Bulldogs get fast sweep against Coyotes

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast played two lightning-quick softball games Thursday, beating Coastal Alabama-North twice at Ross-Smith Field.

The first game lasted 70 minutes, with the Bulldogs winning 9-1 in six innings. They closed it out with a 7-2 victory.

"That's the goal, to get a sweep at home," Gulf Coast coach David Kuhn said. "We got two good pitching performances from Karley Rouse and Madison Laiche. For the most part, we played pretty good defense. Errors are going to happen, but in Game 2 we got a little pressure, a little adversity, but the girls answered the bell. It was good to see."

Rouse (So., D'Iberville/D'Iberville) threw a four-hitter, striking out two. She needed only 59 pitches, with 41 thrown for strikes. Laiche (Fr., Luling, La./John Curtis) scattered eight hits and allowed just one earned run, helping her cause with a two-run homer and two singles.

The Bulldogs (11-2) were up 3-0 headed to the fifth inning in Game 2 but made a couple of errors to allow a pair of Coyote runs. Laiche stranded a two-out single in the sixth, then came up after Emma Thomson (So., Sulphur, La./Sulphur) was hit by a pitch. She hit an 0-2 pitcher over the batter's eye in center.

Baleigh Tullos (Fr., Hurley/East Central) added a two-run triple later in the inning for more insurance.

Kinsey Cochran (Fr., Hurley/East Central) had two hits, including an RBI triple.

Tullos had three hits in the first game, including an RBI triple. Irina Sanford (So., Lucedale/George County) had two hits, including a double, and Savannah Wilbanks (So., Southaven/DeSoto Central) returned to the lineup with two hits. Laiche also doubled.

Coastal Alabama-North is now 1-7.

"Karley just got ahead and pounded the strike zone," Kuhn said. "I thought Madison threw really well. It was all near the plate. They throw strikes, get ahead and stay ahead. That's nice, because we were able to play two games in three-and-a-half hours."

Gulf Coast travels to Gulf Shores, Ala., on Friday for the two-day Coyote Classic hosted by Coastal Alabama-South. The Bulldogs play Enterprise State and Gulf Coast State on the first day, and Pensacola State and Northwest-Shoals on Saturday. They start both days at 11:15 a.m.

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