No. 2 Pearl River run-rules No. 6 East Central, advances to National Championship

Dylan Dunaway - PRCC Sports Information Director

ENID, Okla. — A day removed from an emotional defeat at the hands of No. 6 East Central, the No. 2 Pearl River baseball team provided an emphatic response on Friday night in the NJCAA Division II World Series Semifinal.

KK Clark (Brandon) toed the rubber and delivered five shutout innings, and the Wildcat offense exploded for double-digit runs to run-rule the Warriors 10-0 in five innings, sending Pearl River to the National Championship game for the second time in four seasons. 

"I've seen a lot of things about East Central's program and how hard they work and play. I agree with that wholeheartedly," head coach Michael Avalon said. "I know who they are, and I respect them. You never see them on the schedule and want to play them. 

"I finally had to tell my guys that they've got to want to play tomorrow. It's not about who we're playing, but you've got to want to play the game and want it to be tough. They delivered tonight, and I'm so proud of them."

The Wildcats will now square off with No. 1 overall seed Pasco-Hernando on Saturday at 7 p.m. in a winner-take-all National Championship game. The game will be broadcast on NJCAA.org/network for a fee. It can also be heard at WRJWRadio.com, FM 106.9 / 1320 AM / the WRJW app / wrjw sports audio portal with the Voice of the Wildcats, Carey Meitzler.

"Win or lose tomorrow — I'm so proud of this group," Avalon said. "I'm excited to get after it with them."

Although Pearl River (53-9 overall) went quietly in top of the first, it seized the momentum in the bottom half. Clark retired the first two batters with ease before a sinking liner threatened to find grass in right field. Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) crashed in from his position and laid out for a headfirst catch — a play that ignited the Wildcats and set the tone for what was to come.

The Wildcats immediately put up a two-spot. Hood got it started, walking and stealing second to get into scoring position. Ethan Garner (Gulfport) followed with a sharp grounder that the ECCC second baseman mishandled, allowing Hood to take third. Garner moved up a bag on a wild pitch before Logan Terry (Semmes, Ala.; East Central) came through with a two-run single through the left side, 2-0.

Clark navigated around two walks in the bottom half with three strikeouts, allowing Pearl River to go right back to work at the plate. Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) singled to set up Jaxon Milam (Phenix City, Ala.; Glenwood Academy), who crushed a two-run homer that caromed off the top of the wall and over, stretching the lead to 4-0. The inning continued with Hood doing the unthinkable, walking and stealing first, second and home in the same frame, 5-0.

Pearl River burned through six East Central pitchers in the fourth inning, scoring two runs on a bases-loaded walk by Garner and a bases-loaded hit by pitch from Nico Williams (Gulfport), 7-0.

The Wildcats put the game into run-rule territory in the top of the fifth. Jacob Keys (Brandon) mashed a ball up against the wall in left field for a double and scored on a Thompson single knock, 8-0. Hood drove in a run with a single, and Williams capped the onslaught with an RBI infield single, 10-0.

Clark, who held East Central hitless through four innings, gave up his first hit in the bottom of the fifth but refused to let it rattle him. With runners on base, he tallied three strikeouts to seal the game in a 10-0 run-rule victory — clinching PRCC's return to the national title game.

Thompson was the only Wildcat with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with three runs scored and one RBI. Giger, Keys, Milam, Hood, Williams and Terry each had a hit. Milam, Williams and Terry had two RBIs apiece. Hood walked twice and stole an incredible four bases. Williams had two steals.

:KK Clark (Brandon) celebrates after striking out the final East Central batter to send Pearl River to the National Championship game (Richard Gleber).

Clark threw five innings of shutout baseball, scattering two hits and four walks. He punched out seven batters to move to 116 on the season — the second most in a single season in program history.

"How about KK Clark?" Avalon said. "He sent me a bible verse this morning about leading the way through the darkness and into the light. When he sent me that, I knew that dude was ready to go."