BRCC seeks conference crown vs. MCC
With deep dimensions, a towering outfield wall and plenty of foul territory, Pete Goldsby Field is rightly classified as a big ballpark.
The Baton Rouge Community College baseball team puts it to good use.
Goldsby, in fact, would give the Bears a great postseason home-field advantage — if they can somehow use it for the postseason. This weekend, BRCC will try to make that a reality.
The Bears wrap up Miss-Lou Conference play with a three-game series against Meridian (Miss.) Community College.
If BRCC wins two of three games, it will claim the regular-season championship and earn the right to host the Miss-Lou tournament.
Which, of course, is exactly what they’re shooting for.
“I feel like we have a much better chance playing in Baton Rouge,” coach L.J. Dupuy said.
“We’re not a big home-run-hitting team, and we’ve got a lot of arms on our pitching staff. So if we can play the tournament at home, we should have a big advantage.”
This weekend’s series against Meridian begins with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday.
If the Bears win both games Saturday, they’ll clinch the title and host the Miss-Lou tournament. If they split Saturday’s doubleheader with Meridian, then Sunday’s game will decide the regular-season champion.
“We’ve been talking about this all week,” Dupuy said. “The bottom line is, our players all know what this means. ... A lot of people are going to see this. It’ll help recruiting. What we’ve been saying is, what do you want people to see?”
Meridian, for its part, will see plenty of BRCC left-hander Jared Keating, who has made two appearances since he recovered from a shoulder injury.
He’ll start Saturday’s first game for BRCC, and dependable left-hander Kody Smith will start the second game.
Former Dutchtown standout Jesse Buratt will start Sunday.
“If we can score some runs, we feel good about what our pitchers can do,” Dupuy said. “The turning point in this game is, can we move the runners ahead when we have them on base? I think these guys have gotten to the point to where they can hit the good pitches. ... So we’ll see what we can do. It’s obviously a big series.”