POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 3 Pearl River Wildcats rallied late and then came up with a pair of massive plays in the ninth inning Thursday to defeat No. 5 Meridian 4-3 in Game 7 of the Region 23 Tournament at Dub Herring Park.
With the win, Pearl River (36-8 overall) advances to play No. 2 LSU Eunice in a rematch of Wednesday night's NJCAA Top 3 showdown. First pitch between the Wildcats and Bengals is set for 7 p.m. and will be livestreamed at PRCCMedia.com/gold.
"That's a quality team that had their backs against the wall. They fought hard and I have a lot of respect for those guys," Pearl River coach Michael Avalon said. Coach (Dillon) Sudduth and those guys are a good team. We were 2-2 against each other on the year and they led for a large portion of that game (today). We scored two runs with two outs. Landon Harper, the Meridian boy, finished well, and I am proud of him.
"They got the best of him over there, but when it counted, he came home and took care of his business. That's what he wanted and that's what I knew he could do. I'm so glad he's a Wildcat."
Trailing 3-2 in the eighth, the Wildcats used a two-out rally to leapfrog MCC (32-13).
Tate Parker (Gulfport; West Harrison) got the Wildcats going, ripping a double to deep left-center field.
Kasey Donaldson (Gulfport; West Harrison) then singled over the second baseman to score his former WHHS teammate. Following a Matt Mercer (Petal) walk, Von Seibert (Mobile, Ala.; Daphne) singled to center field. Donaldson turned on the jets to score the go-ahead run from second.
"The other day we talked about it. I called him out in front of the whole team. I said 'do you know what a star does? Stars always shine,'" Avalon said of Parker. "When he walked up to the plate I told him to shine. He's a star and he checks all of the boxes. I'm proud he's a Wildcat. I'm proud I get to coach him and all of these guys.
"They're good. That's a special group and we're not done yet. The 'Cats ain't done yet."
Clinging to a 4-3 lead, the Wildcats worked around a leadoff walk in the eighth to set up the thrilling ninth.
Due to losing the pre-game coin toss, PRCC served as the visitors against MCC; as such, they had to defend in the bottom of the ninth to close out the win.
Meridian singled to open the frame. After a fielding error at second base, the Eagles had two on without an out.
Reliever Landon Harper (Meridian; Northeast Lauderdale) induced a grounder to Seibert for the first out. Meridian's second baseman then hit a sharp chopper to Seibert, who snagged the ball cleanly and threw it home. Mercer, who started at behind the plate, applied the tag in the bang-bang play at home and held on to the ball despite colliding with the baserunner.
"I was begging for the ball," Seibert said. "I wanted someone to hit it to me so that I could make the play. I'd do anything to have the ball."
After PRCC was forced to make a defensive substitution at catcher, Harper earned a comebacker and tossed the ball to Seibert for the final out.
"He's tough as nails," Avalon said. "I'm glad he's a Wildcat."
GETTING STARTED
Despite getting minimal sleep Wednesday night, the Wildcats pounced on MCC in the top of the first. After Graham Crawford (Hattiesburg; Sumrall) walked and Parker singled, Donaldson followed up with a single of his own to score Crawford. Mercer then sent a fly ball deep enough to center that Parker was able to score for the 2-0 lead.
MCC got one run back in the bottom of the first and then took a 3-2 lead in the fifth.
STRONG ARMED
Eric Newsom (Germantown; Madison) started for PRCC. The right-hander went 4 2/3 innings, surrendering three runs on three hits and three walks. He also struck out one.
"He wanted the baseball and that's why he was there," Avalon said. "He did a great job for us."
Harper earned the win in relief, throwing 4 1/3 scoreless innings.
BY THE NUMBERS
Donaldson led the Wildcats offensively, going 4-for-4 with two RBIs. Parker tallied two hits, including one double.
CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCHES
Prior to game time the Wildcats honored two PRCC institutions in long-time board members Sonny Knight and Frank Ladner. Ladner joined the board in 1992 and represents Hancock County, while Knight joined three years later and represents Pearl River County.
��️ Prior to today's start we honored long-time @PRCC_Wildcats board members Sonny Knight & Frank Ladner. Thank you for your decades of service to PRCC!#WEAREW1LDCATS�� pic.twitter.com/bGLuVSQNCr
— PRCC Athletics (@PRCCAthletics) May 20, 2021
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