POPLARVILLE, Miss. — After a lackluster showing at the plate in a 3-1 game one loss, the No. 1 Pearl River baseball team bounced back with an impressive 15-0 victory in game two to split its series with Illinois Central on Saturday at Dub Herring Park.
"We need to be more efficient. We can't let one guy dictate whether or not we're successful," Pearl River coach Michael Avalon said. "They're a quality team year in and year out. Once we got going in the second game, the bats just kept going. It was good to bounce back."
GAME ONE
The Wildcats (12-2 overall) had a great chance to do some damage in the bottom of the first after loading the bases with walks by Preston Soper (Madison; Germantown), Ian Montz (Lafayette, La.; Acadiana) and Logan Walters (Petal). Hunter Sute (Tuscaloosa, Ala.; American Christian Academy) nearly unloaded the bases, but his flyball hung up in the air and was caught at the warning track.
In the second, Triston Hickman (Wiggins; Stone County) reached base on an infield single and advanced to third after an errant pickoff attempt by the Illinois Central (4-3) pitcher. Gabe Broadus (Wilmer, Ala.; Faith Academy) nearly drove him in but a stellar defensive play by the Cougars kept him off the basepaths and ended the inning.
The top of the third saw ICCC stretch across a pair of runs to take a 2-0 lead. Will Passeau (Mobile, Ala.; St. Paul's) tossed a great bounce-back inning in the fourth, striking out the side in order.
The Cougars tacked on another run in the fifth inning, 3-0.
Blake Hooks (Petal) finally got the Wildcats on the board in the bottom of the seventh, mashing a solo homer over the centerfield wall to cut the deficit to 3-1.
Blake Gollott's (D'Iberville) stellar relief appearance gave the Wildcats a chance heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. Montz, Walters and Hooks walked to load up the bases, but the Wildcats couldn't scratch across any runs.
Passeau pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out seven batters. Gollott was outstanding in relief, throwing four innings without allowing a baserunner. He struck out six Cougars.
GAME TWO
The second game of the day couldn't have been much more different for the Wildcats. Byrion Robinson (Brookhaven) earned the start and with the help of two great defensive plays, he retired the side in order. The first batter lined a ball destined for a single into right field, but Conner Ware (Madison; Germantown) dove to his right a caught the line drive for the out. Robinson struck out the next Cougar batter before turning in a web gem himself. The ICCC batter sent a ball right back at the mound and Robinson quickly threw up his glove to make the catch.
Passeau got the Wildcat scoring started with a bang, getting under a fastball and sending it deep over the right field wall for a leadoff solo home run. A Soper walk and four straight singles by Alex Perry (McComb; North Pike), Montz, Walters and Sute helped extend the lead, 5-0. Jonah Katsaboulas (Madison; Brandon) nearly left the yard in his at-bat but settled for an RBI double. In his second at-bat of the inning, Passeau capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly deep into center field, going ahead 7-0.
Pearl River added a run each in the second and fourth innings for a 9-0 advantage. In the second, Walters stepped to the dish and belted a solo homer over the centerfield wall. The fourth inning saw Cole Fletcher (Picayune; St. Stanislaus) score on a Sute single into left field.
The score swelled to 12-0 in the fifth inning with a three-run inning by the Wildcats. Ware and Marshall Phillips (Sumrall) got on base to begin the inning with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, respectively. Soper slashed a line drive single just out of the reach of the Cougar second baseman for an RBI. Phillips scored after Montz drew a bases-loaded walk. A few batters later, the last run of the inning came in after an error off the bat of Parker Ryan (Madison; Jackson Academy)
PRCC struck for three runs again in the sixth. On the fifth pitch of Ware's at-bat, the freshman left-handed hitter sent a towering fly ball over the right field wall for a home run. The blast was the first of his career. Soper walked and Perry singled and then Gollott entered the game as a pinch-hitter. It looked as if Gollott had hit the second home run of the inning, but it clanked off the top of the wall and resulted in a long RBI single. A wild pitch by the Cougars allowed Perry to score the final run of the inning, 15-0.
Brennan Jones (Gulfport; West Harrison) clinched the shutout victory in the seventh, working around a single and a hit-by-pitch to retire the side.
Robinson threw three hitless innings, walking one batter and striking out four. Cameron Fennell (Long Beach) pitched an inning and walked one batter while striking out three. Luke Lyon (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) gave up two hits and struck out two batters in one inning. Jones allowed one hit and struck out two in one inning.
Perry went 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI. Sute finished 3-for-3 with a run and two RBIs. Soper had another great game at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with three runs, one RBI and two walks. Walters wrapped up those with multiple hits, going 2-for-2 on the day with two RBIs and two runs.
After pitching five innings in game one, Passeau went 1-for-2 with a homer and two RBIs at the plate.
"Passeau got us going," Avalon said. "We made the decision this week to start working him back into the outfield. He makes an impact when he's in the lineup. He makes things happen."
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to action Wednesday for a tri-game against Gulf Coast and Jones College. The first game is set to get underway at 3 p.m. and will be livestreamed at JCBobcats.com/watch. Tickets can be purchased at JCBobcats.com/Tickets.
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