Gulf Coast up to No. 2 in poll

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast defeated the No. 2 team in the country Sunday, and Monday finds the Bulldogs filling that spot in the NJCAA Division II.

Gulf Coast (10-0) moved up to that lofty height after being LSU Eunice 5-1 in the Rush Invitational in Meridian. It finds itself ranked second in the country for the first time since March 23, 2016 when the Bulldogs were 24-2.

"It's not anything new here, so that's a good thing," first-year Gulf Coast coach Eric Neel said. "It's a good thing, but we're still in February. I'd like to be spot ahead of that in May."

The Bulldogs are off this week, but they'll have to defend that second spot against LSU Eunice, the defending national champs, at Perk on March 3.

It will start a stretch of six straight home games, including the MACJC opener against No. 11 Itawamba and a non-conference showdown against No. 18 Lansing.

"We've been telling our kids we feel like we're one of the top teams in the country," Neel said. "I guess they're reaping some of the benefits of their hard work. Now, it's just added pressure to see if they can handle everybody coming at them even harder every day."

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