NICEVILLE, Fla. — The No. 2 Pearl River Wildcats split their doubleheader in a defensive showdown against DI No. 2 Northwest Florida State College Saturday losing the first game 4-1 and winning the second 2-1.
"Those were two good teams playing out there today," PRCC coach Micheal Avalon said. "Pitching and defense was good from both teams. They were a little bit better in Game 1 and we were better in Game 2. It was important for us to win Game 2 because we challenged them after that loss and said 'Be willing to win a game 2-1' and they did that against a quality team."
GAME 1: NWFS 4, Pearl River 1
Northwest Florida got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning when they hit a RBI-single to take a 1-0 lead.
The Raiders (17-4) added to their lead in the bottom of the third when they plated a run off a PRCC (11-3) error.
The Wildcats answered back in the top of the fourth when Michael Wein (Alpharetta, Ga.; King's Ridge Christian) hit an RBI-single to make it a 2-1 game.
Northwest Florida extended its lead in the bottom of the fifth when it hit a two-run single to make it a 4-1 game.
Wein led the Wildcats in hits with two.
Jacob Scherer (Mandeville, La.; St. Paul's) picked up the start for the Wildcats throwing 4 2/3 innings allowing three hits and three walks while striking out six.
Reid Golemon (Moselle; South Jones) entered the game in relief for Scherer throwing 1 1/3 innings and allowing three hits and two earned runs while striking out one.
"I thought the difference in Game 1 was that they were a little bit better defensively than us," Avalon said.
GAME 2: Pearl River 2, NWFS 1
Northwest Florida took the lead first once again in the bottom of the second inning it hit an RBI-single.
The Wildcats tied it up in the top of the fourth inning when Wein hit his second RBI of the day, this one a solo homer.
Reece Ewing (Mobile, Ala.; Faith Academy) gave the Wildcats the lead with an RBI-single in the top of the fifth inning.
The Wildcats ultimately secured the 2-1 win.
Wein and Bryson Ware (Gluckstadt; Germantown) both tied for the team lead in hits with two apiece.
"Wein had a really good day for us," Avalon said. "He had several big hits that got us going."
Leif Moore (Biloxi; St. Martin) got the start for the Wildcats throwing 3 1/3 innings while allowing four hits, two walks and one earned run while striking out two.
Kole Alford (McComb; North Pike) entered the game in relief for the Wildcats and picked up the win throwing 3 2/3 innings and striking out four.
Alford entered the game with two runners on and got the Wildcats out of the jam in the bottom of the sixth inning when he induced a double play.
"He entered the game in a high pressure situation and he made big pitches to help us win," Avalon said.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will travel to Spring Hill Wednesday to take on their JV team at 2:00 p.m. before beginning MACJC play and taking on Northeast on the road Saturday at 1 p.m.
They return to Dub Herring Park next Wednesday when they take on Co-Lin.
HOW TO TUNE IN
All home events are broadcast on PRCCMedia.com. Anyone who has an Amazon Fire or Roku device can stream PRCC broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" Channel from the app store. Conference games can also be heard on WRJW 1320 AM, WRJWRadio.com or by downloading the WRJW app.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).