Gulf Coast opens Region 23 Tourney vs. ECCC
PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast will play East Central on the opening day of the NJCAA Region 23 Softball Championship.
The tournament will start Tuesday, May 9, in Ellisville and run through Sunday. The Bulldogs will play the second game of the day with a scheduled 6:30 p.m. start.
Single-day passes for the tournament cost $10, or a six-day tournament pass costs $50. It will be cash-only at the gate, or you can purchase using a credit card online at http://jcbobcats.com/tickets. All games will be streamed at http://jcjc.tv.
Gulf Coast has won 13 of its last 16 games, surging up the standings down the stretch to finish tied for fifth in the MACCC. The Bulldogs wound up seeded seventh in the standing because they lost a tiebreaker with Northeast and LSU Eunice hopped into the seedings at fourth based on the Massey Ratings. East Central is seeded 10th.
Gulf Coast swept East Central at Perk in early April, the third and fourth games of that final 16-game move. The Bulldogs won the opener 11-6 powered by a grand slam by Kamryn LaFosse (Fr., Lake Charles, La./Sam Houston), then rallied with three runs in the sixth and two in the seventh for a 6-5 victory. Olivia Plummer (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) delivered a walk-off infield single to provide the winning margin.
No. 8-seed Itawamba plays ninth-seeded Holmes in the other Day 1 game.
The Gulf Coast-East Central winner advances to play No. 2 Copiah-Lincoln, and the ICC-Holmes winner gets No. 1 Jones. No. 4 LSU-E and No. 5 Northwest Mississippi face each other, as do No. 3 Pearl River and No. 6 Northeast Mississippi.
Two teams will advance to the NJCAA Division II Softball Championship in Spartanburg, S.C. It starts May 23.
Gulf Coast would qualify by winning its first four games. If the Bulldogs drop into the losers' bracket, they could have to win as many as six times.
NJCAA Region 23 Softball Championship
May 9-14
Ellisville
Tuesday, May 9
Game 1: No. 8 Itawamba (29-16) vs. No. 9 Holmes (27-19), 4 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Gulf Coast (36-18) vs. No. 10 East Central (29-22), 6:30 p.m
Wednesday, May 10
Game 3: No. 4 LSU Eunice (39-18) vs. No. 5 Northwest Mississippi (31-9), 11 a.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Pearl River (40-11) vs. No. 6 Northeast (41-11), 1:30 p.m.
Game 5: No. 1 Jones (43-6) vs. Itawamba-Holmes winner, 4 p.m.
Game 6: No. 2 Copiah-Lincoln (38-8) vs. Gulf Coast-East Central winner, 6:30 p.m
Thursday, May 11
Game 7: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 5, 11 a.m.
Game 8: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 6, 1:30 p.m.
Game 9: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 3, 4 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 8 vs. Loser Game 4, 6:30 p.m
Friday, May 12
Game 11: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 11 a.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 6 vs. Winner Game 12, 1:30 p.m.
Game 13: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 11, 4 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 12, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 13
Game 15: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 1:30 p.m.
Game 16: Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 13, 4 p.m.
Game 17: Winner Game 16 vs. Loser Game 15, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 14
Game 18: Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 17, 2 p.m.
Game 19: Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 17, if necessary
For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
