POPLARVILLE, Miss. — After battling through an elimination game earlier in the day, No. 1 Pearl River saw its Region 23 Tournament run come to an end Thursday night.
PRCC opened the day with an 11-7 victory over No. 24 Copiah-Lincoln before falling to No. 13 Jones College 13-0 in the nightcap.
"Jones has been a great team all year," head coach Michael Avalon said. "They had a little more in the tank today, but there's no excuse for what we did today. Credit to them, they had more energy.
"I would hope our run isn't over. This is the Regional Tournament and at-large bids exist for the best teams in the country who don't win their regional. We're number one in the country and we've played one of the toughest schedules in the country. We're hopeful that 24 hours don't dictate our future."
Pearl River will now await the announcement of the NJCAA Division II World Series bracket to see if it receives one of two at-large bids. More information will be announced once it becomes available.
NO. 1 PEARL RIVER 11, NO. 24 COPIAH-LINCOLN 7
Copiah-Lincoln (34-20) struck first with a solo home run in the opening inning before Pearl River (46-11) answered in the second.
After working two runners into scoring position, Kyler King (Picayune) ripped a two-run single into left field to give the Wildcats a 2-1 advantage.
The Wolves responded immediately with an RBI double before adding two more runs in the third to reclaim a 4-2 lead. Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) shifted the momentum back toward PRCC with his ninth home run of the season, and the Wildcats later tied the game on a Copiah-Lincoln error before Jackson Beddoe (Sulphur, La.) delivered an RBI single to make it 5-4.
CLCC regained the lead in the fifth on a two-run homer, but Pearl River answered again in the sixth when Jackson Estes (Madison; Germantown) drew a bases-loaded walk to even the score at 6-6.
Coy Clements (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) delivered the decisive blow in the eighth, crushing a two-run homer over straightaway center field for his 23rd home run of the season. Pearl River added insurance in the ninth as Beddoe launched a two-run homer before Gatlin Pitts (Daphne, Ala.; Bayside Academy) followed with a solo shot on the very next pitch to stretch the lead to 11-6.
Copiah-Lincoln added one run in the bottom half, but PRCC closed the door to secure the elimination-game victory.
Tanner Busby (Picayune) tossed two innings and allowed two runs. Logan Fontenelle (Biloxi) recorded one out before Colin Jenkins (Mt. Olive; Simpson Academy) delivered four innings of two-run baseball. Jarvis Woody (Ridgeland) added two innings in relief, while Landon Watts (Picayune) earned a two-out save.
Pitts finished 1-for-2 with four walks and a home run. King went 4-for-5 with two RBIs, while Beddoe was 4-for-5 with three RBIs. Hood added two hits in the win.
GAME TWO
Pearl River struggled to slow down Jones (38-16) in the nightcap as the Bobcats plated three runs in the second inning before erupting for 10 runs in the fourth to build a 13-0 advantage.
PRCC was unable to generate much offensively, collecting its first hits in the fifth inning on singles from Hood and King. Jones closed things out shortly after to secure the run-rule victory.
Dalton Graham (Conehatta; Newton County) allowed four runs across three innings of work. Wilkes Johnson (Jackson; Madison Ridgeland Academy), Gabe Hodges (Flowood; Northwest Rankin), Preston McAdory (Lucedale; George County) and Tyrese Johnson (West Point) combined in relief.
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