PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — The No. 2 Pearl River baseball team wrapped up the Visit Panama City Beach College Baseball Classic Friday afternoon, coming from behind to take down No. 11 John A. Logan 10-6 before falling to perennial powerhouse Chipola 7-3.
"We played hard all tournament, and I was proud of that," head coach Michael Avalon said. "The ending will make this bus ride a little less fun, but I'll be sure to remind them that we had a good showing overall.
"We're not anywhere close to as good as we can be because we can pitch it a lot better as a staff. I'm not sure we will face arms like we saw this tournament anymore this year, so it's hard to be upset with our hitters. We're going to get back home and clean up some things we need to work on."
GAME ONE
Pearl River (4-1 overall) dug itself a hole to begin the day against John A. Logan (0-3), falling behind by four runs in the top of the first inning. PRCC turned to Tanner Busby (Picayune) out of the bullpen with two outs in the frame, and he immediately induced an inning-ending ground ball. The Wildcats answered with a run in the bottom half as Ethan Garner (Gulfport) slapped a single and moved to second on an errant throw by the Volunteers' pitcher. With two outs, Chap Cook (Canton; Canton Academy) stepped into the left side of the box and shot a ball the opposite way for an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
Busby kept John A. Logan off the scoreboard in the second inning and recorded two outs in the third before giving way to Gardner Young (Madison; Jackson Prep) with a runner on third. In a lefty-on-lefty matchup, Young delivered a massive strikeout to close the frame without any damage. A two-run homer by the Volunteers extended the lead to 6-1 in the top of the fourth, prompting Wilkes Johnson (Jackson; Madison-Ridgeland Academy) to enter and finish the half inning.
The Wildcats showed their grit in the bottom of the fourth with a five-run outburst. Cook walked, Young singled and Kyler King (Picayune) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. JP Abt (Brandon; Hartfield Academy) and Garner followed with back-to-back hit-by-pitches to bring home a pair of runs. Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) then roped a single into left field, and a misplay by the John A. Logan outfielder allowed the ball to roll to the wall and clear the bases, tying the game at six.
John A. Logan threatened again in the fifth, putting two runners on before Landon Watts (Picayune) took over on the mound and quickly induced a ground ball to end the inning. PRCC grabbed its first lead of the contest in the bottom half as Jackson Estes (Madison; Germantown) drove in a run with a single. Two batters later, King delivered another RBI single, and a Volunteers miscue allowed Abt to reach and bring another run across the plate, pushing the lead to 9-6.
Watts worked out of a two-on, two-out situation in the sixth, setting the stage for one final insurance run. Garner led off the inning with a triple and scored on Hood's sacrifice fly to make it 10-6. Watts then faced just four batters in the seventh to close out the comeback victory.
Nico Williams (Gulfport) allowed four runs and struck out two in his start. Busby tossed two innings, surrendering one hit and one walk while striking out two. Young worked an inning, allowing two runs on two walks and one hit while punching out three. Johnson gave up one hit and one walk while striking out two in an inning of work. Watts earned the win with 2 1/3 innings of one-hit, two-walk relief.
Garner had a two-hit game, driving in one. Hood tallied three RBIs in a 1-for-3 day. Cook walked twice.
GAME TWO
In game two, Preston McAdory (Lucedale; George County) put Pearl River in a strong position in the first appearance of his collegiate career, allowing just one run through three innings against Chipola College (6-0). The Wildcats got him off the hook in the bottom of the third, evening the score at one as Logan Fontenelle (Biloxi) worked a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a Jackson Beddoe (Sulphur, La.) single, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by King and scored on a passed ball.
Dalton Graham (Conehatta; Newton County) entered in the fourth and delivered a strong outing out of the bullpen, allowing one run while striking out five across three innings to keep PRCC within one, 2-1. Pearl River broke through again in the fifth, sparked by team captain Fontenelle, who singled to open the frame and scored on a double off the bat of King to knot the game at two. Garner followed by attacking the first pitch and smashing a double down the right-field line to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game, 3-2.
Chipola's offense erupted in the seventh, using a game-tying fielder's choice before hitting a grand slam to seize control and hand PRCC a 7-3 loss.
McAdory scattered four hits and struck out six in three innings, while Graham allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Tyrese Johnson (West Point) surrendered two runs, and Fontenelle allowed two runs while striking out two in an inning of work.
King, Garner, Cook, Fontenelle and Beddoe each recorded a hit in the game, while Hood drew two walks.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action Friday with a doubleheader against South Arkansas, with first pitch from Dub Herring Park set for 1 p.m.
TICKETS
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).
