
BULLDOGS HEADED TO NJCAAs
PHOTO BY TRAVIS WEBB/LSU EUNICE
EUNICE, La. — Mississippi Gulf Coast earned its first trip to the NJCAA Division II Softball Championship since 2014 by breaking a season-long tie with Copiah-Lincoln.
The No. 9 Bulldogs trounced the No. 8 Wolves 7-3 on Saturday night in an elimination contest at the Region 23 Tournament to punch their ticket to Oxford, Ala.
"When you think about our very first meeting with this team, the looks on their faces," Gulf Coast coach Kenneth Long said, "and to be able to come over here and do this, it's very rewarding. They're a great team, and I'm so glad they get to go to this tournament."
Long and his staff took over midseason and the path of their journey together took another twist through the losers' bracket Saturday, starting with a 10-8 win over Northwest Mississippi at noon. The Bulldogs then had to wait for a marathon 10-inning winners' bracket game between Jones and Co-Lin. Jones earned its trip to Alabama with a 7-5 win.
Emaleigh Coates (Fr., Lucedale /George County) got redemption in the circle, and Rakeya Travis (So., Poplarville/Poplarville) continued her amazing season at shortstop by ripping a two-run triple in a four-run fifth that broke the game open.
"I had something to prove," Coates said. "Last time we faced them in the state tournament, there at the end, I let them take advantage of me. Tonight, I said that wasn't happening. I'm fighting for something much bigger than me."
She allowed only five hits and kept Co-Lin at bay until the Bulldogs were up 7-0 in the seventh. The Wolves scored all their runs in the final at-bat before she closed the door with a fly ball to left field.
"I challenged her to step up and do what she's supposed to do, what's she capable of, and she did," said Long.
Co-Lin's fatigue from back-to-back games caused some cracks in their defense in the pivotal fifth inning. They made three consecutive errors that allowed two runs to score and left two on for Travis.
She wasted no time, ripping an opposite-field triple inside the right-field line. She streaked into third base chasing in two more runners for a 4-0 lead.
"Oh, my goodness, this is a very exciting moment," she said. "I can't even get my words out. This is something I've never experienced before. I was just trying to do it for my teammate. I knew I had to."
Kristian Jones (Fr., Southaven/DeSoto Central) ripped an RBI single in the sixth, and two batters later K.K. Agner (Fr., Horn Lake/Magnolia Heights) added a two-run double that drove in Travis.
As usual, Travis got pitched around in two at-bats. She still found ways to do damage at the plate, at shortstop and elsewhere.
"She's real valuable to this team," Long said. "She's a great team leader. Each timeout, she was the vocal person in the middle telling everybody, 'Let's go, we got this.'"
The Bulldogs had beaten Co-Lin twice in the regular season, but the Wolves knocked them out of the state tournament and bounced them into the losers' bracket Friday.
Gulf Coast will play Jones at noon Saturday, and the Bulldogs need to win twice to claim the region title. Regardless, they will be in Alabama for the next tournament, which runs May 25-29.
2021 NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournament Central: https://athletics.lsue.edu/news/2021/5/8/2021softballregion23.aspx
NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournament
May 13-16
Eunice, La.
Thursday, May 13
Game 1: (4) Copiah-Lincoln 4, (3) Itawamba 3 (8 inn.)
Game 2: (1) Jones 5, (6) Northwest Mississippi 0
Game 3: (5) Gulf Coast 7, (2) LSU Eunice 6 (10 inn.)
Friday, May 14
Game 4: Northwest 12, LSU Eunice 6 (LSU Eunice eliminated)
Game 5: Jones 2, Itawamba 1, 9 inn. (Itawamba eliminated)
Game 6: Copiah-Lincoln 8, Gulf Coast 1
Saturday, May 15
Game 7: Gulf Coast 10, Northwest 8 (Northwest eliminated)
Game 8: Jones 7, Copiah-Lincoln 5, 10 inn.
Game 9: Gulf Coast 7, Copiah-Lincoln 3 (Co-Lin eliminated)
Sunday, May 16
Game 10/11: Jones vs. Gulf Coast, 12:00 pm
(If-Necessary Game Would Be Sunday, 3:00 pm)
For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.