PRCC won its second-ever MACJC state championship in Craig Rodriguez’s freshman season and back-to-back MACJC South Division titles in 2004 and 2005, while winning a record 27 straight games during the 2005 season.

In that 2005 season, under coach Jay Artigues, Rodriguez was instrumental in the team’s 45-12 record. He was the team’s No. 1 starter, posting a team-best 10-2 record. He also had four saves in 18 appearances and 2.21 earned-run-average. He struck out 110 batters while walking only 23 in 78 innings of work.

Rodriguez came to Pearl River following an outstanding high school career at St. Pius X in Houston, Texas, where he had a 22-11 record. He was also a .275 career hitter with eight home runs and 45 RBIs. He twice pitched in the state championship game, helping St. Pius to the 5A title in 2003.

However, he was not unfamiliar with this area.

“My mom is from Picayune and my dad played baseball at Southern Miss,” said Rodriguez. “I would go to Southern Miss baseball camps and that is where I ran into Coach (Jay) Artigues. He recruited me to Pearl River.”

Following his career at PRCC, he signed a scholarship with Ole Miss. In two years with the Rebels, he had a 7-5 record while appearing in 41 games. In 2006, Rodriguez was the winning pitcher in the SEC Tournament championship game against Vanderbilt, and was the winning pitcher in Game 1 of the NCAA Super Regional against Miami.

In 2007, he was the winning pitcher in relief at the Oxford NCAA Regional championship game against Sam Houston State, sending them to another NCAA Super Regional.

He was drafted in the 28th round of the 2007 major-league draft by the Colorado Rockies. He played three years of professional baseball – two with the Rockies and one with the Kansas City Royals before retiring due to an arm injury.