Coakley's 2 HR powers No. 19 Bulldogs to sweep

PERKINSTON — No. 19 Mississippi Gulf Coast got a feel-good day closed out Saturday with a sweep of Coahoma at Ken "Curly" Farris Field.

The Bulldogs won 7-3 in the opener, then posted a run-rule 12-1 win in five innings. They cranked out 26 hits in 14 innings.

"We needed that," Gulf Coast coach Zach Allen said. "We've been swinging it pretty consistently in batting practice, and I thought today was going to be a good day for it. They really got out there and executed the plan. They got their swings off, and it was really good to see."

The Bulldogs improved to 19-10 overall and evened their conference record after eight game. Brandon Coakley (So., Covington, La./Covington) went 4-for-7 with two home runs, a double and five RBI.

Brady Saxton (Fr., Brandon/Northwest Rankin) got the offense started in the opener, launching a three-run homer in the first. Coakley doubled in a run, and Ben Davis (Fr., Lucedale/George County) drove in another.

Coakley picked up his home run in the third, a line drive to left center.

Anthony Tanner (Fr., Hurley/East Central), Erimel Rosado (So., Dorado, Puerto Rico/Centennial) and Braxton Jones (Fr., Perkinston/Stone) also had two hits.

Five pitchers combined to strike out nine.

James Vines (So., Clinton, La./Silliman Institute) struck out four in three innings of work in the second game, allowing two hits. Jayden Madison (Fr., Petal/Petal) pitched two innings on one-hit ball.

Garrett Gardner (Fr., Madison/Madison-Ridgeland Academy) had a home run and a double. He leads the team with nine homers. Tripp Lightsey (Fr., Lucedale/George County) had three hits, including a triple and a double.

Coakley hit a three-run homer in the first, his fourth of the season. He extended his hit streak to six games.

"He did this last year a little bit, where he got really hot," Allen said. "He slowed it down in practice, and he's seeing the ball a little bit better. That's why you're starting to see some results for him, and he's slowing the game down."

Coahoma falls to 7-19, 0-8. 

Gulf Coast hosts No. 2 Pearl River on Wednesday. First pitch at Ken "Curly" Farris Field will be at 3 p.m., with the games streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch. 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.