allowing just an infield single for the save.

Jacob Palazzo (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) delivered a two-out double for the winning RBI in Game 1. It was his second hit of the game.

The Bulldogs trailed 5-1 after four before mounting a comeback. Kaden Irving (Fr., Gautier/Gautier) singled in the first run of a three-run fifth, and a hard grounder by Palazzo forced an error that allowed two more to score.

Dom Jackson (Fr., Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze) had his second sacrifice fly of the game to pull Gulf Coast within 6-5 in the sixth. His double in the eighth tied it up, eventually forcing extra innings.

Marc Stephens (So., Orange Beach, Ala./Gulf Shores) had three hits and added two more in the nightcap to extend his hit streak to 18. Jackson had another double, as did Charlie Keller (So., Mobile, Ala./Mobile Christian).

Itawamba is now 9-15, 1-5.

Gulf Coast is back on the road Tuesday, heading out to play Southwest Mississippi. First pitch in Summit is set for 3 p.m.

For more information on MGCCC’s 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.