Smith’s 7 RBI not enough in heartbreaking loss

RAYMOND — Mississippi Gulf Coast showed gallons and gallons of resilience Friday, battling back from three different deficits powered by freshman outfielder Sean Smith in a desperation battle against Hinds.

Facing elimination, the Bulldogs rallied to take a late lead but a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth handed them a 10-9 loss and ended their season in the Region 23 Qualifying Series. 

"Our guys just kept fighting back super hard," Gulf Coast coach Bob Keller said. "It's a disappointing way to end the season, but at the same time, we got a glimpse of some guys who will be back next year. The future is bright."

Gulf Coast finishes the season 20-25. Hinds will advance Region 23 Tournament starting May 16 in Poplarville.

The Bulldogs, who split 13 of 14 MACCC regular-season doubleheaders, looked destined to split the first two games of the best-of-three. Sean Smith (Fr., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) delivered a grand slam in the seventh to give Gulf Coast a 10-7 lead after the Bulldogs had trailed 2-0, 5-2 and 7-5.

Smith went 4-for-4 with seven RBI. He also had two doubles and walked twice, the last time intentionally. He came up to bat four times with his team trailing, and got hits all four times for the seven RBI.

"Smitty had another big day," Keller said, "and I thought we had a good bullpen effort."

Each time the Bulldogs trailed, they answered in the next at-bat with runs. Thomas Hollingsworth (Fr., Madison/Germantown) drew a bases-loaded walk and Kade Carpenter (Fr., Vancleave/Vancleave) had a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 2 in the second inning.

Carpenter had a two-out RBI single in the fourth ahead of a two-run double by Smith that tied it at 5.

When Gulf Coast fell behind 7-5 in the fifth, they only got one run back in the sixth on a Sean Smith RBI single. His blast in the seventh turned the tables and gave Gulf Coast its first lead of the series.

Hinds got two back in the bottom of the inning to set up the final fireworks.

Brendan McCauley (So., Gulfport/Harrison Central) had two more singles. He went 4-for-9 in the series.

"McCauley is a guy you want on your side," Keller said. "He finds a way to get on base, and he's in the middle of things when it comes to scoring big runs. I'm excited to watch the rest of his future down the road at Delta State."

Carpenter had two hits and batted .400 for the series.

"They just kept fighting and kept coming," said Keller, "but it basically came down to one pitch."

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