Two pitching gems, two bombs power two wins

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast got its third MACCC doubleheader sweep of the young season Wednesday, beating Copiah-Lincoln at Ken "Curly" Farris Field.

The one constant was stellar starting pitching with the Bulldogs winning 7-0 and 4-2, needing a pair of two-run homers to rally in the nightcap. Eli Waters and Samuel Marsh handled the work on the mound, and Layton Eder and Kaden Irving provided the pop at the plate.

"Sweeps are great in this league," Gulf Coast coach Zach Allen said. "It's great to gain some ground on some teams, so it's always great to win two of them."

Gulf Coast improved to 24-10, 6-2 MACCC.

Waters (So, Petal/Petal) set a new season high with 10 strikeouts in the opener, the fifth time this season a Bulldog pitcher has reached double digits in a game. He allowed three hits in eight innings, walking one.

"He was just pounding the zone," Allen said. "He knows his stuff, and he's a confident guy. We love playing behind him, just because we know he's gonna give us a chance every time he's out there."

Waters threw exactly 100 pitches, and 71 were strikes.

Irving (So, Gautier/Gautier) had his second four-hit game of the season, including a double. Landon Holliman (So, Hattiesburg/Sumrall) had three hits, and Tanner Ladner (So, Pass Christian/Hancock) had two hits, including a two-run double in a five-run fifth.

Marsh (So, Monroe, La./Neville) struck out seven in the second game, winning without his best stuff. He allowed eight hits and walked two.

He gave up a pair of solo home runs, and that was the only scoring until Eder stepped to the plate in the fifth with a runner on. He yanked the first pitch to the left of the scoreboard, quickly tying the game.

Irving had been quiet in the second game until the sixth, when he went opposite field for the winning runs.

"The guys didn't hit the ball great in the second game," Allen said. "We got a couple of big hits when we needed it. That pitcher was pretty crafty, sinking it on us. We just had to stay with our approach and get him in the stretch. Good things happen in this league when you get arms to the stretch."

Keilon Parnell (So., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) made a great diving catch coming off the bench in the sixth inning, helping prevent Co-Lin (21-14, 5-5) from getting back in it.

Gulf Coast will play the third of four straight home doubleheaders Friday when Northeast Mississippi visits Perk. The games, which will begin at 2 p.m., were pushed up from Saturday because of the weather forecast.

Buy your tickets ahead of time to save money. It costs $7 for adults or $5 for youth online, or $10 and $7 at the gate. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.