Patient Bulldogs blast Coyotes

Mississippi Gulf Coast scored a ton of runs Wednesday aided by a slew of walks and hit batsmen, but when the Bulldogs got a chance to swing the bats, they did damage.

Gulf Coast beat Coastal Alabama-North 19-5 in a run-shortened seven-inning game at Brewton, banging eight of 10 hits for extra bases. 

"We did everything well on both sides of the ball," Gulf Coast coach Bob Keller said. "We pitched well, got some guys' feet wet. The encouraging thing was our defense played clean baseball."

The Bulldogs are unbeaten in five games to open the season. They took 14 walks and got hit by five pitches. With pitches to hit, they had six doubles and two home runs.

Once again, they got off to a hot start with Dom Jackson (Fr., Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze) blasting a three-run homer in the first. It was the second straight game he's done that, and he's now homered in four straight games.

"He's just being selective at the plate, getting his pitch to hit," Keller said. "He's getting favorable hitter counts so he can drive the baseball. You combine that with some patience at the plate and strength, he's a real force at the dish."

Landon Holliman (Fr., Hattiesburg/Sumrall) had a grand slam in the seventh, part of a very productive bench. Dawson Hall (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) doubled.

Jackson and Marc Stephens (So., Orange Beach, Ala./Gulf Shores) had two hits each, with Jackson notching one of the doubles. Keilon Parnell (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) had a three-run double, and Brandon Cain had a double, four walks and was hit by a pitch.

Aiden Seymour (Fr., D'Iberville/D'Iberville) got the start and struck out three in three innings, and Tyler Gunter (So., D'Iberville/D'Iberville) struck out three in two innings. Bulldog pitchers combined for eight strikeouts., and the defense played error-free.

Gulf Coast continues to try to find replacement games for three that were canceled when Lake Land called off its trip from Illinois. The next games on the schedule are Feb. 16 when the Bulldogs entertain Coastal Alabama-South. The doubleheader will start at 2 p.m. 

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