Bulldogs earn split vs. No. 2 Kirkwood

PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast got the bats rolling in Friday's second game against No. 2 Kirkwood to earn a split.

The Eagles won the first game 4-1, but the Bulldogs pounded out 11 hits in the second on the way to a 10-2 victory in six innings.

"It's a huge win," Gulf Coast coach David Kuhn said. "It's their first time playing outside, but we beat a really good team. The pitchers battled and we played good defense. It's nice to finish."

Kirkwood were the national runners-up last year, and the Eagles were playing their first games of the season. Their pitching was good enough to strand eight Bulldogs runners in the first game, holding Gulf Coast to three hits.

The Bulldogs (9-2) finally started cashing in the second game, and the bottom of the lineup was particularly productive. Kinsey Cochran (Fr., Hurley/East Central) opened the scoring with a two-run single in the second. Irina Sanford (So., Lucedale/George County) drew a bases-loaded walk, followed by an RBI groundout by Annaston Tate (Fr., Waynesboro/Wayne County) for a 4-0 lead.

The Eagles cut their deficit in half in the fourth, but the Bulldogs struck back in a big way in the fifth. After three of the first four batters walked, Layla Barnes (Fr., Gulfport/D'Iberville) singled in a run, as did Baleigh Tullos (Fr., Hurley/East Central). Gulf Coast scored a couple more times on an error and wild pitch.

Emma Thomson (So., Sulphur, La./Sulphur) drove in Tate, who tripled to lead off the sixth. Barnes ended it with an RBI single.

"We've got some good quality depth top to bottom on the bench," Kuhn said. "They performed well."

Barnes, Cochran and Brooklyn Mitchell (Fr., Gulfport/St. Patrick) the bottom third of the order, each had two hits, as did Tullos.

Karley Rouse (So., D'Iberville/D'Iberville) pitched 2.2 innings of hitless relief for the win.

Gulf Coast will play Pensacola State in a Tuesday doubleheader. First pitch at Ross-Smith Field is scheduled for 3 p.m.

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