Pearl River sweeps MGCCC

Pearl River’s Ethan Burt (33) slides safely into second before Corey Groue (16) can apply the tag during game one between Gulf Coast and Pearl River.

Gulf Coast reliever Josh Warden delivers against Pearl River Apr. 21.

PERKINSTON-The last time Pearl River took on Gulf Coast, the Wildcats came from behind to win the second game of a doubleheader thanks to a grand slam homerun.

On Tuesday in game one against the Bulldogs, Pearl River’s Dustin Langley unleashed another grand slam homer in the top of the sixth inning to help the Wildcats win 8-4 and eventually take game two 11-9 to sweep the Bulldogs in an MACJC South Division doubleheader at Curly Farris Field.

Bulldog starter Drew Granier (7-3) pitched 5 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on five hits. The sophomore from Thibodaux, La. got into a bases loaded situation and was pulled for reliever Craig McKay (0-1), who then gave up the homer to Langley. Jerron Casey and Jeremy Hill both had two hits and drove in two for Gulf Coast, while Jarrod Cannette drove in two RBI.

In the nightcap, the Wildcats jumped out to an 11-2 lead before holding of a late Gulf Coast rally to win 11-9. Jeremy Hill (2-1) suffered the loss on the mound, but did hit his team-leading 12th homer of the season, which keeps him among the top 10 home run hitters in the nation. Dustin Fore had two hits and drove in two while Jeremy Simmons hit his first homer this season.

Gulf Coast travels to Southwest Sat. Apr. 25 for their last regular season South Division doubleheader then heads to LSU-Eunice for the regular season finale Apr. 27.

The Bulldogs are battling Hinds for first place in the South Division. In 2009, the top four teams in each division will play in the MACJC Playoff Series May 1-3, with the top seeds from each division taking on the No. 4 seeds and the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds competing in a single elimination format. The top two North and South division finishers in the series will earn berths in the following week’s MACJC State Tournament that will be played at the South’s top-seeded team’s home field.