BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Pearl River’s No. 3 baseball team had mixed results in Friday’s doubleheader against No. 1 LSU Eunice and Baton Rouge. The Wildcats earned a thrilling 10-5 win over the Bengals in the opener of the day before Baton Rouge scored three in the ninth inning to defeat the PRCC 9-8 in the nightcap.
PEARL RIVER 10, LSU EUNICE 5.
The first game of the day was a real battle between top-3 ranked powers Pearl River (15-4 overall) and LSU Eunice (20-5).
Second year Sam Hill (Soso; West Jones) took the mound first for the Wildcats and worked around a step to retire the Bengals top of the first.
It was Pearl River who struck first in the game, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Gabe Broadus(Wilmer, Alabama; Faith Academy) fouled out on five pitches before scoring a double to right field. A six-pitch at-bat for Tate Parker (Gulfport; West Harrison) ended with an RBI single. The Wildcats loaded the bases soon after as Alex Perry(McComb; North Pike) simple and Logan Walters (Petal) was hit by a pitch. DK Donaldson (Gulfport; West Harrison) then took over. The first baseman took the first pitch he saw, then picked up an RBI as he got dunked with a pitch.
The No. 1-ranked Bengals came back strong in the top of the second, forcing a 3-run homer and bringing home another run on a defensive player’s pick to go ahead 4-2.
Pearl River battled to even things up half an inning later, 4-4. Broadus moved into scoring position with his second brace of the day before coming back to score on a Perry single. Three pitches in his at bat, Matt Mercier (Richton; Petal) dunked a ball on the third base line for an RBI double.
Turner Switchak (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) made his second relief appearance of the year late in the third and quickly made his presence felt, retiring the team on nine pitches.
The Wildcats took a 5-4 lead in the third inning. The PRCC managed to load the bases, then a 1-1 pitch ran a little too far inside and dunked Parker to bring a runner home.
Parker struck again in the bottom half of the fifth as he hit the first pitch he saw at the bottom of the center field wall for a two-run brace to put Pearl River ahead 7-4.
Swistak relied on his incredible backout in the top of the sixth as he hit the team on 13 pitches.
Originally from Louisiana Ian Montz (Lafayette, La.; Acadiana) was enjoying being back at Pelican State as he scored his third hit of the game in the bottom half of the inning to extend Pearl River’s lead to 8-4.
With two out in the seventh inning, the Wildcats took a 9-4 lead as Blake Hooks (Petal) collected his first RBI of the year with a single.
The eighth inning saw the Bengals return to the run column for the first time in five innings, hitting a solo homer to cut the four-run deficit to 9-5.
In the lower half of the sleeve, Gabe Broadus stood at third base and Parker was at first. Parker took off for second base, firing a throw from the pitcher that went over the second baseman’s head and made it 10-5 for Broadus.
Cole Tolbert (Laurel; West Jones) forced three quick outs in the ninth inning to seal a 10-5 victory for the PRCC.
Hill pitched two innings and struck out a batter for three runs, three hits and three walks. Swistak threw an incredible five innings of relief, totaling five strikeouts with just four hits and one walk.
Tolbert pitched the last two innings of the game, allowing a hit, a run and a walk while striking out a batter.
Parker was the lead at home plate, going 4-for-5 with four RBIs. Montz was second on the team in hits, collecting three. Broadus, Perry and Woodcock rounded out those with multiple hits, totaling two each.
BATON ROUGE 9, PEARL RIVER 8.
Baton Rouge (17-18) took a 3-0 lead late in the second inning. The Bears extended their lead to 5-0 late in the fourth inning as two runs scored on a brace.
PRCC fell silent again in the top of the fifth and BRCC added an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning, scoring on a passed ball to make it 6-0.
Pearl River was finally able to get a number in the run column in the sixth inning, cutting the four-run deficit to 6-2. Broadus led off the inning with a single before Parker hit a ball from the outside wall for a triple RBI. Walters then headed for the plate and hit the field 2-1 past the third baseman to bring Parker home.
The Wildcats had one of their best runs of the season in the top of the seventh, scoring six runs to take an 8-6 lead. Mercer opened the inning with a double and Ryan Burt (Columbus; New Hope) dunked a ball down the first base line for a double to take home the first run. After a walk from Broadus, Parker settled into picking a defender who tagged Burt. Alex Perry then reached base after his fly ball into shallow right field was misplayed by the Baton Rouge outfielder. Walters then tied the game by fielding a ball into center field for a two-run double. Montz continued his monster day right after, hitting a ball that was just yards away from homer for an RBI double. Donaldson then joined the charts with his own RBI double to cap the scoring in the set.
Pearl River was unable to put the game away as the Bears fought back to tie the game 8-8 in the bottom of the ninth before winning the game 9-8 with a single.
Will Passeau (Mobile, Alabama; St. Pauls) pitched the first two innings of the night, allowing three unearned runs, two hits and two walks with one strikeout. harpist jordan (Hattiesburg; Presbyterian Christian) then entered the game for an inning, allowing a hit and striking out a batter. dawson loud (Bay St. Louis; St. Stanislaus) pitched 2/3 of an inning allowing two runs and walking four batters. Parker Harington (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) got the final in that inning, giving up only one hit. Mason Smith (Laurel; Northeast Jones) allowed one unearned run and struck out two in a relief inning. Hooks struck out two batters in one inning. right-handed Jordan Belsome (Poplarville) threw an inning, a walk on foot. Landen Payne (Ocean Springs; St. Martin) pitched 2/3 of an inning, walking a batter, allowing four hits and allowing three runs.
Walters led the way at the plate with three hits and three RBIs. Broadus, Parker and Montz all had two hits in the game.
FOLLOWING
The Wildcats turn their attention to conference play as East Central comes to the dub for a first pitch Wednesday at 3 p.m.
TICKETS
Match tickets are available now and can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/tickets.
TO AGREE
All Pearl River home baseball games are streamed live for free on PRCCMedia.com. Fans who have Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch Wildcat shows by downloading the “Pearl River CC” channel from their app stores.
The games can also be heard on WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM and WRJWRadio.com.
For the latest Pearl River Community College athletics news, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCathletics) and Facebook (PRCCathletics).