POPLARVILLE, Miss. — After a tough 10-inning, 12-11 loss in game one at Itawamba, the No. 2 Pearl River baseball team needed a boost of energy in the nightcap.
Luckily for the Wildcats, right-handed Mississippi State signee Will Passeau was up for the challenge. The sophomore toed the rubber and hurled a complete game shutout to earn an 8-0 victory and secure a series split on the road.
"It was good to see Will Passeau respond the way he did. That was big for us. He's supposed to be our ace and he pitched like one tonight," Pearl River coach Michael Avalon said. "He maintained his stuff throughout the game against maybe one of the best offensive teams in the conference. He had three pitches for a strike today and just answered the bell. I was proud of him."
Avalon talked about the series split against a tough Itawamba squad.
"I thought that the guys did a tremendous job of picking us up in game two," he said. "I thought that I did a poor job coaching in the first game. I didn't put our pitchers in the best positions to be successful. I told them after the game that it was on me. It was good to see us bounce back the way we did in game two."
GAME ONE
Pearl River (27-5 overall; 8-2 MACCC) grandly began its day, taking a 4-0 lead six batters into the day. Preston Soper (Madison; Germantown) and Logan Walters (Petal) drew back-to-back walks before Ian Montz (Lafayette, La.; Acadiana) loaded the bases with a single. With two outs, Triston Hickman (Wiggins; Stone County) belted the third pitch of his at-bat over the center field wall for a grand slam. The blast was his second long ball of the year.
"He's got confidence right now. I think that's what he was lacking a little bit, but that's understandable," Avalon said. "It's tough to be confident in baseball when you're only playing a few games a week. He has stuck with it and his hard work is paying off."
Itawamba (18-7; 6-4) scored its first run of the day in the second inning with an RBI single.
In the third, PRCC scored one run to go ahead, 5-1. Alex Perry (McComb; North Pike) had made his way around to third base and touched home plate when the Indians threw a wild pitch.
ICC cut the deficit to two runs in the bottom half of the frame by way of a solo homer and a sacrifice fly, 5-3.
The Wildcats extended their lead to 7-3 in the fourth. Blaise Breerwood (Poplarville) was hit by a pitch to begin the inning and Marshall Phillips (Hattiesburg; Sumrall) doubled to get a pair of runners in scoring position. A balk was issued on the ICC pitcher to allow Breerwood to score. Gabe Broadus (Wilmer, Ala.; Faith Academy) followed it up by hitting a sacrifice fly.
PRCC got into some trouble in the fourth and allowed the Indians to battle back and tie up the game at seven apiece.
The Wildcats moved back in front in the sixth inning. Phillips and Parker Ryan (Madison; Jackson Academy) led off the inning with singles. Soper drew a six-pitch walk to load up the bases before Perry and Walters knocked two consecutive RBI singles, 9-7.
The Indians cut the deficit to one, 9-8, with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the sixth inning. An inning later, ICC took the lead with a three-run homer, 11-9.
Perry came up clutch for the Wildcats in the eighth inning, blasting the second pitch thrown to him over the left field wall to tie up the game 11-11. The homer was his team-leading seventh of the season.
Stellar defensive play kept the Indians off the scoreboard in the eighth inning. A ball was hit back to Wildcat reliever Bobby Magee (Petal) who fired to second base for a force out. The ICC runner had rounded third base a little too far and the Wildcats fired behind him to tag him out, ending the inning.
Although Magee kept the Indians off the board in the ninth, ICC knocked a lead-off homer in the tenth to pick up a walk-off 12-11 victory.
Offensively, the Wildcats were led by Hickman who finished 3-for-5 and drove in four runs. Perry also went 3-for-5 and picked up three RBIs and two runs scored. Perry went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored. Soper was a tough out as he drew three walks.
GAME TWO
The Wildcats wasted no time getting on the board in game two, making Itawamba pay for an early miscue. Broadus reached on an errant throw before coming around to score on a groundout off the bat of Perry, 1-0.
The first inning run proved to be all that the Wildcats needed as Will Passeau (Mobile, Ala.; St. Paul's) stepped on the bump and hurled a complete-game shutout, working around four hits and four walks while striking out four batters.
The Wildcats gave Passeau some extra insurance runs in the second inning, putting up a four-spot. A Montz double, Hunter Sute (Tuscaloosa, Ala.; American Christian Academy) hit-by-pitch and Breerwood walk loaded the bases for Phillips. The freshman right fielder mashed a double off the center field wall to pick up two RBIs. Broadus followed it up by knocking a sacrifice fly into the outfield. Perry capped the scoring in the frame with an RBI single, 5-0.
With Passeau cruising on the mound, the Wildcat offense wasn't forced to do much at the plate over the next four innings, but it came back to life in the seventh with a three-spot, 8-0. Soper went the opposite way and tucked a double down the left field line. Walters followed him up by smashing a ball off the left field wall. The ball took an awkward bounce off the wall and allowed him to cruise into third safely with a triple. One triple is rare enough, but the Wildcats managed to pick up another one just one batter later as Hickman laced a ball down the left field line and slid into third base safely. Two pitches later, Montz drove him in with an RBI single.
The Indians went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning to help the Wildcats secure an 8-0 victory and a series split on the road.
Phillips finished the game 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs. Soper, Walters and Montz all had two-hit games.
NEXT UP
Pearl River remains on the road Wednesday as it travels to Raymond to take on Hinds. The doubleheader against the Eagles will begin at 3 p.m. and can be viewed at HindsCCSports.net.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).