ENID, Okla. — Eight innings of dominant pitching from Drew Harrison (Madison; Germantown) powered No. 2 Pearl River to a 7-1 victory over No. 10 Monroe (N.Y.) in Game 1 of the World Series.
"You could see the nerves in our guys today, but the bottom line is we opened the World Series with a win," Pearl River coach Michael Avalon said. "Drew Harrison was special again today, and that's what you want from one of your top guys at this stage."
Harrison needed just 16 pitches to navigate the first inning, striking out two batters looking before ending the frame with a groundout to third baseman Kyler King (Picayune).
The right-hander added another strikeout in the second inning before allowing a one-out single. He quickly worked out of trouble by inducing an inning-ending double play to keep the game scoreless through 1 1/2 innings.
Pearl River (47-11) broke through in the bottom of the second when Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) drew a seven-pitch leadoff walk and later scored on a single by Nico Williams (Gulfport).
King and Jackson Beddoe (Sulphur, La.) followed with back-to-back singles, with Beddoe driving in Williams to give the Wildcats a 2-0 lead.
Harrison continued to cruise, recording one strikeout in both the third and fourth innings.
The Wildcats extended their advantage in the fourth, scoring three runs on two hits. Ethan Garner (Gulfport) reached on a leadoff hit-by-pitch before Beddoe tripled two batters later to bring Garner home from first.
Gatlin Pitts (Fairhope, Ala.; Bayside Academy) was then hit by a pitch, putting runners on the corners for Jackson Estes (Madison; Germantown). Estes lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field, scoring Beddoe and pushing the lead to 4-0.
Coy Clements (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) followed with an infield single, advancing Pitts to third. With runners on the corners, Pearl River executed a rundown play that allowed Pitts to score and extend the lead to 5-0.
Pitching with a comfortable cushion, Harrison continued to dominate into the eighth inning. He struck out two batters in the frame to finish with eight strikeouts while allowing just three hits and two walks across eight shutout innings.
Harrison also contributed defensively in the seventh inning. After Monroe (38-9) recorded a single, the Wildcats caught the runner too far off first base and completed an 8-4-1 putout, with Hood throwing to Beddoe before Harrison applied the tag at first.
Pearl River added two more runs in the eighth inning on a two-out double by Hood.
With Harrison's outing complete, the Wildcats turned to JP Abt (Brandon; Hartfield Academy) in the ninth inning. Abt struck out two batters to secure the 7-1 win.
NEXT UP
Pearl River moves on to play 3-seeded Madison College Tuesday at 4 p.m.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).