CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College baseball team split its Gulf South Conference doubleheader against Christian Brothers University on Friday, Apr. 14. The Choctaw (14-26, 8-15 GSC) rallied from four down to pick up a 5-4 victory in the series opener. CBU (17-27, 6-20 GSC) returned the favor in the nightcap as it posted a 3-0 shutout.
 
JT Vance led the way at the plate going 3-for-6 in the twinbill with a pair of RBI, including a multiple-hit effort in the opener. Bridley Thomas and Caleb Reese each logged a hit in each contest while Bryce LaRocca recorded the only other RBI in the contest.
 
Lane Little (2-0) picked up the win on the bump as he tossed a season-long, seven frames, struck out five against two hits, a walk and held the Red and Black scoreless in his relief appearance.
 
The Bucs jumped out to an early lead as they plated all four of their runs in the top of second headlined by Charlie Faoro with a three-run home run.
 
The margin stood until the Choctaw began to chip away in the bottom of the fifth. LaRocca pushed across the first run for the Blue and Gold with an RBI-double down the left field line to score Beau Kirsch. Jordan Rollins followed with a two-run double one batter later to pull within a run. Vance knotted the contest at 4-all with his own RBI-scoring double.
 
The two teams stood deadlocked until the bottom of the eighth when Vance arrived at the plate and delivered a solo home run – his seventh of the season and the 48th for the team – to left field to place the Blue and Gold in front. Little slammed the door shut as the Bucs were retired in order in the top of the ninth capped by Little's fifth punch-out of the day.
 
In the nightcap, the Red and Black got all the runs it needed in its first trip to the plate as Jarret Fowlkes scored on a Royal Hobson groundout. However, the Bucs added an insurance run in the top of the fifth as it capitalized on a Choctaw throwing error and pushed one more across in the seventh on a Shahkai Matthews double.
 
Gavin LeBlanc (0-8) was tagged with the setback in the contest despite allowing one earned run in the seven-inning, complete-game effort. He fanned nine in the outing, allowed six hits and a walked one Buc. The nine strikeouts matched his season-high set against West Alabama on Mar. 10.
 
The Choctaw recorded five hits in the endeavor with Vance's double to lead off the fourth inning standing as the only extra-base hit in the contest. The team notched three walks with two coming from Thomas, who improved his nation-leading total to 44. MC left eight runners stranded in the contest.
 
Mississippi College and Christian Brothers wrap up the series on Saturday, Apr. 15 with a rescheduled 12 p.m. first pitch.
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