No. 18 MGCCC blasts Coahoma

PERKINSTON — No. 18 Mississippi Gulf Coast broke out the big bats Saturday to sweep Coahoma 10-3 and 12-2 in five innings at Ken "Curly" Farris Field.

Cullan O'Shea (Fr, Mary G. Montgomery/Mobile, Ala.) had two three-run home runs in the nightcap and drove in eight runs on the day. Alden Davis (Fr, Pascagoula/Pascagoula) had a home run and two doubles, and Ty Barnes (So, Petal/Petal) and Dustan Dille (Fr, Brookwood/Tuscaloosa, Ala.) had two strong starts for the Bulldogs (20-4, 4-2 MACJC).

"I challenged our two starters today to really carry the team," Gulf Coast coach Rodney Batts said. "They hadn't thrown the ball well the last two games. I really challenged them before the game."

Barnes gave up three runs early in Game 1, but only one was earned. He settled in and scatted five hits over seven innings, striking out seven.

Dille allowed only a first-inning home run. In five innings, he struck out six and walked one.

Logan McGrew (So, Sumrall/Sumrall) started the scoring in a five-run fourth to erase a 3-0 deficit. His double scored a run, and then the Bulldogs unleashed a two-out rally. Ike Williams (Fr, St. Martin/Biloxi) doubled in a run, Brandon Parker walked with the bases loaded and Preston Stringer (Fr, Stone/Perkinston) had a two-run single.

Dylan Menhennett (So, Biloxi/Biloxi) had a two-run double in the fifth, and O'Shea added one of his own in the sixth to make it 8-3. Alden Davis (Fr, Pascagoula/Pascagoula) homered in the seventh to end a streak of seven two-out runs for the Bulldogs, and McGrew's sacrifice fly in the eighth ended the scoring.

Parker's two-run double in the first inning of the second game made it 2-1, and Chase Fagan got an RBI fielder's choice later in the frame. Parker hit an RBI triple in the third, followed by a McGrew RBI single before O'Shea unleashed his first home run way over the right-field wall.

"He's played well defensively and given us some burst offensively," Batts said. "He's really come on, and he's swinign the bat well and giving us another addition to our offense."

O'Shea followed a Fagan RBI single in the fourth with his second blast.

"I guess when I'm hot, I'm not," he said. "This just happened to be one of those days."

Coahoma falls to 13-11, 1-5 MACJC.

Gulf Coast has a top-20 showdown Tuesday when it travels 26 miles west to Poplarville. The Bulldogs' doubleheader at No. 14 Pearl River starts at 3 p.m.

"This gets us above .500 to 4-2 in the conference, which is big," Batts said. "We want to play well at home, and it gives us some confidence going into Tuesday."

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