No. 16 Bulldogs clinch postseason berth

PERKINSTON — No. 16 Mississippi Gulf Coast clinched a playoff spot Friday on Sophomore Night, beating East Mississippi 11-0 at Bary Thrash Field.

The Bulldogs also moved five points clear of No. 5 Jones, which lost 3-1 to Pearl River in Ellisville.

"The sophomores have shown great progress since they got here as freshmen," Gulf Coast coach Chris Handy said. "They've grown a lot, and they're a reason we've had a successful season so far, because of their growth."

The Bulldogs are 9-1-2 overall, winners of eight straight. They've registered five straight shutouts, blanking opponents for 453 minutes. At 7-0 in MACCC play, they've stretched their lead against Jones (5-1-1). The teams meet next Friday in a critical showdown at Perk. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Victor Moerck (Fr., Vaerloese, Denmark/Lyngby Handelsgymnasium) had a hat trick and an assist. Kade Smith (Fr., London, England/Whitmore) and Hayden Thomas (Fr., Clinton/Clinton) scored twice each.

Logan Tyner (Fr., Ridgeland/St. Andrews), Zach McWillie (So., Jackson/Murrah), Nygel Jobe (Fr., Brandon/Brandon), and Jeongbin Kim (Fr., Paju, Korea/Anyang Technical) scored goals. Thomas had two assists, with Guy Mizrachi (Fr., Haifa, Israel/Ironi Nesher), Francisco Cruz-Lopez (So., Southhaven/Southaven), Terron McIntyre (So., Madison/Madison Central) and Anthony Hernandez (So., Pearl /Pearl) grabbing one each.

The Bulldogs saluted five sophomores: Cruz-Lopez, Hernandez, Terron McIntyre, McWillie, and Mason Shortt (Fr., Brandon/Northwest Rankin).

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