Bears Baseball splits with Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs on the road

Tuesday February 15, 2022: Baseball

Perkinston, MS

The Baton Rouge Bears traveled to Perkinston, Mississippi to take on the Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs, in a double header, at Ken "Curly" Farris Field, this afternoon  The Bears would drop game one despite a massive day at the plate by Ethan Menard. Ethan went 4 for 4 with 5 RBIs and one homer, in game one.  The Bulldogs out slugged the Bears, in game one, to take the 12 to 8 victory.  The Bears fought back, in game two, to defeat the Bulldogs 6 to 2.  Lane Hutchinson and Ethan Menard led the Bears at the plate while Slade Zeppuhar and Case Roark kept the Bulldogs under control at the plate with great pitching performances to secure the victory.

Game One:

Game one of today's doubleheader, in Perkinston, between the Bulldogs and the Bears was a slug fest, with the Bulldogs out slugging the Bears for the 12 to 8 victory.  The ball was flying out of Ken" Curly" Farris Field this afternoon as both teams combined to hit 6 home runs.

Baton Rouge would get on the board first with a one run, in the first. Jacob Dun would walk, the steal second, advance to third on a Lane Hutchinson infield ground out and he would score on a pass ball. In the bottom of the first, the Bulldogs would erupt for 4 runs to take a 4-1. The Bulldogs would load the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, then A. McWhorter would hit a grand slam to put the Bulldogs on top. Ethan Menard would open the second inning with a solo homer to right field to inch the Bears closer;4-2. In the second inning, the Bulldogs would tact on two more runs via a A. McWhorter single to centerfield.  After two the Bulldogs led 6-2. The Bears would add two runs in the third inning, when Ethan Menard would strike again this time with a single up the middle scoring Jacob Dunn and Blaise Foote, who both reached on walks. The Bulldogs would score four runs, in the fourth inning, three from solo home runs. After four innings, the Bulldogs led 10 to 4. In the fifth inning, the Bears would scratch two runs across, pulling within 4:10-6. Ethan Menard would single to left field driving in Blaise Foote who led off with an infield single. Trey Webb would ground into a fielder's choice, but Alex Guilbeau would score on the play. In the fifth inning, the Bulldogs would use the long ball again as P. Ratliff would hit  a two run homer to right field to extend their lead to 12 to 6. In the sixth inning, the Bears continued to fight as they would score two more runs. Lane Hutchinson would hit a double to left field, advantage to third on a Blaise Foote single and score on a ground out by Alex Guilbeau. Ethan Menard would then drive in Foote with his fourth hit of the ball game. After sixth, the Bears trailed the Bulldogs, 12-8. The Bears would be shut out, in the seventh inning, thus falling in game one 12 to 8 to the Bulldogs.

Mississippi Gulf Coast outhit Baton Rouge 13 to 8. Baton Rouge committed 2 errors compared to 1 by Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Bulldogs hit 5 homer runs in the game while the Bears hit 1.

Ratliff earned the victory for the Bulldogs. He pitched three innings allowing 4 runs on 2 hits while striking out 2. John Shahdar took the loss for the Bears. John pitched one inning allowing 6 runs on 5 hits while striking out 2. Luke Evans and Sean Burkhead pitched in relief for the Bears.

Game One Bears Highlights:

Ethan Menard went 4 for 4 with 1 run ,5 RBIs and 1 HR

Jacob Dunn went 1 for 2 with 2 BB and 2 Runs

Lane Hutchinson went 1 for 4 with 1 run

Blaise Foote went 2 for 2 with 3 runs and 2 BB

Alex Guilbeau had 1 run and 1 RBI

Trey Webb had 1 RBI and 1 BB

Game Two:

The Baton Rouge Bears would have two big innings late in the game to take the 6 to 2, game two, victory over the Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs, in the nightcap of today's doubleheader.

Mississippi Gulf Coast would get on the board first with a run, in the second inning. They would add a run, in the fourth inning, to take a 2-0 lead after four innings.  Britt Jordan would lead off the fifth inning with a single up the middle and would be driven home by a Lane Hutchinson home run to right field to tie the ball game at 2. The Bears would load the bases with back-to-back singles by Ethan Menard and William Dunn and Jacob Dunn would be hit by a pitch.  Blaise Foote would hit a double scoring Jacob Dunn for the Bears third run of the frame and the lead for the Bears.  The Bears would strike again, in the sixth inning, for three more runs to take a 6 to 2 lead over the Bulldogs. Braxton Gallet would lead off the inning with a single up the middle followed by a Trey Webb bunt single. Gallet would advantage to third on the bunt single by Trey Webb and then would score on a pass ball. Trey Webb would score on a Lane Hutchinson's single. Hutchinson would then score on an Ethan Menard double up the middle. Case Roark would hold the Bulldogs scoreless over the last three innings to secure the 6 to 2 victory, in the nightcap.

Slade Zeppuhar earned the victory for the Bears.  Slade pitched four innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 3. Case Roark picked up the save for the Bears. Case pitched 3 innings allowing 0 runs on 1 hit while striking out 3.

Game Two Bears Highlights:

Lane Hutchinson went 2 for 3 with 2runs, 3 RBIs and 1 HR

Ethan Menard went 2 for 4 with 1 RBI

William Dunn went 1 for 3 with 1 BB

Jacob Dunn had 1 Run and 1 BB

Mason Long went 1 for 4

Braxton Gallet went 2 for 4 with 1 run

Britt Jordan went 1 for 2 with 1 run

With the split, the Baton Rouge Bears improve to 5-8, while Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs improve to 3-3 on the season.

The Bears will return to action this weekend as they host the St. Louis Archers in a four-game series starting on Saturday February 19 at 2 pm at Pete Goldsby Field.

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