KK Clark dazzles in No. 2 PRCC's Region 23 Tournament opener

Dylan Dunaway - PRCC Sports Information Director

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — When the postseason begins, setting the tone early is everything — and KK Clark (Brandon) did just that for the No. 2 Pearl River baseball team Tuesday afternoon.

Over the course of eight innings, the Louisiana Tech signee dominated Meridian, racking up nine strikeouts and allowing just two runs on five hits to lead the Wildcats to a 4-2 win in their Region 23 Tournament opener.

In the process, Clark tallied his 100th strikeout of the season, becoming just the fifth Wildcat to accomplish the feat in the modern era. He joins Gabe Ishee (127, 1994), Craig Rodrigues (110, 2005), Kyle Lindsey (106, 2008) and Thomas Crabtree (105, 2024).

Pearl River's KK Clark (Brandon) leaves the field to high fives following his eight innings of dominance against Meridian in the Region 23 Tournament. (Karisa Watkins/PRCCAthletics).

"I am extremely proud of KK," head coach Michael Avalon said. "When you start a regional, you want that good start on the mound. He gave us eight innings and really set us up well for the rest of this tournament. He's one of the greatest players to ever pitch here, and today is evidence of that."

Usually a lights-out offense, the Wildcats proved they could win the close ballgames against solid clubs.

"Meridian is a blueblood of this conference," Avalon said. "They're tough and a really good ball club — that's not your traditional 9-seed. They competed all day and made pitches."

Pearl River (46-7 overall) gave Clark some runs to work with in the bottom of the second. With Jaxon Milam (Phenix City, Ala.; Glenwood Academy) and Logan Terry (Semmes, Ala.; East Central) aboard, Ethan Garner (Gulfport) roped a single through the right side for the first run of the day. A while later, Garner crossed the plate on a Meridian (28-24) wild pitch.  Before the inning ended, Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) singled and came around to score when Keegan Giger (Petal) slapped an RBI single the opposite way, 3-0.

Clark had his lone rough inning of the outing in the third inning as the Eagles used four seeing-eye singles to tack on two runs. Thankfully for the Wildcats, Clark locked things down the rest of the way.

"After that third inning, I had no idea that he would go eight innings," Avalon said. "He's grown up and matured. His focus today was really good."

The Wildcat offense had opportunities down the stretch of the contest, but it wasn't until the eighth inning that an important insurance run crossed the plate. Terry was plunked, and Nico Williams (Gulfport) entered as a pinch-runner. Garner dropped a beautiful sacrifice bunt, and Williams was in scoring position. Hood came through for the Wildcats in the very next at-bat, smacking a ball up the middle for an RBI, 4-2.

"I was looking to make an adjustment after I popped out twice," Hood said. "I talked to Coach Avalon, and I was trying to do too much. I needed to keep it simple and take the ball back up the middle."

Clark gave way to left-hander Max Miller (Vancleave) in the ninth inning, with two of the three batters due up swinging from the left side. Miller faced four batters, tallying two strikeouts along the way to secure a 4-2 victory.

Giger, Milam, Garner, Hood and Kyler King (Picayune) each collected hits, with Giger grabbing a pair. Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) walked three times.

Clark moved to 9-2 on the season with his eight innings of two-run baseball. He registered nine strikeouts and did not walk a batter. 

"I felt really good today," Clark said. "They didn't tell me they wanted me to throw a certain amount of innings, but I knew that I was going to go as far as I possibly could. I'm glad I could put us in a good position with a lot of guys still available to throw."

Miller struck out two and walked one in an inning of work, tallying his fifth save of the year.

NEXT UP

Pearl River advances to Wednesday's winner's bracket game against rival Gulf Coast. First pitch at Dub Herring Park is currently scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

TICKETS

Tickets for the Region 23 Tournament are $15 per day and are on sale now at PRCCAthletics.com/tickets.

TUNE IN

All home Pearl River baseball games are livestreamed for free at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. Fans with Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV devices can also watch the Wildcat broadcasts by downloading the "Pearl River CC" channel from their app stores.

Games will also be available over the air in Pearl River County by tuning into 1320-AM and 106.9 FM. The radio broadcast is also available at WRJWRadio.com and by downloading the WRJW app.

For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).