Hall signs with Southern Illinois

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast right-handed pitcher Dawson Hall is headed to NCAA Division I Southern Illinois to continue his collegiate baseball career, having signed a scholarship with the Salukis.

"I have someone up there I know, and he would never do me wrong: Coach (Ben) Brewer," Hall said. "I chose there because I think if I work hard enough, I can be the guy up there and make an impact on the school. When I leave, everyone will know this guy was good."

Brewer is a former assistant at Gulf Coast.

Hall, who went to East Central High School, went 9-1 as a freshman with a sterling 2.81 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 80 innings. He had a 10-strikeout game in a 9-1 win over Illinois Central and pitched eight innings of one-hit, shutout ball in a 7-0 win against East Mississippi.

He appeared in three games in an abbreviated sophomore season, going 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.

"I've always been told that JUCO is the hardest thing to go through, and I definitely learned to grow as a man," Hall said. "If you don't do stuff the right way, there's no point in doing it. Little things matter. I learned how to be a dog at Gulf Coast."

Southern Illinois finished 2020 with a 12-6 record in head coach Lance Rhodes' first season. The Salukis play in the Missouri Valley Conference.

"Bubba's a strike-throwing righty that has a real feel for putting the fastball to both sides of the plate," Gulf Coast coach Wes Thigpen said. "It all starts with that as a pitcher."

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