Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Meridian cans Pearl River 6-1 in MACJC title bout
Wildcats post 3-2 mark in state tournament;
will host Region 23 Tournament May 14-17

     FULTON — Meridian Community College exited the Mississippi Association of Community-Junior College conference in grand style here Sunday, defeating Pearl River’s Wildcats 6-1 in the MACJC State Tournament championship game in Crumbaugh Stadium on the Itawamba CC campus.
      The Eagles, who have opted to leave the conference after this school year, also defeated host ICC 3-2 earlier in the afternoon to earn their berth in the title bout.
      The Wildcats (36-19) posted a 3-2 mark in the tournament, grabbing wins over Northeast Mississippi 10-2 (seven innings) on Thursday and Mississippi Gulf Coast 4-1 and Itawamba 12-4 (seven innings) on Saturday. ICC defeated PRCC 6-5 on Friday.
      In the championship round, MCC starter Jason Judge, a lefthander out of Lake, hurled a three-hitter in going the distance to pick up the win behind the Eagles’ nine-hit effort at the plate. Brent Tanner accounted for four RBIs off a first-inning two-run homer and a bases-loaded double in the seventh.
      “Give them credit,” said third-year Wildcat head coach Jamie McMahon. “We just couldn’t get hits. You’ve got to have runners on base to score runs. Judge definitely pitched a great game.”
      Pearl River managed only six base runners all afternoon off a third-inning double by Nick Smith, singles by Michael Diaz and Abad Santana, and three base on balls by Judge.
      Meridian went up 2-0 in the bottom of the first when Tanner belted his two-run dinger, then padded its lead to 3-0 in the second off a single by Josh Demoney and an RBI double Drew Snider, who scored off Shannon Steed’s ensuing base hit.
      The Wildcats bounced back with its only run of the game in the third off Smith’s RBI double.
      Pearl River starter Cory Jordan exited the mound for Kyle Lindsey in the bottom of the third and the Southern Mississippi signee pitched solidly for the remainder of the game, striking out seven, walking none, and hitting three batters.
      Lindsey loaded the bases in the seventh off two hit batters and a Scott Mosley single, setting the stage for Tanner’s two-run double to end the scoring.
      PRCC, which committed two errors in the game, went three up, three down in the eighth and ninth frames; while MCC played error free.

Pearl River 12, Itawamba 4 / Saturday, May 3

     The Wildcats rallied from a 4-0 first-inning deficit in Saturday’s nightcap game to blow out the host Indians 12-4 in seven innings.
      PRCC starter Ryan Norton struggled from the outset of the game, giving up four runs after facing 10 batters in the first inning. He wound up with a strikeout, but walked three and hit two batters while giving up three hits after exiting the mound for Josh Jones with an out in the second.
      After Itawamba’s opening onslaught, Pearl River rebounded in the bottom of the first. The Wildcats loaded the bases off two walks and a Smith single, setting the stage for Diaz’s grand slam home run to tie it up.
      ICC loaded the bases in the second with one out before Cody Trotter hit into a double play. PRCC added three runs in the bottom of the frame off an RBI sacrifice by Smith, and back-to-back RBI doubles by Ethan Burt and Diaz.
      The Wildcats scored a solo run in the fourth off when Dustin Langley led off with a double and Smith reached on a bunt, setting the stage for Diaz’s RBI sacrifice, then added another run in fifth off a passed ball.
      PRCC iced the win via the eight-run rule in the seventh off Burt’s two-run homer and Seth Edwards solo shot.
      Jones (4-1) got the win, striking out three, walking one, and hitting two batters; while ICC starter Chris Bennett got the loss in his 1 2/3 innings of action, striking out one and walking three. Dustin Linn relieved in the second, striking out two and walking two.
      Justin Bryant paced the Indians’ eight-hit effort with four singles The Wildcats finished with 11 hits, led by Smith’s three base hits (one RBI). Burt (three RBIs) and Diaz (six RBIs) both homered and doubled, while Edwards homered, Langley doubled, and Tristan Rogers and Zach Tisdale both singled.
      ICC committed three errors in the game to PRCC’s none.

Pearl River 4, Mississippi Gulf Coast 1 / Saturday, May 3

     Pearl River eliminated arch-rival Mississippi Gulf Coast from the tournament with a 4-1 victory on Saturday.
      The Wildcats went up 2-0 in the bottom of the second and added solo runs in the fourth and eighth, while the Bulldogs scored their only run in the fifth.
      Starter Kody Lancaster (5-2) picked up the win in his six innings on the mound, striking out eight and walking four; while Jordan relieved in the seventh, striking out one and walking two.
      MGCCC starter Tyler Henry got the loss in his six innings of action, striking out one and walking five; while Skylor Burts relieved in the seventh, striking out one and walking one.
      The Bulldogs finished with five hits, led by Jacob Daniels’ double and single, while Richard Atwood, Jerron Casey (one RBI), and Kelly Weems all had base hits.
      Diaz and Edwards paced PRCC’s seven-hit attack with two singles each, while Langley, Rogers (one RBI), and Smith (one RBI) all had base hits.
      Pearl River played error free, while Mississippi Gulf Coast committed one.

Itawamba 6, Pearl River 5 / Friday, May 2

     Pearl River fell into the losers’ bracket with its 6-5 loss to Itawamba in Friday’s nightcap game.
      ICC went up 1-0 in the top of the third, then added two more runs in the fourth off Trotter’s two run homer. Edwards led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to make it 3-1, but the Indians answered with three in the top of the sixth off three walks, an error, and an RBI single by Clint Alford.
      In the bottom of the seventh, Edwards led off with a single, then Rogers doubled. A strikeout later, Edwards and Rogers scored off Matt Discon’s single.
      In the eighth, Burt led off with a walk and scored off Diaz’s ensuing double, while pinch runner Scott Ashley eventually scored from third on a passed ball.
      ICC starter Chris Hilliard got the win in his 6 2/3 innings on the mound, giving up five hits, striking out nine, walking one, and hitting two batters; while B.J. Johnson pitched the last out of the seventh before Chase Cleveland went 2/3 of an inning in the eighth before Josh Chism arrived to close it out.
      PRCC starter Tyler Watkins (8-5) got the loss in his 5 2/3 innings of action, striking out five and walking four; while Wil Mann relieved in the sixth, striking out three and walking two. Jones arrived in the ninth, striking out two and walking one.
      Itawamba finished with nine hits, led by Davis Potter’s double and single, while Alford cracked two singles (one RBI), Trotter homered (two RBIs), Cleveland doubled (one RBI), and Nate Coleman, Lige Mitchell, and Tyler Wilson all had base hits.
      Edwards paced the Wildcats’ eight-hit effort with a homer and a single (one RBI), while Discon had two base hits (two RBIs), Diaz (one RBI) and Rogers both doubled, and Langley and Tisdale both singled.
      Each team committed one error in the game.

Pearl River 10, Northeast Mississippi 3 / Thursday, May 1

     Pearl River demolished Northeast Mississippi 10-2 in seven innings to open the tournament on Thursday.
      PRCC cracked 13 hits, including four home runs, en route to the victory to improve to 34-17. The Tigers, who managed only five hits off Wildcat hurler Lindsey, dropped to 31-17.
      The victory insured the Wildcats’ hosting of the upcoming Region 23 Tournament set for May 14-17.
      Pearl River went up 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning off a two-run homer by Edwards, then padded its lead with another two-run shot in the third by Smith. Northeast loaded the bases with one out in the top of the fifth off a walk, a single, and an error, but couldn’t push a run home; while PRCC added two more runs in the bottom of the frame off a two-RBI double by Langley and a sacrifice by Burt to make it 6-0.
      The Tigers answered with their only two runs in the top of the sixth of three base hits.
      The Wildcats iced the victory in the bottom of the seventh off Burt’s three-run homer, while Edwards’ solo shot ended the game via the eight-run rule.
      Lindsey (10-1) got the win, giving up a meager five hits, while striking out nine, walking one, and hitting one batter; while Porch struck out seven and walked none. M.J. McWhorter paced the Tigers at the plate with a double and a single, while Jason Chism, Drew Dillard, and Davis Ellison (two RBIs) all had base hits.
      Edwards led PRCC’s 13-hit attack with two home runs and two singles (three RBIs), while Burt homered and had two base hits (four RBIs). Smith homered and singled (two RBIs), Langley doubled and singled (one RBI), and Alex Riser had two singles.