No. 3 MGCCC passes 40-win mark with sweep

No. 3 Mississippi Gulf Coast got its second straight 40-win season by sweeping Copiah-Lincoln on the road on the strength of five home runs.

Hannah Melendrez hit two home runs in a 4-2 win in Game 1, then had another home in the second, a 16-4 win in five innings. Molly Murphy had two home runs, including a grand slam, in the second game.

The Lady Bulldogs are 41-3 and finished the MACJC regular season 25-3.

"When you look at that many wins against the opponents that we play, that says everything about this team," Gulf Coast coach Kenneth Long said. "We're a solid team. We play together."

Gulf Coast opens the MACJC playoffs Friday against East Mississippi. Game 1 at Ross-Smith Field is at 6 p.m. Game 2 is Saturday at 1 p.m., with a third game, if necessary, following immediately.

The Lady Bulldogs are the first team in the state to 40 wins. It's the second season in a row past that milestone and third time in program history.

Melendrez has now hit home runs in three straight games. Her five homers in that span give her 13 for the season.

"Hannah is seeing the ball so well," Long said. "She's just absolutely on right now. They tried to get her on a changeup, she hit it out. They tried to get her on hard stuff, she hit it out. Whatever they threw, she hit it out."

She led off the second inning with a solo shot ahead of Kelli Berry's RBI single. Melendrez belted a two-run shot in the third.

Co-Lin (29-12, 19-9) got a two-run homer in the fourth to cut its deficit in half, but Nora Keehn (12-1) pitched five strong innings before yielding to Kaitlin Lee with two on and no outs in the sixth.

Lee got a double play and a fly ball to get out of the jam, then retired the side in order in the seventh for her third save.

She picked up her 20^th win of the season in Game 2, pitching four innings. She struck out four and allowed three hits, with her four runs allowed unearned.

Lexie Mathis had two doubles, and Camry Griffith had two hits.

The Bulldogs had 15 hits in the second game, with Murphy slugging a grand slam in the second and added a two-run shot after Melendrez's three-run homer in the third.

Murphy has homered in three of the last four games. In two of those, she homered in her only at bat as a substitute late in games.

"I can't say enough about Molly right now," Long said. "She's taking advantage of every opportunity to play and coming up big for us. She's worked hard in practice and been very coachable."