Bulldogs sweep No. 24 SMCC

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast got a much-needed sweep Tuesday at Ross-Smith Field, taking two from No. 24 Southwest Mississippi.

Lexi Patterson homered in both games, and McKenzie Smith took a perfect game into the fifth inning of Game 2. That one got interesting down the stretch, with the Bulldogs winning 7-6 after claiming a 6-3 victory in the opener. It was the start of a four-date homestand.

"For my girls, it means they get an off day tomorrow," Gulf Coast coach Izzy Werdann said. "But for the team, it's the start of getting where we need to get so that we can go and play the games we want to play in the postseason." 

Gulf Coast, which is receiving votes in this week's NJCAA Division II poll, improved to 23-16 overall, 9-11. They jumped from 11^th to 9^th in the conference standings, tied with eighth-place Northeast Mississippi in the win column.

Smith, a freshman from St. Amant, La., struck out nine without a walk. She gave up five hits, but no baserunners until a pair of solo home runs with two outs in the fifth. She gave up another home run in the seventh and gave way to Gabby Smith (Fr., Perkinston/Harrison Central) came in and gave up a home run of her own, but preserved McKenzie Smith's win to help her improve to 8-3.

"She got a lot of swings and misses," Werdann said. "She also got a lot of mishit balls. I went to Gabby to close the door, and she closed it."

It was Gabby Smith's first save of the season.

Patterson's second home run of the day gave Gulf Coast a 2-0 lead in the first. She has six on the season. Brooklyn Mitchell (So., Gulfport/St. Patrick) and Caroline Batson (So., Wiggins/Stone) drove in runs in the second, and Natalie Jones (So., Lucedale/George County) picked up an RBI in the third for a 5-0 bulge.

After the Bears cut it to 5-2 in the fifth, Jones doubled in two more runs in the bottom of the inning. She had three hits in the nightcap, as did Kinsey Cochran (So., Hurley/East Central), and Batson had two.

In the first game, the Bulldogs trailed three times by a run. Batson singled in a run to tie the game at 1 after one inning. Patterson, a freshman from Ackerman, hit a solo homer in the third for a 2-2 game.

"We've been working to stay in the middle and drive the ball to the opposite field, and she did just that today," Werdann said. "She said, 'That's more balls I've hit to the opposite field than I've ever hit in my life.' So, she did really good. She's been very process-oriented."

Patterson also tied the game at three in the fifth with a line-drive single to center, and the Bulldogs surged to the lead in the sixth. Piper Rushing (Fr., D'Iberville/D'Iberville) broke the tie with a double, and Brooklynn Peterson (So., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs) singled in another for a 5-3 lead. Mitchell plated the final run with a bloop single over the shortstop's head.

That earned Breyona Tanner (Fr., Hurley/East Central) the win. She scattered five hits, allowing only one earned run, to improve to 5-6.

"McKenzie did great, Yona did great, and so did Gabby," Werdann said. "We found a way to win two games today, and that's huge."

Gulf Coast continues its homestand Saturday when No. 20 Northeast Mississippi visits Perk. First pitch at Ross-Smith Field will be at 2 p.m., and the games will be streamed at https://mgcccbulldogs.com/watch.

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