RAYMOND – Hinds Community College baseball split a Wednesday double-header with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at Joe G. Moss Field. After losing game one 11-1, the Eagles took the nightcap 18-7 behind another explosive offensive performance.
Head coach
Dan Rives was proud of his team's response to game one.
"The first game was obviously not the outcome we were looking for and I know our guys were disappointed in how we played," Rives said. "However, their response in game two is what we've done all year when our backs have been against the wall, and we came out fighting. I was very proud of them for that type of effort. Gage (Bihm) had a rough second inning, but really responded well in the third and fourth innings, and it goes without saying that our offensive was explosive. We have the capability to put together big innings like that, and it was fun to watch."
Game one
The Bulldogs of Gulf Coast dominated game one after boasting an eight-run third inning. The Eagles wouldn't get a run until the fifth, where
Clayton Thurman (Vicksburg) blasted a ball on top of the hitting facility in left field.
Starting on the mound for the Eagles was
Josh Rodriguez (Belleville, NJ), who exited in the third inning after 2.1 innings of work.
Connor Nation (Madison) and
Kendrick Bershell (Vicksburg) both pitched in game one in relief. Bershell had a solid relief outing, pitching three complete, giving up three hits and striking out four batters.
Alongside Thurman,
Justin Williams (Madison),
Vantrel Reed (Vicksburg) and
Reed Kellum (Jackson) contributed a hit in the contest.
Game two
The Eagles responded to the Bulldog run-rule victory in game one by putting up 18 runs in game two.
After Gulf Coast plated one run to start the game, Hinds scored nine runs in the bottom half of the first.
Justin Williams led off the Eagles with a solo homerun. A few batters later,
Reed Kellum cashed in a double that scored
Clay Benson (Monroe, La.). Including Kellum's double, the Eagles strung together eight straight hits to take a 9-1 lead at the end of the first inning. The other hits came from
Gavin Mink (Olive Branch),
Clayton Thurman,
Cole Smith (Florence),
Gentry Tigrett (Brandon),
Justin Williams,
Clay Benson and
Vantrel Reed.
In the second inning, Gulf Coast got three more runs to cut into the deficit. The Eagles would continue their first inning momentum and get two back in the bottom of the second inning to take a 11-4 lead. These runs came on a
Josh Rodriguez homerun and a
Clayton Thurman sacrifice fly.
After a clean third inning for starting pitcher
Gage Bihm (Washington, La.), the offense put up three more runs in the bottom half on a Benson single, a wild pitch and a Mink single.
The Bulldogs got one back in the fourth on a wild pitch, but the Eagles would continue their dominance in the bottom half by scoring four runs to go up 18-5. A Rodriguez double and Mink single provided those runs for the Eagles in the fourth.
Gulf Coast scored two runs in the fifth. But, the Eagles were still able to secure the 18-7 run-rule victory in the process.
On the mound, Bihm went four complete innings and secured the win. Bihm struck out nine while giving up seven hits in the outing.
Tate Duncan (Columbia) and Jake Riley Gunn (Hattiesburg) closed out the fifth inning to secure the win.
Up next
The Eagle will head to Moorhead on Saturday, March 26 to take on Mississippi Delta Community College. First pitch of the double-header is set for 1 p.m.
