Bulldogs split with No. 11 Lansing

PERKINSTON — No. 11 Lansing couldn't get Mississippi Gulf Coast's Jesse Johnson out all day, and Johnson got the final two outs on the mound in relief to earn a split Friday at Ken "Curly" Farris Field.

Johnson had a home run, five RBI and five runs scored to lift the Bulldogs to a 14-12 win in the second game. Gulf Coast couldn't hold a three-run lead in the opener, falling 10-8.

"I'm proud of the way they bounced back in Game 2," Gulf Coast coach Bob Keller said. "That was a tough loss in Game 1. Credit to our offense which put up 22 runs today. Game 2, we got a few good things to build on."

Johnson didn't have a hit in the first game, but he walked twice, got hit twice and scored three runs. He let his bat do the talking in the second game.

He singled in a run in the first to make it 2-0, then destroyed a ball down the right-field line in the second for a three-run homer to make it 8-0.

"It was a fastball up, kind of middle-away," he said. "I was up on the plate, so I was able to get around it and get it going. I've been struggling hitting, and my main goal today was just to be level-headed, to play for the team and not myself."

It was the second three-run homer of the inning, coming after another to right field by Thomas Hollingsworth (Fr., Madison/Germantown).

Lansing cut into the lead with a five-run third and another run in the fourth, but Johnson helped stretch it out again. He followed a two-run single by Sean Smith (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) with an RBI single of his own to make it 11-6.

Alec Hardy doubled high off the wall for another two runs. The Bulldogs led 14-8 going into the seventh after an RBI single by Cade Crosby (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport), but the Stars made it interesting. Johnson moved to the mound from third to get strikeouts for the final two outs.

"We're starting to get some energy in the dugout," Johnson said. "We can feed off that. We're enjoying that, and that was a good second game. We just have to finish." 

Warren Garry (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) had two doubles, and Crosby, Smith, Hardy and Kade Carpenter (Fr., Vancleave/Vancleave) also had two hits in the 15-hit onslaught.

Jacob Snell (Fr., Gulfport/Gulfport) struck out three in 1.2 innings of relief work for the win.

Carpenter had an RBI single in the fourth inning, followed by a Crosby single that scored two for a 3-1 lead. After the Stars tied it in the fifth, Hardy, walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the frame and two more scored on wild pitches for a 6-3 lead. 

Lansing (2-3) exploded for seven in the sixth, and the Bulldogs couldn't come all the way back.

Gulf Coast is now 5-9 and entertains Nunez on Tuesday. First pitch for the doubleheader at Perk is set for 3 p.m.

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