POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 5 Pearl River baseball team had to fight from behind twice on Tuesday inside Dub Herring Park but rallied to win both of its contests. The Wildcats defeated Holmes 5-3 in game one and took down East Mississippi 6-2 in game two.

"We had a lot of tough at-bats and big hits today," head coach Michael Avalon said. "I told them that I understand how tough it's been. We've had some tough breaks. The good thing is we won both today, and we can keep getting better."

PEARL RIVER 5, HOLMES 3.
Holmes (7-3 overall) took it to Pearl River (10-2) early in the contest as the Bulldogs scored a trio of runs across the first two frames. The Wildcats got a run back in the bottom half of the second as its leadoff batter did some damage. Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) stepped to the dish and bashed an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left field, 3-1.

The pitching combination of AJ Hansen (Mobile, Ala.; McGill-Toolen) and Nico Williams (Gulfport) kept Holmes in check on the offensive side of things throughout the middle innings to send PRCC into the bottom of the sixth trailing 3-1.

Pearl River had its breakthrough inning in the sixth, plating four big runs to take the lead. The Wildcats loaded the bases to bring up left field Kyler King (Picayune). The freshman confidently stepped into the box and roped a ball back up the middle for a two-run single, 3-3. A Jaxon Milam (Phenix City, Ala.; Glenwood Academy) walk loaded the bases up, and Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) picked up an RBI with a walk. The next Wildcat batter, Topher Jones (Hernando), was plunked to score the next run, 5-3.

Pearl River handed the ball to its closer, Carson Fair (Southaven), in the top of the seventh, and he did what he does best, retiring the side to secure his fifth save of the season.

Hansen threw 2 1/3 innings in relief, allowing one hit and one walk. He struck out a pair. Williams was fantastic in his first pitching appearance of the year, striking out three through two innings. Fair closed things out, walking one and striking out another in his inning of work. 

King was the lone Wildcat with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Hank Eaton (Corinth; Kossuth) walked twice.

PEARL RIVER 6, EAST MISSISSIPPI 2.
Pearl River and East Mississippi (10-4) matched each other in the first inning of the day. A leadoff double and an error allowed EMCC to get to third base. The Lions then sent a sacrifice fly into right field, 1-0. PRCC's Hood continued his hot day at the plate in the early going of game two, bashing an 0-0 pitch over the right field deck to even things up 1-1.

"I was hitting it on the barrel today," Hood said. "I wasn't trying to overdo it. I've been overswinging and fouling off pitches lately. I didn't try to do too much."

The Lions tacked on the go-ahead run in the top of the fourth, leaving the yard to take a 2-1 advantage. The Wildcats responded well in their half of the inning. With the bases loaded, Eaton drove a ball into right field for a sacrifice fly, and Tyrese Johnson (West Point) grounded out for the go-ahead run, 3-2 PRCC. 

Starting pitcher Max Miller (Vancleave) was fantastic in the fifth and sixth innings, retiring East Mississippi in order during both frames. Miller handed the ball off to freshman Colin Jenkins (Mt. Olive; Simpson Academy) in the seventh, and he was just as dominant.

PRCC rewarded the efforts of Miller and Jenkins with insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings. In the seventh, a Wildcat run scored when King's sacrifice bunt was fielded and thrown down the right field line, 4-2. The eighth saw Keegan Giger (Petal) plate a run with an RBI single and the next score on a single plus an error off the bat of Conner Dyess (Carriere; Pearl River Central), 6-2.

Jenkins closed things out with relative ease in the ninth to secure the victory.

Miller threw six innings, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk — only one run was earned. He also punched out seven batters. Jenkins earned the save by throwing three innings of one-hit, four-strikeout baseball.

Giger finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. He was the only Wildcat with multiple hits. Hood was 1-for-3 with the long ball.

NEXT UP
Pearl River remains at Dub Herring Park for its next series, hosting Coastal Alabama – South on Saturday. The game will serve as PRCC's Sophomore Day and gets underway at 2 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).