Vance’s walk-off blast beats ECCC

ELLISVILLE — After waiting a day to get its NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournament started because of rain, Mississippi Gulf Coast didn't lead in its opening-round game against East Central until the very last swing of the bat. 

Abby Vance hit an opposite-field walk-off homer to lift the Bulldogs to a 6-4 win in eight innings, crossing home plate with tears in her eyes. Gulf Coast erased a two-run deficit in extra innings to keep it in the winners' bracket.

"It was the best feeling in the world," the third-year sophomore from Calhoun City said. "I was just trying to make contact and score the runner at second base. I knew it off the bat. It felt good that I got a hit at the right time."

Gulf Coast (37-18) is scheduled to play No. 7 Copiah-Lincoln in the final game Wednesday. It was slated to start at 9:30 p.m., but two extra-inning games and another weather delay pushed that even later.

Vance was expected to be one of the Bulldogs' top pitchers this year, but an injury didn't let her do that. Then, an injury to the starting shortstop forced her to move there. All the pressure of playing the most demanding defensive position plus a whole slew of bad softball luck had driven her average down. She hadn't homered since Feb. 15, 2022, finishing last season with three.

"She's a great kid on and off the field with a great attitude," Gulf Coast coach David Kuhn said. "She's very unselfish as a teammate. It's just awesome. She's had a tough go of it this year. The ball just hasn't fallen for her. She's been very unselfish. She's one of our top players having to play out of position at shortstop. It's amazing that happened for her."

After East Central scored twice in the top of the eighth, K.K. Agner (So., Horn Lake/Magnolia Heights) led off the bottom with a solo home run. She had a pair of two-out RBI doubles earlier in the game to tie the score each time

Olivia Plummer (So., Gulfport/Gulfport) doubled after Breanna Green (So., Saraland Ala./Saraland) walked with one out. Laurel Ladner (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) tied it up with a sacrifice fly to set up Vance's dramatics.

"It was the best feeling in the world," Vance said. "I was just trying to make contact and score the runner at second base. I knew it off the bat. It felt good that I got a hit at the right time."

Jett Harrell (Fr., Clarksdale/Lee Academy) improved to 18-6 by scattering nine hits and allowing just three earned runs. Agner was the only Bulldog with multiple hits.

For more information on MGCCC's 11 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.