Saturday, March 29, 2003
Wildcats sweep Bears to even South Division mark at 2-2
6-4 Pearl River takes 6-4, 10-7 twin bill victories at Summit

     SUMMIT   Pearl River Community College swept rival Southwest in MACJC South
Division doubleheader baseball action here Saturday to improve to 26-4 overall and 2-2 in league play.
     The Wildcats took a 6-4 win in the first game, then a 10-7 victory in the nightcap. The Bears dropped to 12-11 and 2-2.
     In the opening game, the host Bears went up 2-0 in the bottom of the first, then added a solo run in the bottom of the second to go up 3-0. PRCC made it 3-1 with a solo run in the top of the third, but Southwest built its lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the frame.
     That score remained intact until the top of the fifth when PRCC cut the Bears lead to 4-2, then powered to the victory in the top of the sixth with three go-ahead runs to make it 5-4. The Wildcats added a solo run in the top of the seventh to end the scoring.
     Chad Catalano (6-2) of Covington, La., picked up the win and struck out seven Bears in his five innings of relief of starter Nick Tisone of Mandeville, La. Tisone pitched the first 1.2 innings before relinquishing the mound to Catalano. Thomas Royals of Lumberton High closed it out in the seventh.
     Bear starter Matt Basye (1-1) was the losing pitcher in his six innings on the mound. He was relieved by Danny Sanders in the seventh.
     Jared Harris of Poplarville paced the Wildcats' 10-hit attack with a single and a double, while Matt Riser and Rhyne Hughes singled and doubled. Justin Gros of Oak Grove bashed a three-run homer, while Royals and Neil Favre of St. Stanislaus doubled and Lee Michael Norris of Oak Grove singled.
     Southwest finished with four hits, led by William Evans' double. Michael Clements, Brent Barrios, and Garrett England all singled for the Bears.
     In the nightcap, Pearl River scored one in the top of the first and two in the top of the second only to see the Bears tie it up at 3-3 in the bottom of the third. The fourth was a big one for the PRCC, as the Wildcats powered ahead with four runs to retain the lead at 7-4, but Southwest cut that advantage to one   7-6   with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame.
     The Wildcats answered the comeback threat with two in the top of the fifth to make it 9-6, but Southwest's two runs in the bottom of the sixth cut PRCC's lead to one. Pearl River ended the scoring with a solo run in the top of the final inning.
     PRCC starter Jeff Middleton of Mobile kept his perfect pitching record intact, picking up the win in his five innings on the mound. Zach Butler of Gulfport High relieved briefly in the sixth, but Royals came in and struck out four to close it out.
     Derrick Louque was the losing pitcher in his five innings, while Michael Dumilller relieved in the
sixth.
     PRCC finished with 11 hits with Hughes and Riser leading the way. Hughes finished with two
singles and a double, while Riser doubled and singled. Gros and Brad Wood of Oak Grove both added
a pair of singles, while Royals and Harris singled.
     Justin Chaisson led Southwest's nine-hit effort with three singles, while Evans and Clements both tripled. England, Barrios, Marshall Varnado, and Aaron Artega all singled.