POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The ball left the yard regularly for the No. 2 Pearl River baseball team Sunday afternoon in its first conference action of the year as the Wildcats bashed seven home runs to earn a sweep of No. 21 Northwest. Pearl River took the opener 16-1 in seven innings and the nightcap 13-1 in six innings.
"We played really well today. Our offense did a really good job of doing damage when they gave us opportunities to do so," head coach Michael Avalon said. "It was our first time playing at home with the wind blowing out like it did and we took advantage on offense. I was proud of our pitchers for making good pitches and keeping the baseball down to prevent them from hitting many out."
GAME ONE
Pearl River (22-4 overall; 2-0 MACCC) teed off on Northwest (17-8; 0-4) to begin the day, belting five home runs in the opener. Although the Rangers were the first to use the long ball with a first-inning solo shot, the home run parade started for the Wildcats in the bottom half of the inning. Keegan Giger (Petal) started his incredible day in the bottom half of the inning. Giger stepped to the dish with a runner aboard and mashed a two-run homer over the wall in right field — his first long ball of the year, 2-1.
In the fourth, PRCC tacked on three runs. With a runner aboard, Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) stepped to the plate and demolished a ball for his third home run of the season, 4-1. A few batters later, Ethan Garner (Gulfport) joined in on the fun, fighting out of an 0-2 hole with an opposite-field solo shot, 5-1.
Five Wildcat runs scored in the fifth inning of the afternoon. Giger singled to open things before Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) and Hood walked to load the bases. Jaxon Milam (Phenix City, Ala.; Glenwood Academy) earned an RBI the hard way, getting plunked by a pitch. A passed ball by the Ranger catcher followed and allowed Thompson to score. Topher Jones (Hernando) continued his hot streak by sending a three-run homer flying over the wall in left field, 10-1.
The scoring continued in the sixth as PRCC scored six runs to push ahead 16-1. Logan Terry (Semmes, Ala.; East Central) drew a walk, and Giger followed by roping a ball down the right field line and into the corner for an RBI triple. A Jacob Keys (Brandon) hit by pitch and a Thompson walk loaded the bases back up. Hood earned an RBI by getting hit by a pitch to bring up Milam. The South Alabama transfer worked himself into a 2-2 count before sending a pitch flying to the opposite field and over the wall in left field for a grand slam.
The Wildcats closed things out relatively quickly in the seventh as Nico Williams (Gulfport) struck a batter out and induced a game-ending double play, 16-1.
Giger finished 3-for-3 with three RBIs. He hit a triple and a home run. Hood went 1-for-2 with three RBIs and three runs. He hit a home run. Milam finished 1-for-3 with five RBIs and two runs scored, leaving the yard once. Jones tallied one hit with it leaving the yard. He had three RBIs. Garner finished 1-for-2 with a solo homer. Thompson drew three walks.
Jacob Johnson (Carriere; Pearl River Central) pitched six innings, allowing three hits, two walks and one run. He struck out eight batters. Williams threw the final inning of the contest, giving up one hit and punching out a Ranger.
GAME TWO
Just like in the opener, it was the Rangers who struck first. With two outs, NWCC's third batter of the game ripped a solo shot over the wall in left field. Luckily for the Wildcats, the offensive onslaught from game one continued into game two.
PRCC scored five first-inning runs to take control of the game. Giger drew a walk and scored on a double into the right-center field gap by Thompson. Two batters later, Jones sent a pitch back where it came from, going up the middle for an RBI single. Garner then stepped to the plate in another good situation. The left-handed hitter wasted no time in his at-bat, jumping on the first pitch thrown to him and depositing it deep over the wall in right field for a three-run homer — his second blast of the doubleheader — putting PRCC in front 5-1.
The Wildcat bats were silenced in the second and third innings, but it didn't matter as starting pitcher Patrick Spencer Jr. (Greenville; Washington School) kept the Rangers off the board in each of the second, third and fourth frames.
PRCC scored three runs in the bottom half of the fourth. Hood drove home the first run of the frame with a single, bringing up Jones. The Mississippi State transfer earned an RBI single of his own, and the throw to third base got away from the Ranger defenders, allowing a third run to score in the inning, 8-1.
In the fifth, A looping single by Thompson allowed a run to score, and Milam doubled home the next run, 10-1. The game closed in the sixth with PRCC's second run-rule victory of the day. With Garner and Terry aboard, Logan Fontenelle (Biloxi) earned a pinch-hit opportunity. He took the first pitch of his at-bat for a ball but walloped the second over the wall in left field for a walk-off three-run homer, 13-1.
Thompson was 3-for-3 with three runs and one RBI. He also drew a walk. Jones finished 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Garner was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored, hitting a home run. Milam was 1-for-2 with two walks and a double. He drove in one run.
Spencer threw four innings of one-run baseball to earn the win. He allowed two hits, one walk and struck out four. Caleb Dyess (Carriere; Pearl River Central) threw the next two innings, allowing one hit and punching out three.
NEXT UP
Pearl River heads to Decatur on Tuesday for a showdown with No. 1 East Central. The games will get underway at 3 p.m. The doubleheader will be livestreamed at ECCCLive.com.
Games will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320-AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).