Bulldogs earn split with No. 5 Lansing

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast outslugged No. 5 Lansing once to earn a split Saturday at Ken "Curly" Farris Field.

Charlie Keller (Fr., Mobile, Ala./Mobile Christian) hit a walk-off double in the opener for a 9-8 win. Lansing bashed its way to the nightcap victory, hitting three homers in a 15-9 win.

"It doesn't matter if you're playing the No. 1 team or the worst, it's about playing the right brand of baseball. I was super proud of the way we played in Game 1. We had some really big hits and we fought back, kept trading punches and didn't go away. That's what we want."

Gulf Coast's top three hitters were fantastic. Marc Stephens (Fr., Orange Beach, Ala./Gulf Shores) was 4-for-8 with two homers and five runs scored. Smith sent 8-for-9 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and four RBI, and Keller was 5-for-6 with a double and a homer.

Keller hit his ninth home run of the season in the first inning of Game 1 for a 2-0 lead, and Charlie Olsen (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) regained the lead with an RBI single in the second.

After the Stars went back in front, Stephens tied it up at 4 with a single and scored when Smith hit his ninth long ball of the season to make it 6-4 in the fifth.

Olsen doubled in what looked like two insurance runs in the sixth, but Lansing hit two home runs in the seventh to tie it up.

Stephens opened the bottom of the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a single by Jayden Mark (Fr., Petal/Petal). Keller launched his double to center field to set off a celebration.

Smith and Keller had three hits each. Olsen had two. Sam Mansell (So., Laurel/Northeast Jones) got the win by retiring the last batter of the seventh inning.

In the second game, Stephens led off the bottom of the first with a home run, and DJ Walker (So., Brandon/Brandon) drove in another with a ground out. Smith smacked his 10^th of the season in third before Ty Mancha (Fr., Albuquerque, N.M./Mobile Christian) singled in a run and Kade Carpenter (So., Vancleave/Vancleave) hit into a fielder's choice that made it 5-0.

Lansing scored six runs with two outs in the fourth to go in front 7-5. They led 9-6 in the sixth when Smith tripled in a run and Keller drove him in with a single.

Lansing hit a solo homer in the seventh, and got five runs in the eighth to take control. Stephens added his second home run of the game in the eighth, but the Bulldogs would get no closer.

"You're looking for silver linings," Keller said. "The sun will rise tomorrow, and we'll get better. In baseball, you have to learn to stay out of the big inning."

Gulf Coast is back in action Tuesday when two MACCC opponents make their way to Ken "Curly" Farris Field. The Bulldogs will play Meridian at noon, and their game against Holmes is scheduled for 6 p.m. The two visitors will play the middle game. All games will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

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