MOBILE, Ala. — Errors, walks, and untimely hitting bit the No. 3 Pearl River baseball team as it dropped a nine-inning contest Tuesday afternoon against Coastal Alabama – South, 4-3.
"Credit to them, they outplayed us. They had more barrels and more hits. We just didn't play well," head coach Michael Avalon said. "It was a contested ballgame, but I am disappointed we didn't make pitches down the stretch."
Despite both pitchers appearing to lack their best, the game began quietly. Two Wildcat batters struck out to open the first frame. Pearl River's (8-2 overall) Eli Waters (Petal) got the start. In his first inning of work, he allowed a walk before forcing a line out and a fly out. He then picked off the Coastal Alabama – South (1-4) baserunner from first to end the inning.
The opposing starting pitcher was tough through the first three innings. In fact, PRCC's first hit did not come until the fourth inning when Creek Robertson (Oxford; Madison Central) launched a double on a fly ball to left field. But a ground out and fly out ended the threat.
With PRCC's starter wavering, a change was made. AJ Hansen (Mobile, Ala.; McGill-Toolen) was the first call of the evening. He came in to face two on and nobody out. He struck out his first opponent but gave up a two-run single to follow. A flyout and a popout ended the fourth.
With two outs in the opening frame of the fifth, Alex Wade (Decatur, Ala.; Madison Academy) connected smoothly with a ball and sent it flying way over the left field wall for his first collegiate home run, cutting the CAS lead in half, 2-1. Logan Terry (Semmes, Ala.; East Central) followed that up with a single on a line drive to left field, but that was all for PRCC.
Austin Tommasini (Madison; Madison Central) was the second man out of Pearl River's bullpen. He began his afternoon with a strikeout on just three pitches but followed that with a four-pitch walk. An errant throw on the pickoff attempt allowed the CAS runner to advance to third. He scored on a sacrifice fly, 3-1 CAS.
In the top of the sixth, the Wildcats rallied to even the score right back up, 3-3. It began with a Robertson single. He swiped second base before advancing to third on a bunt single by Jeff Ince (Brandon; Jackson Prep). Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) grounded into a fielder's choice to bring home Robertson and advance Ince to second. Marshall Phillips (Hattiesburg; Sumrall) worked a full-count walk before Wade delivered again — this time with a hard single through the infield and into right field. The hit brought in Keegan Giger (Petal), who replaced Thompson on the bases.
Konnor Graham (Hammond, La.) had the bottom frame. He walked the first two batters faced before retiring the next on a fly ball. Blaine Knight (Kiln; Hancock) replaced Graham and induced a flyout and groundout to end the threat. Knight made it look easy in his next frame, retiring the batters efficiently.
With trouble brewing in the eighth inning after a single, walk, and errant throw, Carson Fair (Southaven) was forced into the ballgame. With runners on the corners and no one out, he promptly struck out one with a 91-mph fastball. The next batter walked to load the bases. A clutch infield fly followed. As the stakes rose, Fair fired two more bullets into the zone, setting the batter behind 0-2. He then wasted a pitch before dotting another on the outside edge of the zone, firing up the Wildcats as he strutted off the mound.
The momentum did not swing for long, as Pearl River went down hastily in the ninth. In the bottom half, walks continued to plague PRCC as the winning run came across via one. CAS pulled it out, 4-3.
Wade had a productive evening, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Robertson was the only other Wildcat with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3.
Waters tallied three innings, allowing two hits, two walks and two runs. Hansen recorded one out, giving up one hit and one walk. Tommasini finished with 1 2/3 innings pitched, allowing one unearned run and two walks while striking out one. Graham walked two and recorded one out. Knight tallied 1 2/3 big innings, grabbing a strikeout along the way.
Fair threw the final 1 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits and three walks. He struck out two.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to action this weekend for a three-game series at home against Murray State. First pitch on Friday is set for 4 p.m.
TICKETS
Tickets are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. General admission tickets are $8 per game. Season passes can be purchased for $75 for softball or a softball/baseball season pass can be purchased for $100.
HOW TO WATCH
The Wildcats will once again livestream all games for free at PRCCMedia.com/gold. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.
Games can also be heard at WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM and WRJWRadio.com.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
PRESS RELEASE WRITTEN BY PEARL RIVER ATHLETICS INTERN, JAXON DUNAWAY.