POPLARVILLE – Pearl River Community College got its offense back on track Saturday in sweeping an MACJC doubleheader against Holmes.
The Wildcats made short work of the Bulldogs, rapping out 15 hits in a 16-1 victory in the opener, then scored five runs in the top of the seventh inning to complete the sweep 10-9 at Goodman.
Fourth-ranked Pearl River (33-9 overall) remained in second place in the MACJC at 17-5 in conference games. Holmes dropped to 17-24 and 4-22.
The Wildcats wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard in the first inning, scoring three times.
Freshman Matt Taylor (Raleigh) drew a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on a single by sophomore Bryson Medious (Columbia). Sophomores Derek Eberly (Blountstown, Fla.) and Simon Landry (Ponchatoula, La.) each drove in a run with a double.
PRCC broke the game open in the second with a five-run uprising. Freshman Luke Harper (Meridian) led off with a double, Taylor followed with a single and Harper scored on a successful double steal.
Eberly singled in a run, Landry reached on a single and freshman Noah Barron (Hoover, Ala.) drove in a run, and a second run followed on an error on the play. A two-run error off the bat of ophomore Scooter Ginn (Columbia) made it 8-0.
The Wildcats didn't let up in the third, scoring three more runs. Harper led off with a single, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a double by Eberly. A throwing error on a popup and a passed ball allowed two more runs to score.
PRCC added five more runs in the fourth. Ginn led off with a double, and two walks and a hit batter allowed him to trot home. Freshman Trenton Lee (Picayune) had an RBI single and another run scored on an error on the play.
A sacrifice fly by Eberly and a run-scoring single by Landry completed the scoring. The Bulldogs scratched across a run in the bottom of the fifth, but that was all the scoring off Wildcat pitching.
Freshman Shemar Page (Raleigh) allowed just one hit and struck out three, improving his record to 9-1.
The Wildcats fell behind 6-0 after two innings as Holmes scored two runs in the first and four in the second.
Pearl River began its comeback with three runs in the top of the third and two in the fourth.
In the third, Harper was hit by a pitch to open the inning, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Taylor. Medious reached on a single, Eberly drove in a run with a groundout and Medious scored on a wild pitch.
In the fourth, Page was hit by a pitch to lead off, went to second on a two-out single by Harper and both runs scored on a double by Taylor. To make it 6-5.
Holmes got three of those runs back with a run in the fourth and two runs in the fifth, setting the stage for Pearl River's big seventh inning.
Eberly drew a walk to open the inning and Landry followed with his 17th home run of the second. Barron followed with another homer to close the margin to 9-8. Page was hit by a pitch and pinch-runner Lee took second on a passed ball.
Freshman Wiley Cleland (Columbia) tied the game with a double and Taylor followed with his fourth RBI of the game to put the Wildcats ahead for the first time on the game.
Sophomore Colby White (Foxworth) pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief and got the win, improving his record to 5-2. He allowed a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, then got three straight outs to seal the victory.
Pearl River, which has already qualified for the MACJC playoffs, will play its regular-season home finale at 3 p.m. Wednesday against Copiah-Lincoln. The regular season ends Saturday at Coahoma.
PRCC BASEBALL LINESCORES
Saturday at Goodman
Pearl River 16,Holmes 1 (5 innings)
PRCC 353 50 – 16 15 1
HCC 000 01 – 1 2 4
PEARL RIVER (32-9, 18-5 in MACJC): Matt Taylor 1B; Bryson Medious 1B; Derek Eberly 2 2B, 1B (4 RBIs); Simon Landry 2B, 2 1B; Noah Barron 1B; Scooter Ginn 2B; Luke Harper 2B, 1B; Deyton Lingle 2B; Trenton Lee 1B; Brycen Scott 1B. WP – Shemar Page (9-1). Also pitching – Dylan Usry; Austin Elliott.
HOLMES (4-21, 17-23 in MACJC): Matt Warren 1B; Jimmy Burse 2B. LP – Chris Piernas (0-3). Also pitching – Colby Ellingburg; Dane Bevell.
Pearl River 10, Holmes 9
PRCC 003 200 5 – 10 10 0
HCC 240 120 0 – 9 12 1
PEARL RIVER (33-9, 19-5 in MACJC): Matt Taylor 2B, 3 1B (4 RBI); Bryson Medious 1B; Simon Landry HR (2-run), 1B; Noah Barron HR (solo); Wiley Cleland 2B; Luke Harper 1B. WP – Colby White (5-2). Also pitching – Colin Danley (starter); Jerod Meggs.
HOLMES (17-24, 4-22 in MACJC): Sage Mullins 2B, 1B; J.D. Roberts 3B; Cole Johnson 2B; Matt Warren 2 1B; Paul Green 1B; Kendrick LeJeune 1B; Brooks Cooper 2B, 1B; Josh Tucker 2B, 1B. LP – Kameron Ferguson (2-4). Also pitching – Jeff Crenshaw (starter); Steven Lacey; Jimmy Burse.