Massive rally sets stage for split

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast fought its way back from a big deficit Tuesday in the first game of a doubleheader against Northwest Florida State, but couldn't do the same in Game 2 and settled for a split. 

K.K. Agner (Fr., Horn Lake/Magnolia Heights) hit the first of two home runs on the day to finish a seven-run rally on the way to a 10-9 win in the opener. They lost 12-4 in six innings in the nightcap.

"We've got good fight," Gulf Coast coach Eric Neel said. "We've played six Division I junior colleges and we're 3-3. That's better than us playing people we're better than. In the long run, we're gonna be fine."

After giving up seven in the top of the third of the opener, Gulf Coast got one back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Rakeya Travis (So., Poplarville/Poplarville).

The bats cranked into gear in the six, when Kristian Jones (Fr., Southaven/DeSoto Central) drove in two with a line-drive, pinch-hit double into left. Sarah Brannan (So., Enterprise/Enterprise) followed with an RBI single, and two batters later Alexis Laughlin (So., Hurley/East Central) did the same to make it 7-5.

Up stepped K.K. Agner (Fr., Horn Lake/Magnolia Heights) and out went a 1-1 pitch way over the left-center wall. A tree branch probably kept the three-run bomb from landing in the soccer field.

Breanna Green (Fr., Saraland Ala./Saraland) had a pair of hits in the inning after starting things off by pinch-hitting. Travis and Laughlin had three hits each, and Brannan had two doubles.

NWFS got a two-run homer in the top of the seventh to retake the lead at 9-8.

Anna Avant (So., Water Valley/Water Valley) reached on an error in the bottom of the inning, and Sarah Brannan (So., Enterprise/Enterprise) dumped an RBI double into the right-field corner to tie it. After an intentional walk to Travis, Laughlin's speed forced an errant throw from the shortstop. That allowed Brannan to charge in with the winning run.

Abby Vance (Fr., Calhoun City/Calhoun City) picked up the win in relief, but Katie Mitchell (So., McCool/Kosciusko) slowed down the Raider bats in the middle innings.

In the nightcap, Laughlin and Agner had two more hits. Agner hit her third homer of the season, a titanic blast to center field. But the Gulf Coast pitching and defense couldn't get outs quick enough.

"We've got to learn to piece that together good," Neel said. "We've got to come up with a better plan on how we can match that up and get some outs. We didn't make a couple of plays on defense that would have helped them out."

Gulf Coast has a long break again after this doubleheader. The Bulldogs travel to LSU Eunice on Valentine's Day.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.