Bears Baseball drop a heartbreaker at Mississippi Gulf Coast

Thursday, January 30, 2025: Baseball

Perkinston, MS

The Bears continued their mini road trip this afternoon in Perkinston, Mississippi, facing off against the Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs at Ken "Curly" Farris Field. It was a fierce battle, but the Bulldogs ultimately secured the win with a walk-off home run, defeating the Bears 11-10.

The Bears struck first, scoring two runs in the first inning to take an early lead. Jackson Martin singled and scored on a Shawn Driggers single to left field. Conner Kleinpeter drew a walk and scored following a Bulldogs error on a hard ground ball hit by Aidan Machado to the third baseman.

The Bulldogs quickly responded, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at two. They then took the lead in the second inning with a home run from D. Jackson, making the score 4-2.

The Bears countered, scoring two runs in the third inning to tie the game at four. Shawn Driggers hit a double to right field and scored on a Kaiden Broussard line drive to left field. Aidan Machado later singled to right field and scored on a Trent Laporte single up the middle.

In the fourth inning, the Bears took a 5-4 lead when Conner Kleinpeter led off with a walk and scored on a Kaiden Broussard single up the middle.

The Bears added three runs in the fifth inning, extending their lead to 8-4. Jake Brouillette and Jackson Martin led off with back-to-back singles, followed by a three-run homer from Conner Kleinpeter that sailed over the right-field wall. The Bulldogs managed to score one run in the bottom of the fifth, bringing the score to 8-5 in favor of the Bears.

The Bears tacked on another run in the seventh inning, increasing their lead to 9-5. Jackson Martin led off with a double to right field and scored on a Kenneth Berard single to right.

However, the Bulldogs rallied in the seventh inning, scoring five runs to take a 10-9 lead. D. Jackson hit his second home run of the game, with K. Irving contributing a two-run homer as well.

In the eighth inning, the Bears tied the game at 10. Kaiden Broussard led off with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Layne Swanson, who scored on a double by Jake Brouillette.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Bulldogs led off with a walk, and D. Jackson hit his third home run of the game, sealing the victory at 11-10 for the Bulldogs.

W. Seaman earned the win for the Bulldogs, pitching 1.1 innings and allowing no runs while striking out two. S. Marsh started the game for the Bulldogs, pitching three innings and allowing four runs on eight hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. Jack Cowan suffered the loss for the Bears, pitching 0.1 innings and allowing one run on one hit, with one walk. Tyler Ferguson started on the mound for the Bears, pitching two innings and allowing four runs on three hits, with three walks and one strikeout. Relief appearances included Tanner Cranford (2.0 innings), Grant Porche (2.0 innings), Grayson Davis (0.2 innings), Briggs Ardoin (1.1 innings), and Jack Cowan (0.1 innings).

The Bears out hit the Bulldogs 17 to 10. With this loss, the Bears fell to 0-2, while the Bulldogs improved to 3-0 on the season. Mississippi Gulf Coast holds the all-time series record over Baton Rouge with 41 wins to 19 losses.

Bears Highlights:

Jake Brouillette went 3 for 5 with 1 run, 1 RBI and 1 BB.

Jackson Martin went 3 for 6 with 3 runs

Conner Kleinpeter went 1 for 4 with 3 runs, 3 RBIs and 1 homer.

Kenneth Berard went 1 for 6 with 1 RBI

Shawn Driggers went 2 for 6 with 1 run and 1 RBI

Aidan Machado went 2 for 5 with 1 run

Kaiden Broussard went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs

Trent Laporte went 3 for 5 with 1 RBI

The Bears will open their 2025 home schedule this Saturday, February 1, when they face the San Jacinto Ravens in a three-game series at Pete Goldsby Field. The Bears and the Ravens will play two games on Saturday starting at 2 PM and a single game on Sunday starting at 1 PM.

For more information on the Bears baseball team, follow us on Twitter at @BRCC_Baseball, and on Instagram and Facebook at BRCCAthletics.