BOONEVILLE, Miss. — The No. 3 Pearl River baseball team opened MACCC play against Northeast Saturday afternoon and the Wildcats took home two wins, 11-1 and 4-3. The first game was offense-heavy for the Wildcats, with seven players picking up at least one RBI. Pitching was strong in both efforts, as Northeast only picked up four runs on the day.
"I was proud of the way we came out of the gate to open conference play," head coach Michael Avalon said. "I was proud of how we finally put them away in the first game. I think we got a bit sloppy in the middle innings of the first game, and that affected us in game two. We gave up the lead for the first time all day in game two, and I was proud of the way that we found a way to answer. Any time that you come out to open conference and come away with two wins, it's big."
PEARL RIVER 11, NORTHEAST 1
JT Schnoor (Pascagoula; Resurrection) sat down Northeast (13-11 Overall; 0-2 MACCC) quickly in the bottom of the first. Pearl River (22-5; 2-0) got the first two men on in the second with a Jeff Ince (Brandon; Jackson Prep) leadoff single up the middle and a Marshall Phillips (Hattiesburg; Sumrall) walk off a long at-bat, but the Wildcats went down in order following that.
Schnoor picked up a 1-2-3 inning in the second. Logan Terry (Semmes, Ala.; East Central) was hit by a pitch in the third and swiped second base. He then advanced on a Bryce Fowler (Madison; Germantown) flyout. A Creek Robertson (Oxford; Madison Central) sacrifice fly followed up and brought home Terry. Hollis Porter (Hurley; East Central) threatened with a two-out walk, but the inning ended shortly after.
Two Wildcat hit by pitches put runners on first and second to open the fourth. Alex Wade (Decatur, Ala.; Madison Academy) picked up an RBI, sending one quickly through the right side. An error allowed Fowler to reach first base, and with heads-up baserunning, Wade came around to score from second on the play.
After another three up and three down from Schnoor in the bottom of the fourth, the Wildcats notched a big inning, booking six runs on six hits. Porter began the stretch with a single through the left side. Ince then hit a single of his own. With runners on first and second, Phillips reached first on a throwing error by the Tiger pitcher. This allowed the runners to advance as Porter scored. Jonah Katsaboulas (Brandon) grounded out to the second baseman, but again, the runners advanced, and Ince scored. Wade then singled to left, scoring Phillips. Wade stole second before Parker Ryan (Madison; Jackson Academy) knocked a double to the right field wall. With runners on second and third, Terry singled to right center, scoring both and pushing the lead to 9-1. Terry advanced around the base paths and came around to score on a wild pitch. The Wildcats led 10-1 after the big inning.
Schnoor picked back up after an extended sit, working a strikeout and a double play to bring the bats back up to the plate. In the bottom of the sixth, Wade reached first with two away. Ryan worked a full count for a single into right field, but the inning ended there.
Schnoor recorded his 8th and 9th strikeouts in the bottom of the sixth. The bases were loaded, but no runners scored. The Wildcats gathered two more baserunners in the top of the seventh, but nothing came of it.
Reed McCrillis (Madison; Madison Central) entered the game to begin the bottom half. He recorded two outs but allowed three walks before A.J. Hansen (Mobile, Ala.; McGill-Toolen) was called upon. He closed out the inning.
In the top of the eighth, Katsaboulas launched a ball over the left field wall to push the lead to 10 runs and put the run rule into effect. Hansen had the bottom of the eighth and secured the win for the Wildcats, 11-1.
Schnoor was excellent, tossing 6 2/3 innings and striking out nine while only allowing three hits. A.J. Hansen threw 1 1/3 innings, striking out one and allowing one walk.
"I thought JT did a really good job of doing exactly what we needed him to do as a game-one starter in the conference. He put up zeros early and let us get our offense going," Avalon said.
Fowler, Creek Robertson, and Phillips all picked up an RBI, with Katsaboulas, Wade, Ryan, and Terry picking up two. Ryan had a double, as Katsaboulas had the lone home run.
PEARL RIVER 4, NORTHEAST 3
The Wildcats went down quickly in the opening frame of the ballgame. In the bottom of the first, a Tiger baserunner reached after an Ince diving stop, but a strikeout and another diving catch by Fowler in center closed the inning.
Both teams went quietly in the second inning, highlighted by a Creek Robertson defensive play. He ranged to his right and unleashed a jump throw across the diamond. It skipped along the turf and beat the Tiger first.
Caleb Dyess (Carriere; Pearl River Central) reached on an error from the opposing third baseman in the third inning. A sacrifice bunt from Terry pushed him to second. Fowler took the opportunity to double down the right-field line. A pitch hit Creek Robertson. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and then Fowler scored on a balk. This set the lead to 2-0, PRCC.
Pumped as he exited the mound, JP Robertson (Madison; Germantown) struck out the side in the bottom of the third. But in the following inning, the Tigers answered with two runs of their own, tying the game at two apiece.
Despite a leadoff double from Terry, the Wildcats did not add any runs in the fifth. Austin Tommasini (Madison; Madison Central) replaced JP Robertson in the bottom half and recorded the first two outs on two batters. But the Tigers rallied to get one across and take the lead, 3-2.
The Wildcats responded quickly in the sixth inning. It began with an Ince hit by pitch and Phillips double. Katsaboulas then flew out to right field, scoring Ince and advancing Phillips, who came in to score on a Terry single into right field. Pearl River left the bases loaded but cashed in two runs to take the lead 4-3.
Tommasini produced two clean innings, picking up the win along the way. He struck out two in the sixth and one in the seventh as the Wildcats won 4-3.
JP Robertson logged four complete innings, striking out eight while giving up two runs on three hits. Tommasini earned the win, throwing three innings and striking out four while allowing one run.
"JP was really good early, especially with the tough weather conditions and being on the road. He had so many strikeouts, so his pitch count was up," Avalon said. "We were a little quicker on the trigger because we were in good shape from the midweek games."
Fowler, Katsaboulas, and Terry all tallied RBIs, with Fowler and Terry adding doubles.
NEXT UP
The Wildcats return to the Dub on Wednesday for a 3/6 p.m. doubleheader against Southwest.
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 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).