ELLISVILLE – No. 3 Mississippi Gulf Coast faced a big obstacle Friday in a rugged MACJC Tournament, down two runs to No. 7 Itawamba with four outs to play.

That's when freshman Izzy Werdann turned on an inside fastball and got it through a stout wind for a three-run homer and 3-2 victory.

"I was thinking I needed to pick my team up because they seemed a little down," said Werdann.

The Lady Bulldogs (44-3) took the first step toward defending their state title. They stayed in the winners' bracket in a field featuring four teams in the top 10 in the country, and just as importantly qualified for next week's NJCAA Region 23 Tournament in Eunice, La.

"It means a lot because we're in the region and that pressure is off," Gulf Coast coach Kenneth Long said. "It also means a lot because I think it gives us some momentum going into tomorrow."

Gulf Coast plays Jones County, which beat East Central 5-1. The winners' bracket showdown starts at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Itawamba plays East Central in an elimination contest scheduled for 4 p.m.

Itawamba (39-9) scored unearned runs off Kaitlin Lee in the third and fifth innings, each aided by two Lady Bulldogs errors.

The Lady Indians changed pitchers in the sixth, going to Carleigh Mills. Brittany Cooley coaxed a leadoff walk on seven pitches to start the rally.

"I didn't know what was going to happen, but when Cooley led off with a walk, I knew that was a big deal."

With one out, Deborah Elmore walked, and Werdann came to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second.

She turned on a 2-2 pitch and hammered it over the left-field wall.

"Izzy hit a home run about a week and a half ago. It was a hard inside pitch, and they tried to jam inside," Long said. "She does a great job turning on that pitch. That's what she did. I don't know how it went against the wind, except she hit it really hard. It was as good a hit as I've seen in along time. It was sweet."

Werdann was mobbed at the plate by an emotional bunch of teammates, including the eventual winning pitcher.

"I had no time to think because all I did was cry behind the plate," Lee said. "I knew she was going to do it."

Itawamba got a one-out single, but then had that runner thrown out by Cooley trying to steal. Lee induced a ground ball to short to improve to 22-1. She struck out four and allowed three hits.

Gulf Coast hopes it has made a big statement in the first game of what's sure to be a grueling three days.

"The fact that probably everybody in the stadium but us thought we were about to lose, and we end up pulling through," Lee said, "that's just going to push us the rest of the tournament."

Schedule 

Friday

Game 1: Gulf Coast 3, Itawamba 2

Game 2: Jones 5, East Central 1

Saturday

Game 3: Gulf Coast vs. JCJC, 2 p.m.

Game 4: Itawamba vs. ECCC, 4 p.m.

Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 6 p.m.

Sunday

Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2 p.m.

Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, if necessary, 4 p.m.