POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 5 Pearl River baseball team finished off an incredible weekend Saturday afternoonby crushing No. 16 South Arkansas 17-0 in seven innings. It was PRCC's third ranked victory of the weekend after previously beating No. 9 Southeastern and the Stars on Friday.
"Both of the teams that we played this weekend were really good," head coach Michael Avalon said. "I told my guys, that it will help us prepare for conference play. We're continuing to get better, and you saw that today offensively. We're going to keep working and get ready for what's coming. This is a special group of guys, and I'm really glad I get to coach them."
Pearl River (19-4 overall) scored its first run of the game in the very first inning as Kyler King (Picayune) turned a leadoff single into a run on a Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) single, 1-0.
The Wildcats busted things open in the third inning of the day, plating an incredible nine runs. With two runners aboard, Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) mashed a two-run triple off the wall in center field. He immediately scored when Keegan Giger (Petal) ripped a single into right. A two-run error cost the Stars (9-12) a few batters later, swelling the lead to 6-0. Jacob Keys (Brandon) cashed in with a sacrifice fly, and Thompson smacked his second double of the inning for two RBIs, 9-0. Thompson crossed the plate when Hood hit a double for his second extra-base hit of the frame, 10-0.
PRCC added multiple runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. In the fourth, Terry scored on a miscue by the Stars, and Keys added another sacrifice fly to his total, 12-0. The fifth saw Chap Cook (Canton; Canton Academy) pick up an RBI with a groundout, Ethan Garner (Gulfport) hit a sacrifice fly and Logan Fontenelle (Biloxi) drive an RBI double, 15-0. Finally, PRCC wrapped up its scoring in the sixth. With Morgan Craft (Picayune) aboard first base, Nico Williams (Gulfport) sent a letter-high pitch over the wall in right center field for a two-run home run, pushing the Wildcat lead to 17-0.
PRCC closed things out in the the seventh inningto wrap up the game via the run rule.
Thompson finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, two runs and two doubles. Hood went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, one run, one triple and one double. Fontenelle finished 2-for-2 with an RBI. Giger also had a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Caleb Dyess (Carriere; Pearl River Central) earned the win, throwing four scoreless innings. She gave up two hits and a walk, striking out four. Peyton Lacy (Pass Christian) gave up a hit in an inning of work. Landon Watts (Picayune) and Dylan Wallace (Columbia) each threw a scoreless inning with a punchout.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action against Nunez on Wednesday. First pitch at Dub Herring Park is set for 5 p.m. The contest will be a single nine-inning game.
TUNE IN
All home Pearl River baseball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans with 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 will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320-AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).