PERKINSTON – Third-ranked Jones College and Mississippi Gulf Coast split a Tuesday doubleheader at Ken "Curly" Farris Field as Jones surged late for a 10–4 extra-inning win in the opener before falling 8–2 in the nightcap.
The Bobcats saw their seven-game win streak snapped in the finale and moved to 26-9, 9-3 MACCC. The Bulldogs moved to 21-14, 6-8.
Jones hosts Coahoma on Friday, April 3 at 2 p.m.
Jones 10, Gulf Coast 4 (10 inn.)
The opener looked like it might slip away from Jones early, as Mississippi Gulf Coast jumped out in front behind Brandon Coakley's two-run homer in the second and a sacrifice fly in the third for a 3–0 lead.
But Jones chipped away steadily as
Gage Reeves sparked the offense with an RBI-double in the fourth and
Brayden Quick followed with a run-scoring single to cut the deficit to 4-2.
In the sixth, the Bobcats pulled even at 4–4 on a
Dakota Smith sacrifice bunt and an RBI-single from
Chase Russell.
The Bobcat bullpen took over from there.
Canyon Reeves provided 3.1 scoreless innings in relief and
Trevor Hodges (6•0) was dominant down the stretch, striking out six over the final 3.1 innings to keep the game tied and force extras. He didn't allow a hit and got the win.
The 10th inning turned into an offensive explosion for Jones.
Sanders Ainsworth broke the deadlock with a three-run homer to left and
Brady Smith followed with a two-run blast of his own, the first of his three-year Bobcat career. Jones tacked on another run with aggressive baserunning, highlighted by a double steal that stretched the lead to 10–4.
Jones pounded out 16 hits in the opener, led by multi-hit efforts from Reeves,
Dylan Champagne,
Talan Theriot and Quick, while Ainsworth and Smith delivered the decisive long balls.
Gulf Coast 8, Jones 2
Jones looked in control early but was outscored 8-0 over the final three innings as Gulf Coast salvaged a split.
Jones struck first in the opening inning when Champagne delivered an RBI-single to center, scoring
Kelan Guidry for a 1–0 lead.
The Bobcats added to that advantage in the fourth, as G. Reeves launched a solo home run to right field.
Through four innings, Jones starter
Brayson Graham was sharp, limiting Gulf Coast to just one run while striking out seven.
But momentum shifted quickly in the fifth.
Gulf Coast began its rally with an RBI-single from Jordan Davis, then tied the game on Garrett Gard's run-scoring hit. Brady Saxton followed with a two-run double to right, giving Gulf Coast its first lead at 4–2.
The sixth inning put the game out of reach. After loading the bases, Anthony Tann hit a grand slam off the foul pole in right field to cap a four-run inning and extend the lead to 8–2.
Caden Freeman (2-2) was charged with five runs in just one-third of an inning to take the loss. That's after five straight scoreless appearances over 6.2 innings coming in.
Russell and Ainsworth had two hits each, with Russell extending his reached base streak to a staggering 66 consecutive games.
