WESSON, Miss. — No. 2 Pearl River showcased its offensive firepower and pitching depth against Copiah-Lincoln, riding early home runs to a fast start in Game One before erupting for 14 runs behind a dominant outing from Drew Harrison to secure the split.
"Credit to them (Copiah-Lincoln), they swung the bats," head coach Michael Avalon said. "I told the guys that the first game was on me tonight. I was proud of the way that we responded in game two. We've just got to work on some things. Hopefully, we won't let some things that happened tonight happen again."
GAME ONE
Fresh off the bus, leadoff hitter Gatlin Pitts (Fairhope, Ala.; Bayside Academy) wasted no time getting Pearl River (30-8 overall, 12-2 MACCC) on the board against Copiah-Lincoln (21-14,6-6). Pitts launched a towering home run over the left fielder's head to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Coy Clements (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) followed with a single, and Chap Cook (Canton; Canton Academy) drew a walk to keep the momentum going. Already leading 1-0, Nico Williams (Gulfport) delivered a three-run home run to nearly the same spot as Pitts' blast, extending the advantage to 4-0.
Pearl River held the lead until the third inning, when Copiah-Lincoln erupted for 10 runs to take a 10-4 lead.
The Wolves added to their advantage in the fourth, forcing Pearl River to go to the bullpen. Jarvis Woody (Ridgeland) answered the call, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings. He struck out three and allowed just two hits in a strong relief effort.
The Wildcats attempted to rally in the fifth when Clements hit a solo home run, cutting the deficit to 12-5. The homer was his 18th of the season, leaving him two shy of the program's single-season record.
Pearl River added another run in the sixth on an RBI single by Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown), but neither team scored over the final three innings as Copiah-Lincoln secured a 12-6 win.
Clements was the only Wildcat with multiple hits in Game One.
GAME TWO
Looking to even the series, Pearl River again struck early. Pitts opened the first inning with a single, and Cook followed with an RBI single through the right side to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Copiah-Lincoln answered with a run in the bottom half to tie the game at 1-1.
Pearl River responded in the next inning with a big offensive surge. Kyler King (Picayune) delivered an RBI single, and Jackson Beddoe (Sulpher, La.) followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Pitts then drove in another run with an RBI double to make it 3-1.
After a wild pitch brought in another run, Jackson Estes (Madison; Germantown) added a sacrifice fly to center field, capping a four-run inning and giving Pearl River a 5-1 lead.
The Wildcats kept rolling. Freshman Landon Hawkins (Sumrall) hit a two-run home run to extend the lead, and Pitts later added an RBI single to push the score to 8-1.
A bases-loaded walk in the fifth made it 9-1, and Pearl River added another run in the sixth. Leading 10-1 entering the seventh, the Wildcats erupted again, collecting five hits and scoring four runs to stretch the lead to 14-1.
On the mound, Drew Harrison (Madison; Germantown) delivered a standout performance. The right-hander pitched six innings, allowing just three hits and one run while continuing his dominant stretch following two consecutive MACCC Pitcher of the Week honors.
Pitts and Cook each recorded three hits and combined for five RBIs as Pearl River cruised to the win.
NEXT UP
Pearl River heads to Biloxi today at 6:30 p.m. to play a 9-inning exhibition game against the Biloxi Shuckers before returning home to continue MACCC play Friday at 2/5 p.m. against Itawamba.
TICKETS
Tickets for the exhibition against the Biloxi Shuckers are available now through Ticketmaster and the Shuckers Box Office (145 Caillavet Street; Biloxi, Miss. 39533).
Season and single-game tickets are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Season tickets are $120. Single-game tickets are $9 if purchased in advance or $11 if purchased on game day.
TUNE IN
All home Pearl River baseball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans with 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 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).
