Southwest Mississippi Baseball played a doubleheader at Perkinston on Tuesday, February 17. The Bears lost to Mississippi Gulf Coast 5-4 in the opener before defeating Holmes Community College 6-2 in the nightcap, according to team reports.
In the first game against Gulf Coast, Matt Newman started on the mound for Southwest and pitched five innings, allowing one run and recording one strikeout. Relief pitchers Dom Smith, Will McLeod, Luke Simmons, and Nathan Carter each pitched an inning and struck out one batter. The Bears totaled seven hits, led by Tanner Moore and Robbie Hokamp with two each. Hokamp and Moore also doubled. Moore drove in two runs, while Justin Domiano and Luke Simmons each had one RBI.
The second game was a close contest until the ninth inning. Andrew Hoff started for Southwest, pitching 3.1 innings with three strikeouts and one run allowed. Wyatt Garrett threw 0.2 innings with one strikeout. Easton Boyte earned the win, pitching four innings, striking out three, and allowing one run. Nik Carney finished the game with one inning and two strikeouts.
After three innings, the game was tied 1-1, with Tanner Moore scoring on a Justin Domiano sacrifice fly. The Bears tied it again at 2-2 after seven innings when Drew Swan scored on a Luke Simmons sacrifice fly. In the ninth, Southwest scored four runs to secure the victory. Back-to-back singles from Swan set up a sacrifice bunt by Jonathan Miller, advancing runners to second and third. Luke Simmons then singled, driving in both runners and giving the Bears a 4-2 lead. Simmons later scored on a Moore bunt single, and Cam Bolden added another run after reaching base on a steal and scoring on Domiano’s single, ending the game at 6-2.
The Bears collected 10 hits in the second game, with Swan accounting for three. Simmons led the team with three RBIs, followed by Domiano with two. Bolden and Moore stole bases in the game. Head Coach Jack Edmonson praised the team’s performance, saying, “We played well overall. We had a couple of situations in game one that caused us to lose, but in game two, our pitching, defense, and execution on offense helped us pull away. Winning these close games will benefit us this season.”
Southwest Mississippi, now 8-3, is set to host Rend Lake Community College in a doubleheader on Friday, February 20.
