Monday, February 28, 2005
PRCC swept by Palm Beach, host Pensacola in tourney
Nationally-ranked Wildcats even at 3-3 after pair of weekend losses

     PENSACOLA, Fla. — Defending MACJC state baseball champion Pearl River saw its overall record even up at 3-3 after suffering two setbacks Saturday here in the Pensacola Junior College Tournament.
     PRCC, ranked seventh in the NJCAA preseason Division II poll, fell 2-1 to Palm Beach CC in its first game; then suffered a 10-5 setback to host PJC in Saturday’s nightcap game. Both were nine-inning battles.
     Sunday's final-round action in the PJC tournament was rained out.
     The Wildcats are now 3-3 overall heading into Tuesday’s 1 p.m. twin bill against MACJC rival East Central in Decatur.
     Against Palm Beach, the two teams battled through five scoreless innings before PBCC went up 1-0 in the top of the sixth. Pearl River bounced back to tied it up in the bottom of the eighth, but Palm Beach scored the winning run in the top of the final frame.
     Josh Troxclair (1-1), a freshman righthander from Pauling, La.; was the losing pitcher in relief. Sophomore lefthander Brent Varnado of Amite, La., started and hurled eight innings before being relieved by Craig Rodriguez of Sugar Land, Tex., in the ninth. The sophomore southpaw hurled two-thirds of the final inning before rendering the mound to Troxclair.
     Palm Beach Zac Cole picked up the win in his seven-and-two-thirds innings of 
relief of starter Jeff Salazar.
     Richard Imhoff of Picayune High paced the Wildcats’ five-hit effort with a double 
and two singles, while Rene Ritchie of Thibodeaux, La., doubled and Martin Roark of Oak Grove singled.
     PBCC finished with nine hits, led by Kevin Siebert and Jan Segarra who both singled and doubles; while Lester Aragon doubled and Chris Henault, Antonion Herrera, and Gergory D’Olio all singled.
     Against the host Pirates, Pearl River went up 3-0 after scoring a solo run in the top of the second and two in the top of the third; but PJC iced the win with an eight-run barrage in the bottom of the third.
     PRCC added solo runs in the top of the seventh and eighth frames, while the Pirates added runs in the bottom of the seventh and eighth.
     Sophomore starter Corey Bass (1-1) of Petal picked up the loss in his two and two-thirds innings, while Justin Tucker of Purvis relieved in the third; followed by Jacob Smith of Hattiesburg High in the sixth, and Kyle Edwards of Petal in the seventh who closed the game.
     Pensacola starter Logan Williamson picked up the win in his six and one-thirds innings on the mound, while Jeff Rodriguez relieved in the seventh and closed it out.
Ryne Lovdahl of Purvis led PRCC’s 14-hit attack with a double and two singles, while Roark had three singles, and John Wayne Donahue and Chris Stewart, both of Picayune High, had two singles each. Imhoff, Jordan Rogers of Biloxi St. Martin, and Bailey Hartel and Grant Hogue, both of Oak Grove, all singled.
     PJC’s 13-hit effort was led by Jim Williams, Humberto Sosa, and Donnie Vickers, who had two singles a piece; while Marshall Barfield had a grand slam homer and a single, Ian Craze a solo homer, and Tyler England a double. Steve Hornastaj, Bridger Hunt, and Jason Kohl, all singled.
     Following Tuesday’s East Central contest, Pearl River travels to Bossier CC in Bossier City, La., for a four-game stand March 5-6 (Saturday and Sunday) with nine-inning battles against Northeast Oklahoma (Okla), Independence (Kan.), Fort Smith (Ark.), and Panola (Tex.) before returning home to host Hinds Wednesday, March 9, in a 4 p.m. doubleheader in Wildcat Stadium. The Hinds twin bill was originally scheduled for Feb. 23, but was rained out.