MOORHEAD, Miss. — The No. 1 Pearl River baseball team unleashed its most explosive offensive performance of the season Saturday, erupting for 38 runs on 38 hits in a dominant doubleheader sweep of Mississippi Delta. The Wildcats claimed game one 19-5 in seven innings before rolling to a 19-3, six-inning victory in game two.
PRCC had 15 extra-base hits, including eight home runs.
"To have started so early in the morning, our BP was as focused and as good as I've seen us prepare before a game," head coach Michael Avalon said. "I was proud of that and it carried over into the games. We did a really good job of extending the lead in both games.
"Last time we came up this way to play Coahoma, we hit too many fly balls. This time, the focus was to hit line drives into the middle of the field and power ground balls. We did a really good job of that today."
GAME ONE
Pearl River (36-8 overall; 18-2 MACCC) wasted no time taking control, delivering one of its most dominant innings of the season in the opener. The Wildcats plated 12 runs on nine hits in the first inning alone.
Jackson Estes (Madison; Germantown) opened the scoring with an RBI single before Coy Clements (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) followed with an RBI double. Kyler King (Picayune) added a two-run single, Jackson Beddoe (Sulphur, La.) drove in a run and Colton Strange (Yukon, Okla.) knocked in two more. Clements later added another RBI knock, Chap Cook (Canton; Canton Academy) contributed a sacrifice fly and a two-run error capped the 12-run frame.
Mississippi Delta answered with a run in the bottom half, but Pearl River kept its foot on the gas in the third. Cook launched a two-run homer — his 13th of the season — and one batter later, Nico Williams (Gulfport) went back-to-back with his ninth long ball to make it 15-1.
The Wildcats added on in the fourth when Clements crushed a solo homer, tying the Pearl River single-season program record with his 20th of the year. Before the inning ended, Hood added a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 18-1.
Pearl River's final run came in the fifth on a passed ball, while Mississippi Delta scored four in the sixth before the Wildcats closed out the 19-5 victory.
Clements led the charge, finishing 3-for-5 with four runs scored and four RBIs. Gatlin Pitts (Fairhope, Ala.; Bayside Academy), Estes, Landon Hawkins (Sumrall), Williams and Beddoe each recorded two hits. Cook drove in three runs, while King and Strange added two RBIs apiece.
On the mound, Tanner Busby (Picayune) allowed one run over two innings. Logan Fontenelle (Biloxi) followed with two scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and striking out two. Tyrese Johnson (West Point) tossed an inning, Slade Shove-Knox (Sulphur, La.) recorded two outs and Wilkes Johnson (Jackson; Madison Ridgeland Academy) finished with 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
GAME TWO
Mississippi Delta struck first in game two, turning a leadoff triple into a run, but Pearl River quickly responded.
In the third inning, Cook delivered again, blasting a three-run homer — his second of the day — to give the Wildcats a 3-1 lead.
Pearl River added four more runs in the fourth. King and Beddoe exchanged doubles for the first run, Strange followed with an RBI single and an error along with a sacrifice fly from Estes capped the inning at 7-1.
After Williams doubled and Hood singled, King launched a three-run homer to extend the advantage to 10-1.
Mississippi Delta scored twice in the fifth, but Pearl River put the game away in emphatic fashion in the sixth. After an error plated a run, Hood demolished a ball over the wall in left field to make it 14-3. Pinch-hitter Gardner Young (Madison; Jackson Prep) followed with the first home run of his collegiate career before Fontenelle crushed a grand slam to straightaway center, pushing the score to 19-3.
Pearl River closed things out in the bottom half to secure the run-rule victory.
JP Abt (Brandon; Hartfield Academy) earned the win, tossing five innings while allowing three runs and striking out four. Preston McAdory (Lucedale; George County) sealed the game with a scoreless inning, striking out three.
Strange led the offense with three hits, while Estes, Cook, Hood, King and Beddoe each added two. Fontenelle drove in a game-high four RBIs, while Cook, Hood and King each finished with three.
NEXT UP
Pearl River returns to action Tuesday with a road doubleheader at Hinds. First pitch is set for 3 p.m., with game two scheduled for 6 p.m. The games will be streamed live at HindsCCSports.net.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).