Wildcats sweep Lions 4–0, 7-3 to pump record to 12-2 overall

POPLARVILLE Pearl River Community College Wildcats swept East Mississippi Lions with a pair of 4-0, 7-3 MACJC non-division baseball victories here Sunday.The doubleheader was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed due to rain.PRCC, which swept EMCC 2-0 and 11-4 in a previous twin bill played Feb. 19 in Scooba, improved to 12-2 overall with the wins; while East Miss dropped to 1-15.In the first game, the Lions had runners at second and third with one out in the top of the first inning before Wildcat starter Buck Bernard, a Southeastern Louisiana signee who prepped at Petal High, struck out two straight to get out of the jam.In the bottom of the frame, lead off Chase Toussaint of Poplarville High singled, stole second, and scored two outs later off a blooper single by James Abraham, a Southeastern Louisiana transfer who prepped at St. Stanislaus in Bay St. Louis. Lion starter Will Edwards struck out B.J. Smith of Sumrall High to end the inning.After scoreless second and third innings, PRCC threatened in the bottom of the fourth and fifth, leaving runners stranded at second and third in both frames before scoring three runs in the sixth.Edwards was relieved by Wesley Dodd to start the sixth. He gave up a single to Abraham before exiting the mound for Cole Vaughan, who saw Smith outrun an infield grounder for a base hit.Out goes Vaughan for Jake Upton, who immediately gave up a base hit off a bunt by Dakota Baker of Purvis High to load the bases. After striking out Chase Lewallen of Sumrall High, Upton walked Casey Comfort of Oak Grove High to push in the Wildcats second run before Aaron Lee of Pearl River Central singled in a third run to center field. Toussaint then reached on a fielder choice to push home The River final run.Upton belted Jose Sola of Aguadilla, P.R., with a pitch to reload the bases, then struck out Matthew Magee of Petal High to end the inning.Hunter Curtis of Oak Grove High relieved Bernard in the seventh, striking out the last two batters he faced.Bernard (3-0) got the win in his six innings on the mound, giving up four hits and striking out nine; while Edwards got the loss. He pitched five innings, giving up three hits, striking out seven, and walking three; while Dodd and Vaughan gave up one hit each, and Upton gave up two hits, walked one, and hit a batter.Tyler Aldridge paced the Lions with a double and a single, while Alex Chick and Upton both had singles.Abraham (one RBI) had three base hits to lead the Wildcats eight-hit effort, while Jordan Williams out of Christian County High in Hopkinsville, Ky., doubled; and Baker (one RBI), Lee (one RBI), Smith, and Toussaint (one RBI) all had singles.Both teams played error free.In the nightcap, East Miss went up 1-0 in the top of the first when Spencer Wilson reached on an error, moved to second, and scored on another error an out later before PRCC starter Robert Marzoni of Purvis High Kd Noah Greer for the final out.The Wildcats answered in the bottom of the inning when lead off Toussaint drew a walk, stole second and third before Abraham struck out. Magee ensuing sacrifice to center scored Toussaint. Baker struck out to end the inning with things knotted at 1-1.Pearl River left the bases loaded in the bottom of the second when Smith drew a one-out walk and Lewallen singled a strike out later before Lion starter Blake Hutcheson walked Sola, but Smith was thrown out at home on an attempted double steal to end the inning.After EMCC went three up, three down in the top of the third, PRCC took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame. Abraham drew a one-out walk, then Magee bashed a doubled down the third-base line. With runners at second and third, Baker sacrificed Abraham home to make it 2-1 before Hutcheson struck out Comfort the end the inning.The fourth went scoreless, but Pearl River padded its lead in the bottom of the fifth.After walking lead off Toussaint, Hutcheson was relieved by Tyler Thomas who walked Abraham and Magee to load the bases. Out goes Thomas and in comes Lance Portera, who struck out Baker before belting Comfort with a pitch to push in The River third run. Smith followed with a two-run single to make it 5-1. Comfort was tagged out in a rundown between third and home before Portera walked Lee and struck out Lewallen to end the inning.But the scrappy Lions showed resiliency in the top of the sixth. Marzoni hit lead off batter Wilson with a pitch, then Zane Migues followed with an RBI double to left center. After Migues moved to third off Chick single, he scored off a passed ball. Marzoni struck out Noah Greer before walking Tyler Bonaventure, which saw Ramsey Graham of Pearl River Central High arrive in relief. He walked Mitch Bohon the only batter he faced to load the bases before Jared Bond of Denham Springs (La.) High took over the mound and Kameron Heiser hit into a double play to squash the comeback threat.Migues relieved Portera to start the sixth and struck out lead off Leyton Lott of Seminary High, walked Toussaint, and struck out Abraham before Toussaint scored from second off Magee single to right field. Baker double to left center scored Magee for the final run before Comfort flew out to left to end the inning.The Lions went three up, three down in the top of the seventh to end the game.Marzoni (3-0) got the win in his five-and-one-thirds innings on the mound, giving up all four EMCC hits, striking out seven, walking one, and hitting a batter; while Graham walked a batter and Bond had one strike out.Hutcheson got the loss in his four innings of action, giving up two hits, striking out four, walking one, and hitting a batter; while Thomas walked two, Portera gave up a hit, struck out two, walked two, and hit a batter; and Migues gave up two hits, struck out two, and walked a batter.Migues led the Lions with an RBI double, while Bonaventure, Chick (one RBI), and Wilson all had base hits.Magee led PRCC five-hit effort with a double and a single (two RBIs), while Baker doubled (two RBIs), and Lewallen and Smith (two RBIs) both singled.The Wildcats return to action Tuesday when they host MACJC non-division rival Mississippi Delta in a 4 p.m. doubleheader.