Softball starts postseason Saturday

PERKINSTON — Mother Nature is pushing back the start of Mississippi Gulf Coast's postseason. The Bulldogs now face a do-or-die game in the NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournaments on Saturday. Seventh-seeded MGCCC goes against 10-seed East Mississippi in a play-in game.

It'll be survive-and-advance stuff to get into the double-elimination four-team bracket.

"We just want to be confident," Gulf Coast David Kuhn said. "You don't want to dwell on mistakes. Take advantage of mistakes, have fun and enjoy the moment."

Tickets are $12 online at https://jcbobcats.com/sports/2021/6/25/ticket-site.aspx or $15 cash-only at the gate. Tournament passes can be purchased online for $35. All games 

Gulf Coast (34-17) swept the Lions (24-18) in the regular season up in Scooba. The Bulldogs scored in every inning of the first game, winning 11-3 in six innings. The second game finished 10-3, but the Bulldogs surged late to score four runs in the fifth and seventh innings.

"They've got a really good pitcher in (Gail) Wisher," Kuhn said. "She's one of the best in the league, so it's gonna be tough. We just need to stay poised and be patient. Hopefully we get some good pitches to hit and can come through."

The winner of Saturday's game plays host Jones, the second seed in the conference. The other opening round game features third-seed LSU Eunice against sixth-seed Pearl River.

The other regional includes top-seeded Copiah-Lincoln, fourth-seed Northeast Mississippi and fifth-seed Northwest Mississippi. Eighth-seed Itawamba and ninth-seed East Central are in the play-in game in that bracket.

The winner of each regional automatically qualifies for the NJCAA championship. They'll meet May 10 for the Gulf District championship.

NJCAA Region 23 Softball Championship

May 3-6

Ellisville

Play-in Game

Saturday

No. 7 Gulf Coast vs. No. 10 East Mississippi, 5 p.m.

Sunday

Game 1: No. 7 Gulf Coast/No. 10 East Mississippi winner vs. No. 2 Jones, 3 p.m.

Game 2: No. 3 LSU Eunice vs. No. 6 Pearl River, 6 p.m.

Monday

Game 3: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 1 p.m.

Game 4: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 4 p.m.

Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m.

Tuesday

Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2 p.m.

Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 5 p.m. (if necessary)

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.