Vines’ two-hitter rallies No. 18 MGCCC for split

James Vines threw a two-hitter for No. 18 Mississippi Gulf Coast, which earned a split at Northwest Mississippi.

The Bulldogs won the second game of the day in Senatobia 12-0 in five innings after dropping the first game 14-3 in seven.

"He pounded the zone," Gulf Coast coach Zach Allen said. "He's been his typical James Vines self. He was commanding three pitches. That's what he really had going for him, and he kept them off balance. He took advantage of a bigger zone."

Gulf Coast is 20-13 overall, 5-7 MACCC. Northwest is 20-11, 7-3.

Vines struck out five, walking just one. He needed just 68 pitches, throwing 45 for strikes.

Brandon Coakley (So., Covington, La./Covington) had a tremendous game. He had a grand slam, a double and a single, driving in runs with each to finish with eight.  Braxton Jones (Fr., Perkinston/Stone) also had three hits.

"Offensively, we took our walks, and then we split some gaps," Allen said. "That was the difference in Game 1 and Game 2. We had opportunities in Game 1, but we couldn't split the gap when we got them. Then Coakley had a big home run."

Garrett Gardner (Fr., Madison/Madison-Ridgeland Academy) had two hits and two RBI, and Brady Saxton (Fr., Brandon/Northwest Rankin) also had two hits.

In the first game, Jordan Davis (So., Neshoba/Neshoba Central) was the only Bulldog with two hits.

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