UPDATED: Shores, Jones walk off Hinds

PHOTO BY LEE ADAMS/LETSGOICC.COM

Note: Release updated with Gulf Coast playing Copiah-Lincoln later Friday.

FULTON — No. 3 Mississippi Gulf Coast found itself in a not-uncommon situation Friday, needing to score in the seventh inning to win another softball team.

The Bulldogs added another walk-off victory, this time in a pressure-packed MACCC Tournament elimination game, when Kristian Jones (Fr., Southaven/DeSoto Central) followed a double by Briana Shores (So., Richland/Richland) with one of her own for an 8-7 win over Hinds.

"When you've got a lot of confidence if you get down or it's a tie game, it's always good that you can rely on that coming back," Gulf Coast coach Kenneth Long said. "I'm really proud of that as a team. We gave up some runs as a team we shouldn't have, but we came back and won the game, which is what matters."

Gulf Coast faces another Friday elimination game, playing Copiah-Lincoln in the final game of the day which will be at about 8 p.m. The Wolves beat Northwest 8-3 in Friday's second game.

The Bulldogs had already clinched a berth in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament next week at LSU Eunice. The hosts will be joined by Jones, Itawamba, Gulf Coast, Co-Lin and Northwest.

Shores hit a 2-2 pitch in the gap for a one-out double in the seventh.

"I knew Kristian was going to do it behind, so I just thought if I get a double, she's gonna get a double and we're about to win this game," she said. "I had a lot of confidence."

That belief is a hallmark of this team, and it existed even though Jones had been slumping in the tournament. She started making better swings as Friday went on, and she erupted with the big hit by concentrating on the Good Book.

"I said if Bri got on, I was going to come behind her and pick her up," she said. "In my head, I saying, 'Faith the side of a mustard seed …,' over and over again. When the outside pitch came, I was expecting it and I was ready to go."

Jones fouled off the first three pitches she saw before lining into right-center field to set off the celebration.

"It was awesome to see Bri get that hit and get to second base coming back in the game like that," Long said. "It was also for KJ to get that winning hit. I kept thinking she's gonna get a hit, she's gonna get a hit, and she did it. That's awesome for her."

Gulf Coast got behind after Hinds hit a two-run homer in the first, but got a run back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI triple by Rakeya Travis (So., Poplarville/Poplarville). 

The Bulldogs added five more in the second, beginning with an RBI groundout by Jones. Sarah Brannan (So., Enterprise/Enterprise) followed with an RBI single. Caroline Moore (So., Maryville, Tenn./Maryville) and Alexis Laughlin (So., Hurley/East Central) drove in runs with doubles. Whitley Tanner (Fr., Hurley/East Central) added a sacrifice fly for a 6-2 lead.

Tanner singled in a run in the fourth to answer a Hinds run, but the Eagles (16-19) scored three times in the fifth before tying it in the seventh to set up the walk-off drama.

Gulf Coast left the Itawamba campus to get a late lunch, and was set to return to play the fourth game.

"Every team up here is good, so it doesn't matter who we play. We've just got to come out a be a little sharper. It'll be a little cooler, and I think we'll come out and play fine."

MACCC Softball Championship

Fulton

Wednesday, May 5

Game 1: No. 6 Northeast vs. No. 3 Jones 9, No. 6 Northeast 1 (5 innings)

Game 2: No. 2 Gulf Coast 4, No. 7 Northwest 1

Game 3: No. 1 Itawamba 6, No. 8 Hinds 1

Game 4: No. 5 Pearl River vs. No. 4 Copiah-Lincoln, 7:30 pm

Thursday, May 6

Game 5: Northwest 12, Northeast 6 (Northwest eliminated)

Game 6: Hinds 5, Pearl River 1 (Pearl River eliminated)

Game 7: Jones 2, Gulf Coast 0

Game 8: Itawamba vs. Copiah-Lincoln, 10:30 p.m.

Friday, May 7

Game 9: Gulf Coast vs. Hinds, noon (Elimination game)

Game 10: Loser Game 8 vs. Northwest, 2:30 p.m. (Elimination game)

Game 11: Jones vs. Winner Game 8, 5 pm

Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 7:30 pm (Elimination game)

Saturday, May 8

Game 13: Loser Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13, 1 pm (Elimination game)

Game 14: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 13, 3:30 pm

Game 15: Winner Game 14 vs. Loser Game 14, 6 pm, if necessary

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