Mississippi College baseball completes sweep of Valdosta State

CLINTON, Miss. — Mississippi College baseball scored five runs in the fifth inning to rally past Valdosta State, 9-4, on Saturday and complete a sweep in Gulf South Conference play.

The Choctaws improved to 20-14 overall and 14-7 in league games. They extended their home winning streak to 17-4 and are 11-1 at home in conference play. MC collected 11 hits for the third consecutive game and capitalized on two Blazer errors, according to school officials.

Tyler Sanderson led the offensive effort with a 3-for-5 performance, including two doubles, three RBIs and two runs scored. JT Thigpen drove in three runs, and Ty Murphy added a hit and scored twice. Coby Gollott earned his fifth win of the season, pitching six innings with seven strikeouts and four earned runs allowed. Dylan Cope worked three scoreless innings in relief to earn the save, officials said.

Valdosta State scored first in the fifth inning on a two-run home run by Parker Ladd. The Choctaws responded in the bottom half with an RBI double by Sanderson, followed by an RBI single from Nick Slonaker. Creek Robertson doubled before Thigpen delivered a two-run single. An error and a sacrifice fly by Will Langston capped the inning, putting MC ahead 5-2.

The Blazers cut the deficit to one with two runs in the sixth, but MC pushed the lead to 6-4 later that inning when Sanderson scored after Thigpen reached on an error. The Choctaws added insurance in the seventh with a two-run double from Sanderson and an RBI from Slonaker, extending their lead to five.

Mississippi College is set to host Arkansas Tech on Tuesday, March 31, with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m., according to athletic officials.

Scoring summary and inning-by-inning details are available through school records.

Source: Original Article