POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 2 Pearl River baseball team erupted for 21 runs on 18 hits and eight extra-base hits Tuesday afternoon, outslugging Coastal Alabama - South 21-11.
"I was extremely proud of our offense for two things today. We answered repeatedly and we ran the bases extremely hard," head coach Michael Avalon said. "That kept our energy going throughout the day. We continued to hit throughout and didn't let up to finish them off.
"Coastal Alabama - South is a very talented team. They're going to be a real competitor in their conference. That was a tough place to play in today. Some of our freshman arms need to learn from today, but it was a good experience for them to get out there and compete."
Pearl River (7-1 overall) didn't need long to get on the board against Coastal Alabama-South (5-3) — a sign of the offensive explosion to come. Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) and Chap Cook (Canton; Canton Academy) drew walks to open the game, and Hood crossed the plate when Coy Clements (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) roped an RBI single into left field for a 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats added three runs in both the third and fourth innings. In the third, Cook brought home a run with a groundout before Jackson Estes (Madison; Germantown) extended the lead to 4-0 with a two-run single. Pearl River struck for three more in the fourth when Gardner Young (Madison; Jackson Prep) singled and scored after a Gatlin Pitts (Mobile, Ala.; Daphne) bunt was thrown away. Following two quick outs, Hood stepped to the plate and sent the first pitch he saw the opposite way for a two-run home run — his first of the season — to make it 7-0.
Coastal Alabama-South finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth with a three-run homer off starter Nico Williams (Gulfport). PRCC turned to Tanner Busby (Picayune) out of the bullpen, and the redshirt freshman recorded three quick outs to close the frame with the Wildcats still in front, 7-3.
Pearl River answered in the fifth — and then some. Clements worked into a 3-1 count before blasting a solo home run to left field. Estes walked, Kyler King (Picayune) singled and Logan Fontenelle (Biloxi) singled to load the bases. From the nine hole, Jackson Beddoe (Sulphur, La.) delivered a big swing, ambushing a pitch for a grand slam to push the lead to 12-3. The fireworks continued one batter later as Ethan Garner (Gulfport) went back-to-back with a solo shot over the right-field wall, making it 13-3.
The Coyotes scored two runs in the fifth and added a six-run seventh inning to cut Pearl River's lead to just two at 13-11.
PRCC responded in the eighth as Estes and Pitts each delivered RBI singles to stretch the lead back to four, 15-11. The Wildcats tacked on more in the ninth. Garner singled and scored when Hood launched his second two-run homer of the game. Fontenelle then cleared the bases with a double and moved to third on an error, and Pitts capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to make it 21-11. JP Abt (Brandon; Hartfield) worked a clean bottom of the ninth to close out the contest.
LEADING THE WAY
Clements finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBIs, a double and a home run. Garner also recorded three hits, going 3-for-7 with an RBI and three runs.
Hood went 2-for-5 with four runs, four RBIs and two home runs. Estes, King, Fontenelle, Pitts and Beddoe each collected two hits. Beddoe drove in four runs, while Estes and Fontenelle added three RBIs apiece.
Williams allowed three runs on five hits and two walks over three innings. Busby tossed two innings, giving up two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out four. Wilkes Johnson (Jackson; Madison Ridgeland Academy) surrendered two runs on three hits and a walk in one inning. Slade Shove-Knox (Sulphur, La.) recorded one out. Landon Watts (Picayune) worked 1 2/3 innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. Abt pitched the final inning, issuing two walks.
NEXT UP
Pearl River is back home Friday and Saturday for a weekend series with NJCAA DI's No. 19 Gulf Coast State. On Friday, the Wildcats and Commodores square off at 4 p.m. and on Saturday the games will be at 11:30 a.m. and 3 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).
