Livingston, Ala. — Mississippi College’s baseball team lost both games of its Gulf South Conference opening series against West Alabama on Friday. The Choctaws fell 7-5 in the first game and 4-2 in the second.
In the opener, Mississippi College showed offensive flashes with two home runs. Tyler Sanderson had a solo homer and multiple hits, including an RBI. JT Thigpen contributed with two hits, a double and a solo homer, driving in one run. Will Langston added a double and scored a run. Starting pitcher Caleb Peterson took the loss, allowing four earned runs on six hits while striking out seven in six innings.
West Alabama built a 4-0 lead through four innings. The Choctaws responded with a run in the fifth on a Creek Robertson RBI-single and cut the deficit to two with Sanderson’s solo shot in the sixth. The Tigers answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Mississippi College scored on a bases-loaded walk and a hit-by-pitch in the seventh, with Thigpen and Kelby Jordan crossing home. Thigpen’s solo homer in the eighth brought the Choctaws within one, but West Alabama added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning to seal the win.
The second game saw Nick Slonaker drive in both of Mississippi College’s runs with a two-RBI homer, the team’s only extra-base hit. Despite five total hits, the Choctaws struggled against UWA’s pitching. Cooper Cooksey pitched a complete game, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out seven over six innings. UWA took control early, scoring three runs in the fourth after a hit-by-pitch and an error set up Tanner Jones’ two-run single. Mississippi College mounted a late rally, with Slonaker’s two-run homer in the seventh providing some hope, but it was too little, too late. The game ended with a ground out in the final inning.
The series concludes Saturday with a doubleheader scheduled to start at 1 p.m., according to the university.
