Bearcats Stun Regular Season Champs, Advance To GCAC Semifinals In Rout

JACKSON, Miss. – The #5 Rust College baseball program's miraculous run through the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament pushes forward as the Bearcats walloped the top-seeded Wildcats by a 14-3 run-rule decision in eight innings to put the team one victory away from its second straight Tournament Championship Game.

The Blue and White snapped Wiley's six-game winning streak and gave RC back-to-back wins during postseason play over the men from Marshall, Texas dating back to last season's Black College World Series.

The Basics: 

• Theme
• • GCAC Tournament
  • • Winner's Bracket

• Score (8 Innings)
• • #5 Rust – 15
  • #1 Wiley – 5

• Records
• • #5 Rust (16-31, 10-11 Gulf Coast)
  • #1 Wiley (25-18, 18-3 Gulf Coast)

• Location
• • Jackson, Mississippi – Hank Aaron Sports Academy

• Series History (Since 2018)
• • Wiley Leads 5-4-1 (45%)

• Winning Streak (Since 2018)
• • Rust (W1) | Wiley's Last Win: March 24, 2024 (8-7)

Rust Top Performers:

• Kyrent Cole was unstoppable on the evening, going a perfect 4-for-4 while scoring all four times in addition to an RBI plus a walk.

• Shemaar Stapleton also collected a quartet of base knocks over five at-bats (.800), driving in a pair of baserunners and crossing the dish once.

• Matthew LeBlanc put together two singles and a double before coming all the way around for the score on one of those.

• Jackson Bryant moved above .500 in the win-loss column for the campaign at 4-3 after picking up the win on the bump, minimizing the damage by allowing three runs over five frames.

• Brytan Sampson (2.0 IP) and Calel Stephens (1.0 IP) locked the door then threw away the key as neither gave up an earned run in the final three innings as Sampson struck out a pair of Wildcats.

• Christian Hill, Malik Berrien, and Jalik Demar all went for both a double as well as a single with the trio coming through for five RBIs, five runs scored, two stolen bases, and two free passes.

Next:

• The men from Holly Springs play the winner of the second seed Talladega Tornadoes and the third seed Dillard Bleu Devils on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. with a Championship berth on the line for the victor.

#BatesBall | #PawsUp | #GCACRising