Baseball sweeps #17 Hinds

Jarred Gates record one of his four strikeouts against Hinds Apr. 25

PERKINSTON---Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College celebrated Sophomore Day bay sweeping No. 17 Hinds 2-1 and 9-3 to conclude the 2012 regular season.

More importantly, the two wins helped the Bulldogs (25-17, 13-11) inch closer to post-season berth and also eliminated MACJC South Division foes Southwest and Pearl River from the playoffs.

The game one victory featured another strong outing from starting pitcher Jarred Gates (8-3), who got the win in five and two-third innings of work while Daniel Winseki picked up his sixth save of the season. Gulf Coast used a sacrifice fly from Michael Gilbert and an RBI single by J.C. Cassidy to scrape across two runs. Ben Slaton led the offense with two hits.

The 9-3 nightcap featured a 13-hit eruption from the offense with homeruns from Ben Slaton and Hunter Frierson. Slaton’s 12th homer of 2012 was a two run shot that broke open a 3-3 game in the bottom of the fifth while Frierson’s third longball of the year ignited a three-run sixth inning. Slaton totaled three hits in game two along with Daniel Miles while Michael Paul and J.C. Cassidy each had two hits. Tyler Bray (7-4) got the win while Jordan Mata chalked up his fifth save of the year. Slaton’s 12 homeruns ranks him No. 6 in the NJCAA in that category heading into the post-season while Jarred Gates ranks among the NJCAA’S best in wins (19th) and strikeouts (39th).

The Bulldogs now await their playoff fate as the MACJC regular season winds down this weekend. Gulf Coast will compete in a best-of-three series against a North Division opponent May 4-5 in the first round of the MACJC Playoffs.