
Bulldogs loses heartbreaker to end season
ELLISVILLE — Mississippi Gulf Coast was an out away from advancing to the championship round of the NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournament here Monday, but the Bulldogs couldn't close out a second win of the day.
They eliminated No. 12 LSU Eunice 6-2 in their afternoon game but lost 4-3 in eight innings to No. 17 Pearl River.
"They did today what they've done all year," Gulf Coast coach David Kuhn said. "They never quit and played hard dealing with adversity. There were a lot of injuries, but they came out and competed hard and had a chance to win."
Gulf Coast ends its season 36-19 after rebounding from an opening-round loss to No. 7 Jones. Pearl River (36-16) will have to beat the Bobcats twice Tuesday to win the regional.
The Bulldogs led the Bengals 3-2 in the seventh inning when Emma Thomson (So., Sulphur, La./Sulphur) came through with the bases loaded and two outs. She lashed a ball into center field for her second double of the game, clearing the bases.
Natalie Jones (Fr., Lucedale/George County) had a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Caroline Batson (Fr., Wiggins/Stone) doubled in two runs in the fifth.
That was more than enough for Madison Laiche (Fr., Luling, La./John Curtis), who struck out four without a walk on the way to a six-hitter.
"Madison threw a great game," Kuhn said. "We had some big timely hits, and Emma obviously had the biggest."
Batson also had two hits, and Brooklyn Mitchell (Fr., Gulfport/St. Patrick) doubled.
Gulf Coast led its second game 2-0 after forcing two errors that allowed two runs to score in the third. Another error in the fourth led to a third run which scored later on a wild pitch.
Pearl River scored twice in the sixth, then scored the tying run on a wild pitch with two outs in the seventh to force extra innings. In the eighth, the Wildcats got a leadoff walk followed by a double, but Irina Sanford (So., Lucedale/George County) threw out a runner at home through a relay from Thomson. Pearl River got a single through a drawn-in infield to win it.
Karley Rouse (So., D'Iberville/D'Iberville) struck out three in taking the loss. AB Parrish (So., Corinth/Alcorn Central) had two hits, and Baleigh Tullos (Fr., Hurley/East Central) doubled.
"Carly threw a gem tonight," Kuhn said. "We had the lead, but they just chipped away."
NJCAA Region 23 Softball Championship
May 3-6
Ellisville
Play-in Game
Saturday
No. 7 Gulf Coast 8, No. 10 East Mississippi 0
Sunday
Game 1: No. 2 Jones 7, No. 7 Gulf Coast 0
Game 2: No. 6 Pearl River 10, No. 3 LSU Eunice 2 (6 innings)
Monday
Game 3: Jones 8, Pearl River 0 (6 innings)
Game 4: Gulf Coast 6, LSU Eunice 2 (LSU Eunice eliminated)
Game 5: Pearl River 4, Gulf Coast 3 (8 innings, Gulf Coast eliminated)
Tuesday
Game 6: Jones vs. Pearl River, noon
Game 7: Pearl River vs. Jones, 3 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.