UPDATE: Plummer walks off another at R23 Tourney

This press release has been updated to reflect Gulf Coast's next game being pushed back to Saturday and a new schedule for the tournament.

ELLISVILLE — Two wins in the NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournament, two walk-offs for Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Friday's hero was Olivia Plummer, whose two-out line drive to center drove in the winning run in a 2-1 win over Itawamba to keep the Bulldogs alive for another game.

"I knew it," the sophomore outfielder from Gulfport said. "I said, 'We just won this thing.'"

It capped a spectacular pitching effort by Jett Harrell (Fr., Clarksdale/Lee Academy) backed by strong defense. She scattered six hits, striking out two with no walks. Her offspeed stuff worked early, and her riseball carried her late.

It turned out she was in a pitchers' duel with her former teammate, Julia Shaw. They even share a pitching coach.

"We played travel ball together, and I know how good she is," Harrell said. "We got to the same pitching coach, so it's a rivalry there. It was really fun. I feel like I do really good under pressure."

Jorja Roberson (Fr., Branyan/East Union) led off the bottom of the seventh with a hard ground ball between the first and second basemen. After a flyout, Breanna Green (So., Saraland Ala./Saraland) sacrificed Roberson to second setting the stage for Plummer.

"I was just trying to get the ball in play and see what I could do," she said. "When I was getting back in the box, I saw the catcher hitting her inside leg, so I knew it was an inside pitch. I knew we had that game in the bag."

Itawamba (29-18) scratched across a run in the first, but Laurel Ladner (So., Long Beach/Long Beach) tied it up with a two-out RBI single of her own in the third. After that, it was all zeros on the board until the final fireworks.

Abby Vance (So., Calhoun City/Calhoun City) won Gulf Coast's first game of the tournament with a two-run homer in the eighth to beat East Central.

Gulf Coast (38-19) will now play Northeast Mississippi on Saturday. It is scheduled to start at 10 a.m., after Northwest Mississippi and East Central finish their game. It was suspended with NWCC batting in the bottom of the fourth up 8-0. They'll resume at 9 a.m.

NJCAA Region 23 Softball Championship

May 9-14

Ellisville

Tuesday, May 9

Game 1: No. 8 Itawamba vs. No. 9 Holmes, suspended, Holmes lead 2-1 after four innings

Game 2: No. 7 Gulf Coast vs. No. 10 East Central, postponed

Wednesday, May 10

Game 1: No. 9 Holmes 6, No. 8 Itawamba 5, 8 innings

Game 2: No. 7 Gulf Coast 6, No. 10 East Central 4, 8 innings

Game 3: No. 4 LSU Eunice 3, No. 5 Northwest Mississippi 2

Game 4: No. 3 Pearl River 5, No. 6 Northeast Mississippi 0

Game 5: No. 1 Jones 9, Holmes 1, 6 innings

Game 6: No. 2 Copiah-Lincoln 6, Gulf Coast 1

Thursday, May 11

Game 7: East Central 5, Holmes 4

Friday, May 12

Game 8: Gulf Coast 2, Itawamba 1

Game 9: Northwest Mississippi 8, East Central 0, bottom 4, postponed

Saturday, May 13

Game 9: Northwest Mississippi 8, East Central 0, resume bottom 4, 9 a.m.

Game 10: Gulf Coast vs. Northeast Mississippi, 10 a.m.

Game 11: LSU Eunice vs. Jones, 12:30 p.m.

Game 12: Copiah-Lincoln vs. Pearl River, 3 p.m.

Game 13: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 11, 5:30 p.m.

Game 14: Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 12, 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 14

Game 15: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 11 a.m.

Game 16: Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 13, 1:30 p.m.

Game 17: Winner Game 16 vs. Loser Game 15, 4 p.m.

Monday, May 15

Game 18: Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 17, TBD

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.