Playoff-bound Pearl River swept by 14th-ranked East Central

DECATUR Pearl River Community College was swept by 14th-ranked East Central in MACJC South Division softball action here Thursday with the host Lady Warriors taking 10-2 and 4-1 victories. The doubleheader was originally set for April 4, but was rained out. PRCC, which clinched a berth in April 26-28''s MACJC State Tournament at Itawamba CC in Fulton with its Wednesday split at Copiah-Lincoln, is now 20-19 overall and 12-10 in division play; while ECCC is 30-13 and 14-8. The top four finishers in the MACJC North and South divisions earn spots in state tournament, which will be played at the home field of North champ ICC in Fulton. The Lady Wildcats will enter the state tournament as the South Division No. 4 seed. Pearl River faces fifth-ranked and South champion Jones County Friday in Ellisville in a 4 p.m. doubleheader in both teams regular-season finales. Mississippi Gulf Coast split with Co-Lin Thursday 3-1 (loss) and 7-6 (win) and enters its regular season finale at Hinds Friday tied for second with ECCC at 14-8. East Central, on the other hand, wraps its regular season at Southwest Mississippi on Friday. Co-Lin, Hinds, and Southwest are out of any post-season contention. In Thursday first game at Decatur, Pearl River went up 2-0 in the top of the first off a two-run homer by Alyssa Graeter of Poplarville High; while East Central tied it up with solo runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth frames before unloading an eight-run barrage highlighted by a three-run homer by Brittany Pounders for the win in the bottom of the sixth to end the game via the eight-run rule. Starter Tenna Patterson (15-5) got the win in going the distance, giving up three hits, striking out two, and hitting a batter; while Heather Hester (8-4) of Hancock County High got the loss after relieving starter Neely McCray of Petal High in the fifth. Hester gave up eight hits in the sixth and hit two batters. McCrary gave up two hits in her four innings on the mound, striking out four, walking one, and hitting one batter. Besides Graeter home run, Hester and McCrary had base hits for the Lady Wildcats. A.J. Peeler paced the Lady Warriors 10-hit attack with two doubles and a single, while Pounders homered and singled, Lajoya Griffin had two base hits, and Haelie Allen, Dakota Vowell, and Kelsi Watson all singled. East Centra played error free, while Pearl River committed three defensive miscues, including two in the game-deciding sixth inning. In the nightcap game, things were scoreless for the first two innings before ECCC went up 3-0 in the bottom of the third. After two more scoreless frames, PRCC scored its only run of the contest in the top of the sixth, while East Central scored the game final run in the bottom of the frame. Starter Mandy Sanders (11-2) got the win in going the distance, giving up five hits and striking out four; while River starter Brittany LeBlanc (4-7) out of North Vermillion High in Lafayette, La., picked up the loss. LeBlanc also pitched the distance, giving up six hits, striking out four, and walking three. Shannon Brown of Petal High and Whitney Waits of Oak Grove High both doubled and singled to lead PRCC at the plate, while Shalyn Stevens of Picayune High had a base hit. East Central finished with six hits, led by Peeler two singles, while Griffin and Roberts doubled and Allen and Pounders both had base hits. Again, the Lady Warriors played error free, while the Lady Wildcats committed one. Pearl River split with East Central in a previous division doubleheader played March 6 in Poplarville. ECCC won the first game 3-1 before PRCC won the nightcap 8-0 (5 innings).