MGCCC’s Kenneth Long nearing 500th win

PERKINSTON — When Kenneth Long arrived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast campus 16 years ago, things were different. There's more talent around the state now, and the competition is better up and down the schedule.

There's social media and a different generation of problems players face. But three wins away from 500 victories in his career, there's one thing that definitely hasn't changed.

His passion for the sport of softball.

"That's something that's important to me," he said. "People say when they get so many wins in, it kind of wanes a little bit. I still want us to be good. I love what we do."

The No. 5 Lady Bulldogs (6-2) have five chances this weekend to get career wins 498, 499 and 500. They play No. 10 Shelton State (6-3) at 11 a.m., No. 1 LSU-Eunice (20-2) at 5 p.m. and Baton Rouge (11-15) at 7 on Friday. Their Saturday schedule starts at noon against Marion Military (8-10) and concludes at 4 p.m. against No. 19 Heartland, which hasn't played a game yet this season.

Long has won more than 72 percent of his games at Gulf Coast. He's 497-190, with four MACJC and four Region 23 championships. The Lady Bulldogs have made four trips to the NJCAA Tournament.

The 2007 team had the most success, going 44-4 and winning the state and region titles on the way to a third-place finish at the national tournament.

Ashton Nelson, now Ashton Shidler, was a freshman on that team, and later was an assistant under Long. She said the passion was contagious, and also talked about the family atmosphere he tries to create.

"We always played hard for him," she said. "That 2007 team is so close. Whenever we get together, we talk about how we weren't the most talented group, but we wanted to play hard for Coach Long. He got a lot out of us as a group."

She talks about his ability to punch the right buttons strategically, as well as motivationally. She remembers Pearl River was their biggest rival and threat for supremacy. Long got them amped up for that series starting a week or two out, and then when they drove up to field in 2007, all the cars in the parking lot had derogatory comments about Gulf Coast written on them.

Long pointed it out to the players, then turned them loose. The Lady Bulldogs scored four runs in the first inning at Poplarville and silenced a rowdy crowd filled with Wildcat basketball, baseball and football players on the way to a big win.

The second game, however, was closer. Gulf Coast had to bring the Game 1 pitcher back in relief. Danielle Ryan, who was 28-0 heading to the national tournament and an All-American selection, got things calmed down in the circle, but then wound up having to hit for the first time all season.

Pearl River knew it, and let her hear about it, making an already anxious situation that much worse. Ryan had taken swings in practice, but she was super nervous.

"He just kept telling her it didn't matter, whatever you can do. You've been carrying us pitching all year," Shidler said. "He completely calmed her down, and she hit a double off the wall."

Long recalled Shidler had a double in that same sequence to help win the game, and called it one of his most memorable games.

Current assistant coach Christie Meeks marvels at his ability to judge which situations need to be amplified, and which ones to deescalate. That goes for things that happen in games, in practice and away from softball.

"He knows if there's a huge play and he gets excited about it," Meeks said, "or if there's something that doesn't go our way, he knows how to say forget about it."

Meeks talks about how he examines talent and character while recruiting players, trying to make sure they'll fit on the field and off the field.

It's not a new concept.

"I noticed coaching, there were times when I was recruiting a kid, and he would say, 'No they're not a good fit,'" Shidler said. "Every single time he was right. They were problem kids, or they would drop out or get cut (somewhere else). He always recruited those good, family-oriented kids that just really believed in his program and what he was trying to do."

There is likely to be a celebration sometime this weekend. It will involve Meeks, who is in her third season with Gulf Coast, and the players whose criteria for choosing a college matched up with Long's standards for recruitment.

He's shown his excitability, but if you make the trek to Meridian, don't look for too much from him when the final out of win 500 happens. Long downplays the personal significance of the impending milestone.

"I think it means more to our program that it does to me personally," he said. "It's a good honor to have, for sure, but just to know our program is at this point means the most to me."

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCAthletics on Twitter and BulldogLIVE on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.