River cans Pensacola State, falls to No. 1 LSU-Eunice

POPLARVILLE Pearl River Wildcats shutout Pensacola State College 4-0 here Saturday before being pounded 13-2 in six innings by reigning Region 23 champion LSU-Eunice. The Pirates rebounded to hand the Bengals, ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA Division II baseball poll, a 4-3 setback immediately following their loss to PRCC. The Wildcats are now 21-11 overall, while Pensacola State if 21-21 and LSU-E 28-8.Pearl River 4, Pensacola State 0 Against the PSC, the first two-and-a-half innings went scoreless, but the Wildcats went up 1-0 in the bottom of the third. Chase Toussaint of Petal High got The River rolling when he drew a one-out walk, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored on a base hit by Jordan Williams out of Christian County High in Hopkinsville, Ky. James Abraham, a Southeastern Louisiana transfer who prepped at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis, then hit into a double play to end the inning. After the Pirates went three up, three down in the top of the fourth, Pearl River left runners at second and third off back-to-back, one-out singles by B.J. Smith of Sumrall High and Grae Ormon of Clinton High when PSC starter Scotty Williams struck out designated hitter Derek Sanders of Simpson Academy to end the inning. Pensacola State managed a base runner in the top of the fifth when Trey Cockrell was hit by a pitch by Wildcat starter Buck Bernard, a Southeastern Louisiana signee who prepped at Petal High. The Wildcats scored the game final three runs in the bottom of the frame off reliever Caleb Hanes. After retiring two straight, Hanes gave up a single to Jordan Williams before walking Abraham. Courtesy runner Davonte Lanier of Wayne County High and Abraham scored off a double to right field by Matthew Magee of Petal High, then Smith singled in Magee to make it 4-0. At that point, Hanes exited the mound for Nick Golloher, who immediately walked Ormon before giving up a single to Chase Lewallen of Sumrall High to load the bases. Sanders ended the inning with a foul out. The Pirates went three up, three down in the top of the sixth and seventh to end the game. Bernard (4-3) got the win in going the distance, pitching an impressive no-walk two-hitter, striking out five and hitting a batter; while Scotty Williams (0-1) got the loss in his four innings on the mound. He gave up three hits, struck out two, walked three, and hit a batter; while Hanes went two-thirds of an inning, giving up three hits and a walk. Golloher gave up a hit and a walk. David Casey and Ryan Joy both singled for Pensacola State, while Smith (one RBI) and Jordan Williams (one RBI) paced the Wildcats seven-hit effort with two base hits each. Magee doubled (two RBIs) and Lewallen and Ormon both singled. Each team played error free in the game.Pensacola State 4, LSU-Eunice 3 In the Pirates win over the Bengals, LSU-E scored solo runs in the bottom of the first and second innings and held on to its 2-0 lead through the fourth. In the top of the fifth, Pensacola State pelted the Bengals with three runs to take a one-run lead. After a scoreless sixth frame, the Pirates padded its lead to 4-2 in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the inning, Wett Delatte smashed a lead off home run over the right center field fence for the game final run.LSU-Eunice 13, Pearl River 2 In Saturday nightcap game, Wildcat starter Robert Marzoni of Purvis High walked the first two batters of the game lead off Matthew Richard and Dalton Herrington to set the stage for Delatte RBI sacrifice for the Bengals first run. After Zac Hawkins reached on an error, Jacque Fruge sacrifice bunt scored Herrington before Sam Carriere flew to right for the final out. The River managed a base runner in the bottom of the inning with two outs when Magee was belted by a pitch, but he was nailed in a rundown between first and second to end the inning. In the top of the second, Marzoni walked lead off Richard Bain, who moved to second on a steal, then to third on Justin Schopp ground out. Josh Burris base on balls put runners at first and third and Bain scored when Richard reached on a fielder choice. Herrington followed with a two-run single to left field, but wound up at third via an error, which prompted the mound exit of Marzoni for Josh Hubbell of Forrest County AHS. Delatte immediately sacrificed Herrington home to make it 6-0 before Hawkins singled. Hawkins nailed at second on an attempted steal for the final out. Pearl River answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning when Smith, Ormon, and Lewallen led off with singles to load the bases. Smith scored on a passed ball before Aaron Lee of Pearl River Central High sacrificed Ormon home before Toussaint struck out to end the inning. The Bengals managed a base runner in the top of the third when Bain was hit by a pitch, while the Wildcats left runners at second and third in the bottom of the frame. Lead off Williams drew a walk and Magee doubled to the left field fence an out later before LSU-E starter Brady Wilson struck out Smith and Ormon to squash the scoring threat. After a scoreless fourth, LSU-E padded its lead in the top of the fifth. Delatte led off with a single, moved to second on Hawkins ground out, then to third on Fruge base hit. Delatte scored off Carriere sacrifice bunt. Fruge went to third on a passed ball and scored off Bain single before Schopp reached after being belted by a pitch. Hubbell exited the mound for Hunter Curtis of Petal High at that point, who immediately gave up an RBI single to make it 9-2. After hitting Richard with a pitch to load the bases, Curtis Kd Schopp for the final out. The Wildcats left runners at first and second in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the sixth, Hawkins and Fruge cracked one-out singles before Curtis walked Bain an out later to load the bases. Schopp followed with a two-run single to make it 10-2, which prompted the departure of Curtis for Beau Underwood out of St. Patrick High in Biloxi. Underwood walked Burris the first batter he faced to load the bases and Richard followed with a two-run single to make it 13-2. After Herrington reloaded the bases after being hit by a pitch, Delatte grounded to short for the final out. Pearl River went three up, three down in the bottom of the frame to end the game via the 10-run rule. Wilson (6-0) got the win in going the distance, giving up five hits, striking out five, walking one, and hitting two batters. Marzoni (6-1) got the loss in his one-and-one-thirds innings on the mound, giving up one hit and walking four; while Hubbell pitched three-and-one-third. He gave up four hits, struck out one, and hit two batters; while Curtis pitched one inning, giving up three hits, striking out one, walking one, and hitting a batter. Underwood gave up a hit, walked one, and hit a batter. Fruge (one RBI) and Hawkins (one RBI) paced the Bengals 10-hit attack with two singles each, while Bain (one RBI), Burris (one RBI), Delatte (one RBI), Herrington (two RBIs), Richard (three RBIs), and Schopp (two RBIs) all had base hits. Carriere had one RBI for LSU-E, which played error free in the game. Pearl River committed three defensive miscues. The Wildcats return to MACJC South Division action Wednesday when arch-rival Jones County visits for a 4 p.m. doubleheader before PRCC travels to Baton Rouge CC in Baton Rouge, La., Thursday for a 4 p.m. twin bill. Pearl River hosts division foe Southwest Mississippi Saturday in a 1 p.m. doubleheader.