Gulfport rallies past Ocean Springs to earn 1st South State bid in over decade
For the first time in 12 years, the Gulfport baseball team is South State-bound.
The Admirals topped Ocean Springs 6-4 Saturday night to earn a spot in the Class 6A South State series, making their deepest run in the postseason since losing to Northwest Rankin in the Class 5A finals in 2005.
“I'm proud of these guys and how resilient they are and the effort they gave, especially tonight,” Gulfport coach Jamie McMahon said.
Gulfport (30-3) will host Oak Grove, which swept Biloxi, at 7 p.m. on Thursday to begin the Class 6A South State series. Game 2 will follow at 7 p.m. on Friday at Oak Grove and Game 3, if necessary, will start at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Gulfport.
After winning a 2-1 game Friday night, Gulfport had to rally from down 3-0 after three innings to earn the sweep Saturday.
Gulfport didn't get on the board until junior Dylan Ladner hit a two-out, two-run home run just down the left field line in the fourth inning to cut the Ocean Springs lead to 3-2.
“I saw it coming inside and I just unloaded on it,” Ladner said. “I was hoping (fair). I was running. I was full-sprint around the bases. I was so happy, glad my team was back in it.”
Gulfport senior outfielder Dillon Brown knocked in a pair of crucial runs out of the leadoff spot. He tied the game at 3-3 with a solo homer over the left field fence in the fifth inning and knocked in the go-ahead run on a one-out double in the top of the seventh to make it 4-3.
“I don't remember anything (on the double), but I do remember I made it to second and I was like, 'Woah, we might win.'” Brown said.
The Admirals also got a pair of important insurance runs in the seventh on a two-out miscue in the Ocean Springs outfield, giving Gulfport a 6-3 lead headed into the bottom of the seventh.
Gulfport reliever Holden McHugh, who pitched the final two innings and got the win, walked the first two batters he faced in the seventh before forcing Austin Cates to hit into a 4-6 fielder's choice, allowing one run to score from third.
Trailing 6-4, Ocean Springs had Cates standing on first when junior catcher Britt McKay stepped to the plate with one out.
McKay lifted a long drive to deep center that appeared to have a chance to clear the fence, but Brown made the catch on the warning track and the Admirals got the final out of the inning on an appeal when Cates failed to touch second on his way back to first.
“I was going to watch and make sure he was touching and coming back,” McMahon said. “When I saw he didn't touch it, I was like, 'Ugh, game over.'”
If McKay's deep shot had cleared the fence, it would have been a tie game with one out in the bottom of the seventh.
“You can't hit it much farther to straight away center field than Britt McKay did,” Ocean Springs coach Brian Rea said. “He hit it 369 feet. We got a good swing on the ball with the tying run at the plate.”
Garrett Crochet and Malcolm Beaugez both knocked in runs in the first inning to give Ocean Springs (18-16) a 2-0 lead and Cooper Brune hit a solo home run to left center to give the Greyhounds a 3-0 lead in the third.
Brune (5-4) took the loss, giving up four earned runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out nine.
“Cooper pitched well tonight,” Rea said. “I thought he competed well. He's had some issues on the back side of the shoulder. He gutted it out the last two starts. He was probably not 100 percent.”
Gulfport starter Patrick Nelms pitched five innings, giving up three runs on six hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
“You have to tip your hat to Gulfport,” Rea said. “They have found a formula this year of being able to win tight games and come back and win games. That's a sign of a championship caliber club.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2017 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Gulfport rallies past Ocean Springs to earn 1st South State bid in over decade."