Mills-Derouen pitches MGCCC to split at ICC
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
|
Itawamba Community College | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
|
Itawamba Community College | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
Dylan Mills-Derouen threw Mississippi Gulf Coast's first complete game of the year Saturday, a four-hit victory at Itawamba to salvage a split in Fulton.
The freshman from Biloxi, who is coming back from Tommy John surgery, beat the Indians 3-1 following the Bulldogs' tough 4-3 loss in the opener.
"He threw really, really well. Best he's thrown all year," Gulf Coast coach Rodney Batts said. "He had all his stuff working and was in the zone."
The Bulldogs are now 11-7 overall, 2-2 MACJC. Itawamba is 13-7, 1-3.
Gulf Coast returns to MGM Park on Wednesday when No. 9 Hinds visits. First pitch is at 4 p.m. Tickets for all games at the home of the Biloxi Shuckers can be bought at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/MGMtix.
Mills-Derouen allowed four hits, striking out two. The biggest difference from some early season starts where he struggled with location was no walks.
In the third inning, Ian Goff had an RBI groundout and Justin Nussbaum had a sacrifice fly to stake Gulf Coast to a 2-0 lead.
"It was good to see them come back in Game 2 and show a little bit of resiliency and fight," Batts said. "We had some good at-bats when we needed them."
Goff, Slater McCarty and Tyler Evans had two hits.
The Bulldogs got another strong starting pitching performance in the opener. Tyler Rachel used three pitches effectively to strike out six in seven innings of work in just his second appearance of the year. He allowed two runs on four hits.
Rachel left the game trailing 2-1, but Gulf Coast took the lead in the eighth on McCarty's two-run homer.
"The last two weeks, he's really carried our offense," Batts said. "He's been really good and consistent."
The Bulldogs couldn't hold on, though. Itawamba got a leadoff double, then a single in the bottom of the ninth. Gulf Coast made an error in the outfield to let the tying run score. The winning run scored with two outs when 1-2 pitch got past the catcher.
"You hate to lose any game, but when you lose one like that you feel like it slipped through your hands," Batts said. "It's kind of hard to swallow."
