Lane named All-Region, All-State

Mississippi Gulf Coast catcher/designated hitter Brian Lane has been named to the All-MACJC and All-Region 23 teams following a sensational season that saw him lead the Bulldogs with a .402 batting average.

Five other Bulldogs were named to the All-MACJC Second Team: shortstop Justin Nussbaum, outfielder Slater McCarty and pitchers Irby Dossett, Brandon Kennedy and Tyler Rachel.

Lane also led Gulf Coast in slugging (.574) and on-base percentage (.477). Remarkably, Lane had only 10 strikeouts in 169 at bats over 46 games. He had a team-high 41 RBI, helping the Bulldogs to their first playoff berth since 2013.

"Brian meant a whole lot for our offense," Gulf Coast coach Rodney Batts said. "He carried the load for a majority of the year. He came up big in some big situations with big hits. These awards are well deserved."

Lane had an 18-game hitting streak during the season. He threw out 15 of 28 base stealers and had a .990 fielding percentage.

"I thought all year he was the best catcher in our league," Batts said, "not just the best offensive catcher."

Nussbaum batted .347 and had three home runs and 34 RBI.  He slugged .465 and got on base nearly 43 percent of the time.

McCarty led the team with four home runs and drove in 30 runs. He batted .324.

Dossett finished 4-2 with a sparkling 1.86 ERA in 48.1 innings of work. He had 34 strikeouts and 22 walks, allowing 45 hits.

Kennedy was 4-4 with seven saves and a 3.21 ERA. He had 22 strikeouts in 28 innings

Rachel was 2-2 on the mound with a 3.57 ERA after making a mid-season return to the Gulf Coast pitching staff. He struck out 23 batters in 45.1 innings.