No. 2 Pearl River Sweeps East Mississippi to Reach 40 Wins

No. 2 Pearl River baseball advanced to 40-6 on the season and 20-2 in conference play after they swept East Mississippi in Scooba on Friday. The victory marks the Wildcats’ sixth straight win and third straight series sweep, claiming five out of six games by at least 10 runs.

The Wildcats have reached 40 wins in four consecutive seasons. Despite an off day on the mound, Pearl River was able to pick up 27 combined runs in both games to complete the sweep.

“We swung the bats like we needed to. That was the worst we’ve pitched in a long time, but our hitters picked us up,” head coach Michael Avalon said post game. Coach emphasized how hitting can still get the job done when pitching is struggling.

“We hit the 40-win mark, and that’s not the ultimate goal, but it’s something that I’m really proud of this team for accomplishing. We have to keep going.”

Six games remain on the schedule, and Pearl River leads the MACCC by three games after East Central’s loss against Northeast.

GAME 1: A Dominant First Outing

In game one of the Friday series with the Lions, EMCC notched three runs in the first inning before Pearl River responded in the third frame with seven runs of their own to take a 7-3 lead. The runs came from a two-run homer by Caston Thompson and an RBI double from Ethan Garner. Garner would then be brought to home plate on an RBI single by Logan Terry. After putting two more runners in scoring position, Jacob Keys brought them home with a single into center field.

After East Mississippi scored a run in each of the fourth and fifth innings, the lead was cut to 7-5 before Pearl River responded again, scoring nine runs in the top of the sixth inning. During the frame, the Wildcats had three bases-loaded hit batsmen, three walks with the bases loaded, RBI singles from Keegan Giger and Caston Thompson, and a sacrifice fly by Connor Dyess to extend the lead, 16-5.

Tyrese Johnson for PRCC notched an RBI single in the seventh inning to extend the lead, 17-5. The Wildcats would retire the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to earn a run-rule victory.

GAME 2: Pearl River Completes the Sweep

Game two began with Pearl River recording two runs in each of the first two frames to jump out to a 4-0 advantage early. The runs were brought in on a triple by Topher Jones and a double by Jaxon Milam, followed by an RBI groundout by Giger and a single from Keys.

East Mississippi bounced back with a three-run second inning to cut the lead to one, 4-3. In the third and fourth innings, Pearl River added three runs to leap to a 7-3 lead, highlighted by Keegan Giger’s fourth home run of the season.

EMCC scored two runs in the fifth to split the lead in half, 7-5, before freshman Logan Fontenelle capitalized on his first at-bat of the contest with a three-run homer to left field to give Pearl River a 10-5 lead. East Mississippi would score only one run in the sixth and seventh inning, giving PRCC a 10-6 victory and clinching the sweep.

Looking Ahead

Next up for the Wildcats: a MACCC doubleheader hosting rival Jones College on Wednesday evening at 3 p.m.

Author administrator Kellen Walker