POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 5 Pearl River baseball team fell behind early against NJCAA Division I program Gulf Coast State and couldn't recover as the Commodores earned a 10-5 victory.
"When you play like we did early, you're going to get beat no matter who the competition is," head coach Michael Avalon said. "We didn't pitch it well, and that's got to be our identity. Hopefully, we can get beat and learn from it. Credit goes to Gulf Coast State — they're a really good club, and they just beat us today."
Pearl River (8-2 overall) didn't make the routine plays in the second inning against Gulf Coast State (10-2), making a pair of errors to help the Commodores strike for five runs, 5-0.
The Wildcat offense responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame. Chap Cook (Canton; Canton Academy) started the scoring by roping a single into center field for a pair of RBIs. Logan Fontenelle (Biloxi) plated the next run with a sacrifice fly into right field, 5-3.
GCSC ripped a solo shot to begin the third inning, extending its lead to 6-3. Pearl River promptly matched it as a leadoff Jacob Keys (Brandon) double resulted in an RBI groundout for Topher Jones (Hernando), 6-4.
The Commodores plated a pair of runs in both the fourth and eighth innings, 10-4. The Wildcats scored a run in the bottom half of the eighth, with Caston Thompson (Jayess; Hernando) coming around to score on a Jones single, 10-5.
GCSC closed things out in the ninth to secure the victory.
LEADING THE WAY
Pearl River used six pitchers in the contest. In two innings of work, Jacob Johnson (Carriere; Pearl River Central) allowed five runs — four of which were unearned.
Hank Eaton (Corinth; Kossuth) was a bright spot in relief, throwing 3 2/3 innings and giving up just two hits and two walks. He struck out two. Drew Harrison (Madison; Germantown) also had a solid outing, pitching two innings and giving up two hits and a walk.
Jones was the lone Wildcat with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Jaxon Milam (Phenix City, Ala.; Glenwood Academy) went 1-for-3 with two walks. His hit was a double.
UP NEXT
PRCC returns to action Tuesday for another tri-game. PRCC takes on Holmes at 11:30 a.m. and East Mississippi at 5:30 p.m.
TICKETS
Tickets are available at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets purchased in advance are $8 and tickets purchased on game day are $10.
TUNE IN
The Wildcats will once again livestream all games for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.
Games can also be heard at WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM and WRJWRadio.com.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).