Wednesday, March 10, 2010

River crushes Faulkner State with ‘home run derby’ wins
Wildcats blast a combined nine dingers in 9-3, 12-3 road sweep over Sun Chiefs

    BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Pearl River’s Wildcats smashed a combined nine home runs in a 9-3, 12-3 baseball doubleheader road sweep here Tuesday over Faulkner State (Ala.).
    The victories pumped PRCC’s overall record to 8-11 after it opened its season at 0-7, while the host Sun Chiefs dropped to 9-7.
    All told, the Wildcats cracked a combined 31 hits in the two contests.
    In the first game, Pearl River went up 4-0 in the top of the opening inning off back-to-back homers by prep teammates Temple Harvey (three-run) and Zach Farrar (solo), both out of Brandon High School, then added a solo run in the top of the second before Faulkner State scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the frame.
    Both teams scored solo runs in the third, while in the top of the fifth, PRCC pumped its lead to 8-2 before the Sun Chiefs scored its final run of the game in the bottom of the inning. The Wildcats added their final run in the top of the seventh for the 9-3 victory.
    Starter Brett Blaise (1-4) out of Heritage Academy in Columbus, picked up his first win of the season in his five innings of action, striking out six and walking three; while Jared Bond out of Denham Springs (La.) High School relieved in the sixth and closed it out. He recorded three strikeouts.
    FSCC starter Douglas Turo (0-1) got the loss in his five innings on the mound, striking out seven and walking four; while Josh Pyeatt relieved in the sixth, striking out two and walking one.
    Harvey paced the Wildcats’ 13-hit effort with two homers (four RBIs), while Farrar homered and tripled (two RBIs), Bryn Whitehead of Sumrall High homered and singled (two RBIs), Matt Linton of East Central High had two singles, Southern Miss signee Ashley Graeter of Poplarville High and B.J. Smith of Sumrall High both doubled, and Ethan Ewoldt of Oak Grove and Jake Hawkins of Sumrall High both singled.
    The Sun Chiefs finished with nine hits, led by Daniel Wass who homered and doubled, while Brian Clark and Stephen Clarke had two singles each, and Michael Corso, Andrew Prichard, and Dustin Roberts all doubled.
    PRCC played error free, while FSCC had one defensive miscue.
    After a scoreless first inning in the nightcap, the Wildcats went up 4-0 with two-run efforts in the top of the second and third innings, while Faulkner scored solo runs in the bottom of the fourth, sixth, and seventh. Pearl River blew it open in the top of the final frame with eight runs, including a three-run homer by Graeter, who also had a solo shot earlier in the game.
    Wildcat starter Buck Bernard (2-0) of Petal High got the win in his five-and-two-thirds innings on the mound, striking out one, walking two, and hitting a batter; while Josh Hubble relieved for the final out of the sixth and R.J. Gasaway of Pascagoula High relieved in the seventh, striking out one and walking one.
    Sun Chief starter Alex Lane (0-1) got the loss in his five innings of action, striking out three and hitting a batter; while Chance Peterson saw relief duty in the sixth and Austin Trehern in the seventh.
    PRCC finished with an amazing 18 hits in the win, led by Matthew Magee of Petal High with two home runs and a double (two RBIs), while Grater had two homers and a single (four RBIs), Harvey homered and had two singles (two RBIs), Linton doubled and singled, Grae Orman of Clinton High (three RBIs), B.J. Smith, and Whitehead had two base hits a piece; and Farrar singled.
    Tyler Richburg paced FSCC’s eight-hit effort with a homer and two singles, while Lloyd Negus had two singles, Josh Huggins homered, Jeffrey Howell doubled, and Wass singled.
    Both teams committed one error each in the contest.
    The two teams split in a previous Feb. 16 twin bill played in Poplarville with FSCC winning 4-2 in its season opener, while PRCC took the nightcap 11-6.
    Pearl River returns to action Saturday when it hits the road for Baton Rouge CC in Baton Rouge, La., to play St. Louis-Meramac (Mo.) at 2 p.m., then host BRCC at 5 p.m. before opening its MACJC South Division schedule Tuesday, March 16, with a 4 p.m. doubleheader against Copiah-Lincoln in Wesson. The Wildcats return home Saturday, March 20, to host division rival Jones County in a 1 p.m. twin bill.