By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
May 9, 2004
Meridian Community College made short work of its opponent in the Region XXIII Baseball Tournament again on Saturday.
The Eagles (43-10) handed Gulf Coast Community College (34-12) its first loss of the double-elimination tournament, 11-1 in five innings, at Scaggs Field.
MCC picked up a win in five innings against Mississippi Delta Community College on Friday in the winners' bracket. The Eagles defeated the Trojans 14-0.
MCC advanced to the region championship game for a second straight year with the victory. The Eagles won the 2003 Region XXIII title beating Gulf Coast in two games last season on the tournament's final day.
This year, MCC is in the driver's seat needing just one win today to move onto the super regional against the winner of Region XXII from Alabama.
Sam Self opened the Eagles' lead to a half-dozen runs in the bottom of the third inning with a double to right-center.
The MCC center fielder cleared the bases of third Van Pope, who reached on a single, and Aaron George and Joey Lieberman, who both reached on walks, to take a 6-0 lead.
Eagles catcher Ricky Newman pushed Self across home plate with a single to left field, and Murray brought home two runs with a double to right-center field for an 8-0 lead.
Ginn brought home the final run of the six-run third inning with a groundout that scored Newman for a 9-0 advantage.
Gulf Coast posted its lone run of the game in the top of the fifth inning, as Chad Green scored on a fielder's choice by Sal Aleman to cut MCC's lead to 9-1.
MCC responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to end the game by the 10-run rule.
Ginn brought home the first run of the Eagles' half of the fifth with a double to left-center, and Morgan ended the game with a single up the middle to score Ginn.
MCC tallied two runs in the first inning. Michael Murray scored on a groundout by Josh Morgan, and George brought Kyle Ginn home with a single for a 2-0 lead.
Murray, who hit a triple off the centerfield wall with two outs, scored again in the second inning on a wild pitch to give MCC a 3-0 advantage.
Davis gave up one run on two hits in five innings of work with four strikeouts. Gulf Coast's Peter Wiggins (6-4) took the loss, allowing nine runs, seven earned, on five hits with three strikeouts in 2.1 innings.
Bulldogs right fielder Owen Grissom and third baseman Jacob Davis each hit singles in the loss.
Delgado 6
Mississippi Delta 3
The 23-year career of Mississippi Delta Community college head baseball coach Terry Thompson came to a close on Saturday, with the Trojans' loss to the Delgado Dolphins on Saturday. The loss eliminated MDCC (25-21) from the Region XXIII tournament.
Thompson, who announced his retirement earlier this season, finished his career as the all-time winningest coach in MACJC history. He posted a 767-383 record, coaching 19 years at MDCC and four years at East Mississippi Community College.
After holding a 1-0 lead four the first three innings, Delgado posted five runs in the bottom of the fourth on four hits and one error to take a 6-0 lead.
MDCC posted three runs on two hits and an error in the sixth inning to cut Delgado's lead in half.
Delgado's Frank Bergeron (4-0) picked up the win giving up three runs on three hits with three strikeouts. MDCC's Ramesis Rosa (5-3) gave up six runs, four earned, on five hits with two strikeouts in 3.1 innings.
Dolphins left fielder Bryson LeBlanc went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the leadoff spot, and Lindon Vogler went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Tucker Bullard, who was ejected from the game in the eighth inning, went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI for the Trojans, and John Michael Cummings hit a double.
Delgado 14
Gulf Coast 6
Delgado dug its way out of the losers' bracket with an eight-inning win over Gulf Coast in Saturday's night elimination game.
The Dolphins (33-17) set up a rematch in today's 1 p.m. championship game with Meridian Community College with the victory. The Eagles defeated Delgado 4-3 in the two teams' opening game of the tournament on Thursday.
The Dolphins will need to win two games to eliminate the Eagles from the tourney and capture the region crown.
Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Dolphins loaded the bases and brought home a run when Gary Duhe drew a walk to tie the game at five.
Delgado second baseman Jason Schwab gave his team the lead with a two-run double to right field, and Duhe scored on a throwing error by Gulf Coast's right fielder for an 8-5 lead.
The Bulldogs had taken a 5-4 lead in the top of the sixth inning, with a little help from the Dolphins pitcher. Gulf Coast shortstop Chad Green tied the at four with a single, and catcher Chris Rivers came home on a wild pitch for a one-run advantage.
The Bulldogs tallied one run in the top of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly, but the Dolphins posted six runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the win by the eight-run rule.
Delgado pitcher Daniel Rodriguez (5-1) took the win, allowing six runs on 10 hits in eight innings with seven strikeouts.