Bulldogs come within inches of comeback

PHOTO BY LEE ADAMS/LETSGOICC.COM

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast came within a foot or so of a ninth-inning comeback, but a potential game-tying homer was pulled back in the park to help Itawamba win 5-2 Friday.

The No. 16 Indians took a 1-0 lead in the NJCAA Region 23 qualifying series after Josh Cary's three-run bid was caught.

x"I really couldn't see it," Gulf Coast coach Wes Thigpen said. "I think the guy robbed it from what they told me. The whole dugout ran in front of me and I couldn't really see. It was definitely mass chaos. I thought it was gone off the bat."

The Bulldogs (20-20) will have to win twice Saturday, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. They are in as good a position as possible from a pitching standpoint thanks to yeoman's work by Drake Henderson (Fr., Sand Hill/Greene County).

He threw a complete game in a losing effort, striking out seven and allowing eight hits. Itawamba (24-13) put up four runs in a pivotal fifth inning.

"That was a huge outing," Thigpen said. "I thought he pitched well. He had one bad inning with two straight walks. It still left us in a great position tomorrow because we've got every single arm available. I hate we didn't score any runs for him, but I thought he pitched his tail off."

The Bulldogs leaped out of the blocks. Cary singled to lead things off, and Canaan Ray (Fr., Poplarville/Poplarville) followed with a double. After an Alex McWhorter (Fr., Mobile Ala./Faith Academy) walk, Luke Welborn (Fr., Locust Grove Ga./Locust Grove) drove in a run with a fielder's choice. Gulf Coast led 2-0 after Ethan Coleman's sacrifice fly.

ICC scored a run in the second before taking the lead for good in the fifth.

"I thought we came out with a lot of energy and we were swinging the bats well," Thigpen said. "Then we kind of let that guy settle into the game and we gave him a lot of confidence. To his credit, he pitched well. He mixed well and threw three pitches for strikes. We have to do a better job and apply more pressure."

The Bulldogs didn't get to the ICC bullpen until the eighth inning, and Brendan McCauley (Fr., Gulfport/Harrison Central) singled to lead off the ninth. P.J. Harrison (Fr., Gulfport/Harrison Central) walked before Cary gave a 1-2 pitch a ride that came up just short.

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