Pearl River sweeps Southwest

POPLARVILLE Pearl River Wildcats swept Southwest Mississippi in MACJC South Division baseball action here Saturday, taking a dominating 12-2 victory in five innings in the first game before winning 13-8 in the nightcap game over the Bears. PRCC, which fell to Baton Rouge CC (La.) in Baton Rouge, La., 7-5 Thursday in one nine-inning game, improved to 23-14 overall and 9-7 in division play; while SMCC dropped to 19-17 and 6-12. The two teams split in an earlier meeting played March 22 in Summit with the Wildcats taking a 4-2 win in the first game of the twin bill before the Bears rebounded with a 3-2 decision in the second game. In Saturday first game, Pearl River scored two in the bottom of the first, three in the second, and five in the third to go up 10-0 before Southwest scored solo runs in the top of the fourth and fifth. The Wildcats ended the game via the 10-run rule with a two-run effort in the bottom of the fifth. Southeastern Louisiana signee Buck Bernard of Petal High (5-3) got the win in going the five-inning distance, giving up seven hits; while SMCC starter Dylan Gregoire got the loss in his two-innings on the mound. He gave up eight hits before Zach Rowell relieved in the third, giving up four hits. German Hayes led the Bears at the plate with a home run and two singles (one RBI), while Jared Fiorito (one RBI), Darron McKigney, and Chance Schmidt all doubled. Luke Gipson and Kyle Wheeler had singles. Aaron Lee of Pearl River Central High paced The River 12-hit effort with a homer and two singles (two RBIs), while Grae Ormon of Clinton High (two RBIs) and Jordan Williams out of Christian County High in Hopkinsville, Ky., both tripled and singled. Designated hitter Derek Sanders of Simpson Academy doubled and singled (one RBI), Chase Lewallen of Sumrall High tripled (two RBIs), and B.J. Smith of Sumrall High and Chase Toussaint of Petal High both had base hits. Matthew Magee of Petal High also had an RBI for the Wildcats. Pearl River played error free in the game, while Southwest had two defensive miscues. In the nightcap game, the Bears went up 2-0 in the top of the first before the Wildcats added a solo run in the bottom of the frame and took a 3-2 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Southwest two runs in the top of the third made it 4-3, but Pearl River unleashed a seven-run barrage in the bottom of the inning and never relinquished its lead. The Bears scored two runs in the top of the fourth and fifth frames, while the Wildcats scored their final three in the bottom of the fifth to make it as it ended 13-8. Starter Michael Peters of East Marion High (2-0) got the win in his two-and-one-thirds innings on the mound, while Josh Hubbell of Forrest County AHS relieved in the third, He went one-and-two-thirds before Hunter Curtis of Petal High relieved in the fifth. Robert Marzoni of Purvis High pitched the sixth and Jared Bond of Denham Springs (La.) High pitched the seventh. SMCC starter Shelby Johnson got the loss in his two innings of action, while Jared Fiorito relieved in the third, Jody Lampton in the fourth, and Jeffery Courville in the sixth. Courville led the Bears 12-hit effort with two doubles and a single, while Justin Crowell doubled and singled. Josh Bouldin (one RBI), Cody Dillard (three RBIs), and Austin Terrell had two singles a piece; while Schmidt had a base hit. Hayes and Johnny McKenzie each had an RBI for Southwest. Sanders paced Pearl River 14-hit attack with three singles (one RBI), while Magee homered and doubled (three RBIs). Jose Sola of Aguadilla, PR, homered and singled (one RBI), Ormon (one RBI) and Williams (three RBIs) had two singles each, Smith doubled (one RBI), and James Abraham, a Southeastern Louisiana transfer who prepped at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis and Lewallen both had base hits. Lee and Toussaint both had an RBI for the Wildcats. Again, the Wildcats played error free, while the Bears committed one defensive miscue. Pearl River returns to action Tuesday when it travels to division foe East Central in Decatur for a 4 p.m. doubleheader before visiting division rival Mississippi Gulf Coast Friday for a 4 p.m. twin bill.

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