
Gulf Coast finishes as region runners-up
PERKINSTON — After both teams had clinched trips to the national tournament Saturday, No. 9 Mississippi Gulf Coast and No. 2 Jones were just playing for bragging rights Sunday in the championship round of the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.
Briana Shores (So., Richland/Richland) clocked a game-tying three-run homer in the sixth, and the Bulldogs looked poised to add another comeback to their 2021 ledger before Jones exploded in the seventh to win 9-3.
"We played toe-to-toe with them," Gulf Coast coach Kenneth Long said. "They're a good team; we're a good team. We're two teams that should go deep in this tournament."
Region 23, perhaps the most competitive in the country, sends two teams to the NJCAA Softball National Championship. This year's tournament runs May 24-29 in Oxford, Ala., and Jones had secured a berth with a winners' bracket win over Copiah-Lincoln. Gulf Coast knocked out Co-Lin in the nightcap to clinch their spot.
Kristian Jones (Fr., Southaven/DeSoto Central) and Rakeya Travis (So., Poplarville/Poplarville) had one-out singles in the sixth, and Shores hit a 2-2 pitch over the left-field wall to make it 3-3.
Jones capitalized on a pair of Gulf Coast errors in the seventh and got a homer of its own to put the game away.
Shores and Alexis Laughlin (So., Hurley/East Central) had two hits each.
"I'm proud of our team," Long said. "We've just got to be ready to go to the national tournament."
2021 NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournament Central: https://athletics.lsue.edu/news/2021/5/8/2021softballregion23.aspx
NJCAA Region 23 Softball Tournament
May 13-16
Eunice, La.
Thursday, May 13
Game 1: (4) Copiah-Lincoln 4, (3) Itawamba 3 (8 inn.)
Game 2: (1) Jones 5, (6) Northwest Mississippi 0
Game 3: (5) Gulf Coast 7, (2) LSU Eunice 6 (10 inn.)
Friday, May 14
Game 4: Northwest 12, LSU Eunice 6 (LSU Eunice eliminated)
Game 5: Jones 2, Itawamba 1, 9 inn. (Itawamba eliminated)
Game 6: Copiah-Lincoln 8, Gulf Coast 1
Saturday, May 15
Game 7: Gulf Coast 10, Northwest 8 (Northwest eliminated)
Game 8: Jones 7, Copiah-Lincoln 5, 10 inn.
Game 9: Gulf Coast 7, Copiah-Lincoln 3 (Co-Lin eliminated)
Sunday, May 16
Game 10: Jones 9, Gulf Coast 3 (Gulf Coast finishes as runners-up, advances to NJCAA Championship)
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