Gulf Coast explodes for 34 in 12 innings

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast pounded out 34 runs in a doubleheader sweep of Clark State on Thursday, staying perfect through the first three games of the season.

The Bulldogs won 17-5 in five innings of Game 1 at Ken "Curly" Farris Field and 17-8 in the nightcap.

"The offense was really good today," Gulf Coast coach Zach Allen said. "Strikeouts were very, very rare. We hit a lot of balls hard. I thought the offense had a really, really good approach. They didn't let many pitches go."

Clark State, from Springfield, Ohio, made the trip south for its first action outdoors since before Halloween. The teams play two more games Friday, with the first pitch scheduled for noon. Tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets, and the games will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

The Bulldogs struck out only six times in 79 plate appearances while drawing 19 walks and getting plunked five times. Anthony Tanner (Fr., Hurley/East Central) and Collin Smith (Fr., McComb/Parklane Academy) homered in the first game, and Tripp Lightsey (Fr., Lucedale/George County) had one in the second.

Tanner had three hits and five RBI in the first game, with Brady Saxton (Fr., Brandon/Northwest Rankin), Garrett Gardner (Fr., Madison/Madison-Ridgeland Academy) and Brandon Coakley (So., Covington, La./Covington) picking up two hits.

Griffin Wells (So., Pascagoula/Pascagoula) allowed one earned run in a four-inning start, striking out three while allowing two hits. 

"Our starters were okay today, but I think we can pitch it a little bit better," Allen said. "We're going to keep building. We've had some really good outings, but the pitching has got to clean up a little bit." 

DJ Walls (So., Hattiesburg/Hattiesburg) was lights out in relief in the second game, striking out four without allowing a hit in 2.1 innings to close things out.

In addition to his two-run bomb, Lightsey scored all five times he came to the plate. Erimel Rosado (So., Dorado, Puerto Rico/Centennial) also had two hits, and the Bulldogs drew 12 walks, finishing with 17 runs on eight hits while forcing six errors with aggression on the basepaths.

The teams have a quick turnaround. They'll be back on the field at Perk on Friday at noon for another doubleheader. The games will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch and tickets are available at http://mgcccbulldogs.com/tickets.

For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.