No. 12 Bulldogs settle for split against No. 22 Cavs

PERKINSTON — No. 12 Mississippi Gulf Coast came within two outs of a sweep of No. 22 Kankakee on Sunday at Ross-Smith Field, but the Cavaliers rallied to earn a split.

The Bulldogs won the opener 8-0 in five innings but saw Kankakee score four times with one out in the top of the seventh of the second game to win 7-5.

Savannah Wilbanks (So., Southaven/DeSoto Central) hit a grand slam in the second inning of the first game to open the scoring. She hit it over the slope of the batter's eye in center for her first home run of the season.

Gulf Coast (17-4) got an RBI single by Irina Sanford (So., Lucedale/George County) in the third before Kinsey Cochran (Fr., Hurley/East Central) followed with a two-run triple.

Layla Barnes (Fr., Gulfport/D'Iberville) provided the RBI single in the fifth that ended it.

Olivia Falcon (So., St. Amant, La./St. Amant) was masterful in the circle, striking out nine without a walk while posting a two-hitter.

Annaston Tate (Fr., Waynesboro/Wayne County) and Emma Thomson (So., Sulphur, La./Sulphur) doubled.

In the second game, the Bulldogs erased a three-run deficit with by scoring five times in the fourth with only one hit. In fact, a two-run homer by AB Parrish (So., Corinth/Alcorn Central) was her team's only hit of the game. It got Gulf Coast within one, and Baleigh Tullos (Fr., Hurley/East Central) tied it with a sacrifice fly.

A two-out fly ball by Savannah Wilbanks (So., Southaven/DeSoto Central) turned into a three-base error that scored two runs.

Kankakee (1-1) tied it with a two-run homer over the batter's eye in the seventh, then tacked on two more for the win.

The Bulldogs travel to Baton Rouge on Wednesday for a 2 p.m. doubleheader. They open MACCC play Friday with a trip to Raymond to take on Hinds.

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