POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 3 Pearl River baseball team had a challenging task ahead of it as the Wildcats returned to Dub Herring Park for a pair of ranked matchups. PRCC was electric in the first game, defeating No. 11 South Arkansas 15-5 in six innings, but fell in the nightcap 5-1 to No. 20 Parkland.
"I'm thankful that we won the first game, but I still felt like we needed to play better," head coach Michael Avalon said. "We scored 15 runs, and I was happy about that, but I wish we had played a little bit cleaner. In game two, I have to give a lot of credit to them — they are a great team, and that was a special arm. We got hit in the mouth early, and we didn't battle back. I need to see us be tougher."
PEARL RIVER 15, SOUTH ARKANSAS 5 (6 INNINGS)
The Wildcats (13-4 overall) looked to be in some trouble after a sloppy first inning, which saw two passed balls lead to a South Arkansas run, 1-0. Starter Caleb Dyess (Carriere; Pearl River Central) didn't let the early run bother him, though, striking out the final batter of the inning on six pitches.
PRCC's offense wasted no time getting the run back and some, plating two in the bottom half of the frame. A Creek Robertson (Oxford; Madison Central) double brought up the imposing presence of Hollis Porter (Hurley; East Central), who used every bit of his 6-foot-4 frame to muscle an opposite-field home run deep over the wall in left field, 2-1. The home run was his NJCAA-leading eighth of the year.
The long ball aided Pearl River's efforts again in the bottom of the second. Marshall Phillips (Hattiesburg; Sumrall) led things off with a single, and Jonah Katsaboulas (Brandon) followed by turning on a hanging breaking ball and sending a two-run home run over the wall in left-center field, 5-1. PRCC added one more before the frame ended as Parker Ryan (Madison; Jackson Academy) scored on a Bryce Fowler (Madison; Germantown) single.
The Stars picked up a solo homer in the top of the third to slice into the lead, 5-2, but the Wildcats responded with two more in their half of the inning when Phillips knocked an RBI single into left field and JP Robertson (Madison; Germantown) crossed the plate on a wild pitch, 7-2.
South Arkansas got within three runs in their half of the fourth inning, and the Wildcats immediately scored three runs to hit the double-digit mark. A passed ball allowed the first run to cross, and Katsaboulas followed with a two-run double, 10-4.
The Stars picked up a solo homer in the sixth, and the Wildcats finally put the game away in the bottom of the sixth. Reed McCrillis (Madison; Madison Central) and Ryan drew bases-loaded walks. A Fowler single pushed in Katsaboulas, and Creek Robertson's single resulted in another RBI. Porter was plunked by a pitch to follow and ended the game in a 15-5 run-rule.
Dyess pitched five innings, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks. Only one of his runs were earned. He struck out eight batters. Cameron Fennell (Long Beach) tallied one inning pitched, allowing one run on one hit and one walk. He struck out one.
Fowler finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk. Phillips went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Creek Robertson and Jonah Katsaboulas each picked up two hits. Katsaboulas drove in four runs. Ryan picked up one hit, two runs scored and three walks.
PARKLAND COLLEGE 5, PEARL RIVER 1.
The Wildcats ran into some trouble against Parkland (2-3), falling behind 4-0 after two innings.
Parkland's pitcher was firing on all cylinders through the first four innings, scattering baserunners throughout.
The top of the fifth saw the Cobras pad its lead with an RBI single. PRCC fought back with a run in the bottom half as Katsaboulas drove a double into left-center field and came around to score on an error off the bat of JP Robertson, 5-1.
Pearl River got a runner into scoring position in the sixth but couldn't score and went quietly in the seventh to fall in the game 5-1.
Crabtree pitched five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and two walks. He struck out seven batters. Blake Gollott (Saucier; D'Iberville) was solid out of the pen, throwing two innings and allowing two hits with one strikeout.
Porter was the only Wildcat to collect two hits in the game, finishing 2-for-3.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action on Saturday for a single nine-inning contest against No. 1 Heartland. It is set to get underway at 3 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).