Marsh strikes out 13 to beat NWFS

PERKINSTON — It might be a little early in the season for a signature win, but Mississippi Gulf Coast certainly grabbed a big one Friday.

The Bulldogs got a 13-strikeout complete game from Samuel Marsh and a game-winning homer by Keilon Parnell to beat last year's NJCAA Division I national runners-up Northwest Florida State 4-3 at Ken "Curly" Farris Field.

"It's one of the biggest wins in recent program history," Gulf Coast coach Zach Allen said. "Watching Sam Marsh go out there, take the ball and ride was awesome. His pitch count was up, but he's our horse. We were going to let him go. He made us proud."

Marsh (So, Monroe, La./Neville) threw a four-hitter and walked just four and hit one batter. He gave up a solo homer in the second and a two-run double in the sixth. He got ahead of Raider hitters and used his slider to befuddle them.

"I'm still kinda taking it in," he said. "It's a good team win, and you can't ask for anything else. We knew they like to bang, and we could get them to swing and miss. I was pitching around it and gave my team a chance."

Parnell (So., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) squeezed home a go-ahead run in the third inning to make it 2-1. He came up with two out in the eighth and the score tied at 3.

Parnell got encouragement from his teammates in the dugout before the at-bat. He's fought the flu and pneumonia early in the season, in addition to getting in the groove after playing football in the fall. He took four pitches to get to a 2-2 count, then mashed his first collegiate homer over the right-field wall.

"He decided to come in with the cutter or fastball, whatever it was. I kinda blacked out," Parnell said. "I extended and hit it out front. The rest is history. I saw the ball go over the foul pole. It's a blessing."

Kaden Irving (So, Gautier/Gautier) had an RBI single in the seventh. Seven different Bulldogs had one hit each. 

The teams will conclude a three-game series Saturday with a doubleheader starting at noon. Buy your tickets ahead of time to save money. It costs $7 for adults or $5 for youth online, or $10 and $7 at the gate. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the game will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.