Bulldogs battle back for split

PERKINSTON — After getting beaten badly in the first game, Mississippi Gulf Coast showed its meddle Saturday afternoon by rebounding to earn a split.

The Bulldogs were rocked 13-0 by Miami Dade in the opener but came back and won 9-6.

"That's a great bounce back after we got punched in the face," Gulf Coast coach Zach Allen said. "We come back against a really good ballclub that's gonna win a lot of games. Even the start of the second game wasn't great, but these guys are getting battle-tested. That's what the early part of the season is for, so it's good to see."

Gulf Coast (4-1) used smallball to fluster the Sharks. After giving up three runs in the top of the first, the Bulldogs immediately took the lead by scoring five in the bottom. Brandon Coakley (Fr, Covington, La./Covington) had an RBI single, followed by a Colby Wilson (So, Saucier/D'Iberville) single that scored two.

Keondre Fields (So, Nesbit/Magnolia Heights) laid down a perfect suicide squeeze the scored not just the runner at third, but also the one at second.

"I'm super proud of that guy," Allen said. "He put in a lot of work over the summer and coming back this fall, we wanted to see what he was going to show us. He's showed us he's able to handle that bat and play really good offense. He's playing with confidence and having fun. That's half the battle right there."

Fields singled in the fourth, and Griffin Wells (Fr, Pascagoula/Pascagoula) singled behind him. Fields scored after an error in the outfield.

Miami Dade tied it at 6 in the sixth, but Gulf Coast's small ball caused more problems in the bottom of the inning. Tanner Ladner (So, Pass Christian/Hancock) laid down a sacrifice bunt that the Sharks couldn't field to load the bases, and Dom Jackson (So, Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze) walked. Landon Holliman (So, Hattiesburg/Sumrall) followed with a single to make it 8-6, and Kaden Irving (So, Gautier/Gautier) added another insurance run with a single.

Aiden Seymour (So, D'Iberville/D'Iberville) closed out his four innings of relief by stranding two in a scoreless seventh. He struck out five and walked one.

"We know what we're getting out of Aiden," Allen said. "We're trying to figure out what his role is gonna be, whether it's that stopper we can bring in a throw strikes or maybe even start for us. He's a dog. He gets after it, and we know what we're getting from him."

Wilson, Holliman and Coakley had two hits.

The Bulldogs managed only two hits in the first game, and their pitchers walked nine batters and hit three more. Miami Dade had 13 hits, and a seven-run third inning put the game away.

Gulf Coast will be back at home Tuesday when first-year program Reid State visits. The doubleheader starts at noon.

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