Gulfport baseball earns their spot in 6A state championship. ‘Zero quit in them.’
If you heard fireworks over Gulfport Monday night, the Admirals baseball team can explain.
Gulfport took down Northwest Rankin, 12-11, to win its first South State championship since 2017 and earn a trip to Pearl for the 6A state championship.
The fans that packed into “The Herb” were treated to a roller coaster of a game that saw Gulfport build a 12-0 lead through three innings only to watch it dissipate in just six outs.
When Prince Cottonham stepped onto the mound and shut down the rally, the fireworks began.
“I love this team, there’s no doubt this team has zero quit in them,” Admiral outfielder and first baseman Dawson Hall said after the game. “We put up 12 early and Northwest Rankin responded. Prince came in and locked it down, that’s just the type of guys we have. It’s unreal what we’re able to do when everything pieces together.”
Gulfport faced enough adversity in the three-game series to last some teams a season. The Admirals needed extra innings to put game one away, only to watch the Cougars even the series with a resounding 8-1 win.
Northwest Rankin then quickly unraveled the Admirals’ momentum at the seams in game three, but Gulfport had faced setbacks before during a run that has seen it now win 13 of the last 15 games.
“Just the fight, being up 12-0,” head coach Jamie McMahon said. “I know (Northwest Rankin) is well coached, they’re a really good team. I knew they weren’t going to give up. But just the resiliency to keep going... Just toughness the last four weeks, in the playoffs, the way they’ve played, I’m really proud of them.”
How Gulfport players won South State championship
When Hall stepped into the batter’s box in the third inning with the bases juiced, he had no idea his team would need every run on the field with the Admirals’ nursing a then 8-0 lead.
Hall then turned on a full-count pitch and lifted it deep over the center field wall for a grand slam.
“I was trying to put something in play, I didn’t want to strikeout,” Hall said of the at bat. “I did what I could with what I had and it paid off big time. This was a one-run game, that was a huge swing. Coolest moment of my life, probably.”
It was the third straight inning Hall drove in a run. The senior was the Admirals’ biggest offensive driver, recording seven RBIs on the night between three hits over the first three frames.
“This is the stuff you dream about,” Hall said. “Senior year, going to state. It doesn’t get much better than this. I’m sure everyone here can agree.”
When Ethan Suroweic’s strong start was chased by NRHS and the Cougars mounted their comeback, Cottonham was called on to stop the bleeding.
The First Team All-South Mississippi football star recorded the final seven outs without allowing another run across, putting a halt to the Cougar onslaught.
“Just shut them down, do what I do,” Cottonham said of his mindset. “Just throw strikes. Let everybody make plays. If strikeouts come, strikeouts come, but the main thing was just make plays.”
Cottonham’s outing served as a microcosm for the Admirals’ season since early April. Gulfport had just lost its first district series of the year and held onto a middling 10-8 record.
Then it clicked. Gulfport is 13-2 since the series loss to Biloxi and now 5-1 in the playoffs.
“Just staying together,” Cottonham said of his team’s run. “We have saying, ‘All in.’ It means everybody is bought in. No missing practice, no missing throws, workouts, lifts. Everybody’s here, everybody’s bought in.”
The Admirals have reached the state finals just once since the turn of the century and that was in 2017. Gulfport will face Lewisburg for a shot at the school’s first championship since 1985.
“It’s been a long time,” an emotional McMahon said. “It means a lot.”
