MERIDIAN, Miss. — The No. 5 Pearl River baseball team was outstanding on the mound Wednesday afternoon in a round-robin sweep of No. 20 Meridian and Copiah-Lincoln. The Wildcats defeated the Eagles 3-1 to begin the day and shut out Copiah-Lincoln 4-0 in the second game of the day.
The Eagles' one run matched their season low, and it was the first time Copiah-Lincoln had been held scoreless this season. PRCC pitchers racked up 24 strikeouts across the two games.
"I'm really proud of our arms. These conditions were really tough for pitching, so I am super proud of that," head coach Michael Avalon said. "I think our hitters performed better than the scoreboard shows. We barreled up several balls that didn't fall for hits. Both teams we played today were quality. It's always a great day when you get two wins."
NO. 5 PEARL RIVER 3, NO. 20 MERIDIAN 1.
Meridian (13-8 overall) grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second inning. The Eagles had runners on first and third base with one out in the frame and chopped a ball to first base. Pearl River (16-4) first baseman Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) opted to try to get the runner at home, and the throw was just late, 1-0. The next Eagle batter ripped a ball, but the line drive was snatched by Keegan Giger (Petal) and tossed to second base for a double play.
KK Clark (Brandon) dazzled following the run as he went on to throw five additional innings, scattering two hits throughout. Pearl River gave him a lead to work with in the top of the third inning. With Kyler King (Picayune) and Jaxon Milam (Phenix City, Ala.; Glenwood Academy) in scoring position, Jacob Keys (Brandon) ripped a two-run single into left field to propel PRCC in front, 2-1.
One more Wildcat run crossed the plate in the sixth. Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) drove a double into the left center field gap and moved to third on a wild pitch. With two outs in the inning, the Wildcats turned to Hank Eaton (Corinth; Kossuth) off the bench. The freshman came through in the huge situation, going the other way for an RBI single, 3-1.
Clark finally gave way to fellow Mississippi State transfer Max Miller (Vancleave) in the eighth inning. Miller was just as electric in his two innings of work, retiring all six batters he faced to close things out with a 3-1 win.
Eight Wildcats tallied hits in the game. Keys tallied a pair of RBIs, and Eaton picked up the other.
KK Clark earned the win by throwing seven innings and allowing one run on four hits. He didn't walk an Eagle batter and struck out nine. Miller earned the save with two hitless innings and two strikeouts.
"KK was really good today. He's just a competitor," Avalon said. "It worked out well to turn to Max, and he was good, too."
NO. 5 PEARL RIVER 4, COPIAH-LINCOLN 0.
As if KK Clark's start wasn't dominant enough, Pearl River's Camden Clark (Laurel; West Jones) had an incredible day of his own. Over the course of six innings, the former 6A Mr. Baseball twirled a gem. The right-hander allowed just two hits and hit one batter while striking out 10 Copiah-Lincoln (15-9) batters.
Although the Wildcats had runners aboard in four of the first five innings, it wasn't until the top of the sixth that they put Camden Clark in line for the win. The first three batters of the inning reached base before Topher Jones (Hernando) sent a sacrifice fly into center field. Ethan Garner (Gulfport) continued his hot start to the season by ripping a ball into right field for an RBI, and Logan Terry (Semmes, Ala.; East Central) followed with a two-run double, 4-0.
Pearl River went to Drew Harrison (Madison; Germantown) in the seventh and eighth innings of the afternoon. He worked around back-to-back two-out singles in the seventh and escaped a jam in the eighth to keep the Wolves off the board.
Carson Fair (Southaven) was handed the ball to finish things off in the ninth and retired the side to secure the shutout, 4-0.
Keys had a fantastic game, finishing 3-for-5 with a double. Thompson went 2-for-4 with a walk, a run and two doubles. Hood and Conner Dyess (Carriere; Pearl River Central) each drew two walks. Hood also stole two bases.
Camden Clark's final line was six innings pitched, two hits allowed and 10 strikeouts. Harrison scattered four hits in two innings, striking out two. Fair punched out one in his final inning of work.
"Cam did what he's capable of doing," Avalon said. "We can't expect an outing like that every time, but we have to try to be consistent."
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to Dub Herring Park on Friday for a pair of ranked matchups. The Wildcats take on No. 9 Southeastern (Iowa) at 1 p.m. and No. 16 South Arkansas at 4 p.m.
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).