No. 1 PRCC rallies past Coastal Alabama South, falls against Pensacola State
Tyler Johnson - PRCC Athletics
PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Pearl River Baseball team hit the road Saturday for a doubleheader with the Coastal Alabama South Sun Chiefs and Pensacola State College Pirates. The Wildcats battle their way back to claim a 13-4 victory in the first game against the Sun Chiefs, but a late Pensacola State rally in game two saw Pearl River fall for the first time in the 2023 campaign, 7-6.
"I thought we battled hard throughout the day, but we didn't play well, especially in game two. Pensacola State deserves some credit, they took advantage of our mistakes," head coach Michael Avalon said. "We just have to clean things up defensively heading into the week against Meridian and Co-Lin."
PEARL RIVER 13, COASTAL ALABAMA SOUTH 4
The Sun Chiefs (1-11 overall) got things started quickly in the bottom of the first inning by blasting two home runs over the left field wall to snag an early 2-0 lead. After a quick second inning, The Sun Chiefs added to the early lead with a monster two-run home, 4-0.
Pearl River (9-1) finally broke through in the top of the fifth as Ian Montz (Lafayette, La; Acadiana) scored on a Marshall Phillips (Hattiesburg; Sumrall) single to cut the deficit to 4-1. Phillips scored moments later when Blaise Breerwood(Poplarville) hit a high chopper to first, slicing the deficit to 4-2.
Preston Soper (Madison; Germantown) and Logan Walters (Petal) got things started in the top of the sixth with back-to-back walks. Hunter Sute (Tuscaloosa, Ala; American Christian Academy) then scorched a ball past the glove of the second baseman, driving in Soper and moving Walters to third base. Montz tied things up moments later with a deep flyball to left that scored Walters. Moments later, Gabe Broadus (Wilmer, Ala; Faith Academy) blasted a ball down the left field line for a double, scoring Sute and Blake Hooks (Petal), giving the Wildcats a 6-4 lead.
Connor Ware (Madison; Germantown) rebounded from a tough outing last time out to retire the Sun Chiefs in order to send the offense back to the plate for the seventh. Alex Perry (McComb; North Pike) drew a four-pitch walk to open the seventh, bringing Soper to the plate. Soper wasted no time by blasting the first pitch of the at-bat deep over the left centerfield field to extend the Wildcat lead 8-4. The Wildcats weren't done there as Walters and Sute reached base in back-to-back at-bats. Montz then walked to load the bases with still no one out in the inning. Hooks drove Walters in with a single and moved Montz to second, but Sute was called out at the plate. The scoring barrage continued when Broadus walked with the bases load to drive in a run, extending the lead to 10-4. Breerwood then collected his second RBI groundout to pile things on further, 11-4. The scoring came to a close after Perry ripped a ball into left centerfield to score Broadus and Cole Fletcher (Picayune; St. Stanislaus) to bring the score to 13-4.
Cameron Fennell (Long Beach) closed things out in the bottom of the seventh by retiring the Sun Chiefs in quick fashion to secure the victory.
Hooks and Broadus lead the way with three hits each. Broadus also collected three RBIs and scored a run.
"What's impressive about Gabe is he shows up every day and plays hard offensively and defensively," Avalon said. "He set the table for us offensively in game one."
Walters, Montz, and Sute all collected two hits. Soper and Phillips all had a hit. Breerwood, Perry, and Soper each had two RBIs.
JT Schnoor (Pascagoula; Resurrection) tossed an inning, allowing two runs on three hits. He struck out two. Blake Gollott(D'Iberville) pitched two innings, allowing two runs on two hits and a walk while striking out a pair. Ware was a force in relief, pitching three innings of shutout baseball and striking out six. Fennell pitched the final inning, allowing two hits and striking out one.
"Connor turned the tide for us in game one." Avalon said, "Give credit to Coastal they were able to hit the ball out the yard early, but Connor came in and settled the waters by battling."
PEARL RIVER 6, PENSACOLA STATE 7
The Wildcats were off and running in the top of the first with the first two batters reaching. Montz stepped to the plate and obliterated the first pitch he saw over the wall for a three-run home run. Pearl River plated two more in the second on a two-run single from Sute to extend the lead to 5-0.
Ian Montz
Pensacola State cut the deficit to one, 5-4, in the bottom half of the second.
After a quiet third inning, the Pirates tied the score at 5-5 in the bottom of the fourth with a solo homer.
Pearl River retook the lead in the sixth as Phillips scored on a wild pitch. The Pirates (11-3) tied things in the bottom of the seventh, but the Wildcat reliever, Hooks, weathered the storm and sent the game to extra innings. From there, a pitcher's duel ensued as neither team strung hits together.
Pensacola State walked things off in the bottom of the 10th inning with a single to claim a 7-6 come-from-behind victory.
Montz led the Wildcats in game two with two hits and three RBIs. Broadus, Sute, Soper, Ryan, and Hooks all collected one hit each. Sute added two RBIs in game two.
Will Passeau (Mobile, Ala.; St. Paul's) pitched four innings, allowing two hits, three walks and five runs. Four of his allowed runs were unearned. Bobby Magee tossed two scoreless innings while striking out a trio of batters. Landen Payne(Ocean Springs; St. Martin) recorded an out, allowing one hit and one earned run. Blake Hooks pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief. He allowed only two hits and struck out four.
UP NEXT
The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday in Wesson with a doubleheader against Meridian and Copiah-Lincoln. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. The games will be livestreamed at colinathletics.com/watch.
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