PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast closed out its 2024 baseball season here Saturday with a win, earning a split in a doubleheader against Northeast Mississippi.
The Bulldogs bounced back from a 12-6 loss in the opener to win 5-4. They needed to sweep the Tigers to earn a spot in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.
After NEMCC rallied for a 3-2 lead with three in the fifth, Jayden Mark (So., Petal/Petal) tied the game with a single to right. Ty Mancha (So., Albuquerque, N.M./Mobile Christian) hit a sacrifice fly two batters later to retake the lead.
The Tigers tied it in the sixth, but Keondre Fields (Fr., Nesbit/Magnolia Heights) singled to lead off the bottom of the inning. Tanner Ladner (Fr., Dedeaux/Hancock) got the game-winning hit with a one-out double.
Cade Mattison (So., Hattiesburg/Lamar Christian) got the save for a scoreless seventh. Andrew Knight (Fr., Hattiesburg/Sumrall) picked up the win.
Charlie Keller (So., Mobile, Ala./Mobile Christian) had an RBI groundout in the first, and Charlie Olsen (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) drove in a run with a second-inning single.
Aiden Seymour (Fr., D’Iberville/D’Iberville) got a sterling start, striking out five in three no-hit innings.
Olsen and Kannon Varnado (So., Gulfport/Harrison Central) had two hits each.
In the opener, Brandon Cain went 4-for-5 with a homer and two doubles to drive in two runs. Keller and Dom Jackson (Fr., Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze) had homers.
Gulf Coast ends the season 26-22 overall, 12-16 in the MACCC. The Bulldogs saluted 16 sophomore players and a manager before the doubleheader started: Harrison Bull (So., Long Beach/Long Beach), Adrian Byrd (So., Wiggins/Stone), Brandon Cain (So., Mobile, Ala./Baker), Tyler Gunter (So., D’Iberville/D’Iberville), Brennan Jones (So., Gulfport/West Harrison), Charlie Keller (So., Mobile, Ala./Mobile Christian), Blake King (So., Petal/Petal), Ty Mancha (So., Albuquerque, N.M./Mobile Christian), Jayden Mark (So., Petal/Petal), Cade Mattison (So., Hattiesburg/Lamar Christian), Charlie Olsen (So., Gulfport/Gulfport), Blake Roberts (So., Petal/Petal), Marc Stephens (So., Orange Beach, Ala./Gulf Shores), Brody Swindle (So., Fairhope, Ala./Bayside Academy), Kannon Varnado (So., Gulfport/Harrison Central), Will Whittington (So., Hattiesburg/Presbyterian Christian) and manager Carter Strickland.
Bull was named the winner of the Randy Rouse Award. It’s given in honor a former Gulf Coast player who died of leukemia in 1992. The award is voted on by the team and is given to the sophomore who best exemplifies sportsmanship, unselfishness, and loyalty.
For more information on MGCCC’s 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
This post originally posted at https://www.mgcccbulldogs.com/landing/index by MGCCC Athletics
