Smith, Carpenter, Reed lift MGCCC past No. 14 ECCC

PERKINSTON — Sean Smith and Kade Carpenter had tremendous games at the plate to back up another stellar outing by Luke Reed, and Mississippi Gulf Coast earned its seventh straight MACCC doubleheader split Thursday.

Smith (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) had a mammoth home run over the brand new video board in left-center field and two doubles, and Reed struck out eight without allowing an earned run in a 13-4 win over No. 14 East Central at Ken "Curly" Farris Field. The Warriors won the first game 11-6.

"Sean Smith had a monster second game," Gulf Coast coach Bob Keller said. "You know, credit to him because he puts in the extra work. He's starting to understand the strike zone where he can do some damage down at the bottom of the zone and lay off the high pitches. I'm real proud of him, real happy for him."

Gulf Coast is now 12-17 overall, 7-7 in MACCC play. East Central is 22-10, 8-8.

Reed struck out eight and walked one to improve to 6-3. None of the four runs he allowed were earned as he scattered eight hits. He got two outfield assists to help put out fires. Warren Garry (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) threw out a runner at third base in the fifth, and Preston Ratliff (So., Slidell, La./Northshore) threw out a runner at the plate by a mile in the sixth.

East Central scored twice in the first inning, but Gulf Coast mounted a two-out rally in the bottom of the frame. Kade Carpenter (Fr., Vancleave/Vancleave), who had three hits and five RBI, got the Bulldogs rolling.

"The at-bat of the game, we're down 2-0, two strikes on him and he gets a two-out hit to tie it up," Keller said. "All of the sudden the pressure is off a little bit."

The Bulldogs score seven times in the second to take charge. Carpenter had a three-run homer, and Garry had an RBI double to put the finishing touches on it.

Smith clubbed a no-doubter in the third to make it 11-3, and he doubled for the second time and scored in the sixth. The bomb came on a hanging curveball he was expecting.

"He threw it a pitch before and I foul tipped it," he said. "I was betting he was going to throw it again. I'd been lunging at it all day. I was seeing the ball pretty good all day, and I knew the hit was going to come sooner or later."

Alex McWhorter (So., Semmes, Ala./Faith Academy) had a homer in the first game, one of two hits. Brendan McCauley (So., Gulfport/Harrison Central) had three hits, and Jesse Johnson (So., Purvis/Purvis) had two.

Gulf Coast is on the road Saturday with a doubleheader at East Mississippi. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.