No. 25 Bulldogs beat No. 2 PRCC, lose to No. 14 Jones

No. 25 Mississippi Gulf Coast left the toughest MACCC tripleheader of the non-conference slate Tuesday with a split, traveling to Poplarville to play a pair of top-15 teams.

The Bulldogs opened with a 6-1 win over No. 2 Pearl River, then lost 7-3 to No. 14 Jones on a late rally.

"That three-way with us, Pearl River and Jones is always gonna be a good one," Gulf Coast coach Zach Allen said. "It's always good baseball, and I'm obviously glad to get one, but we would have loved to get two, but getting that first game was huge for us."

Gulf Coast is 11-4. Pearl River ended the day 13-5 after beating Jones 19-3. The Bobcats are 13-4. It's the second non-conference round-robin the Bulldogs have played this month, and both have ended with all three teams splitting.

James Vines (So., Clinton, La./Silliman Institute) was lights out in his complete-game gem to beat the Bobcats. He threw a five-hitter, striking out five with two walks.

He gave up a run in the first, but Brandon Coakley (So., Covington, La./Covington) tied it up with an RBI double in the second. Coakley gave the Bulldogs the lead in the fourth with a single, and Collin Smith (Fr., McComb/Parklane Academy) made it 3-1 with a sacrifice fly.

Layton Eder (So., Vancleave/Vancleave) hit a solo homer to lead off the fifth, and Garrett Gardner (Fr., Madison/Madison-Ridgeland Academy) delivered a squeeze bunt later in the inning for a 5-1 lead.

Brady Saxton (Fr., Brandon/Northwest Rankin) doubled in a run in the seventh, more than enough for Vines.

"He threw lots of strikes and kept himself around 90 pitches," Allen said. "He pounded the zone. He and Coach Stewart had a great plan, and they really executed it."

In the second game, Gardner had a sacrifice fly in the first. The Bulldogs added a pair of runs in the second, one on a passed ball and one on a wild pitch.

Jones tied it in the third, then scored four in the sixth to win.

Gulf Coast entertains Nunez for a Saturday doubleheader. First pitch is at 1 p.m. The game from Ken "Curly" Farris Field will be streamed at Ken "Curly" Farris Field.

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