POPLARVILLE, Miss. — It took eight innings and one clutch swing, but No. 1 Pearl River found a way to outlast No. 6 Jones College Wednesday night, splitting a MACCC doubleheader against the rival Bobcats. The Wildcats fell 4-0 in the opener before taking the nightcap 4-2.

"In the first game, we barreled some balls up; we were just not hitting in a timely manner," head coach Christie Meeks said. "We made a little adjustment in game two so we could protect some hitters who were barreling the ball up, and it worked out in our favor."

GAME ONE
Ann Elise Duncan (McComb; Brookhaven Academy) got the start in the circle for Pearl River (19-3 overall; 3-1 MACCC) in game one of the series against Jones College (25-6; 4-2). She turned in a solid outing, pitching 4 2/3 innings while allowing just three hits and striking out five.

Jones struck early in the first inning, drawing a leadoff walk before following it with a two-run home run to take the lead. Over the next two innings, the Bobcats were retired in order, with Pearl River's defense settling in. Jones added to its lead in the fourth, again using the long ball with another two-run homer to make it 4-0.

Teegan DeWitt (Pass Christian; Hancock) entered in relief and shut things down the rest of the way, but the early damage proved enough as Jones held on for the 4-0 victory.

Kai Goodman (New Orleans, La.; John Curtis) and Maeli Ben (Conehatta; Newton County) had PRCC's only two hits in the contest. Addy Grace Alexander (Poplarville) drew two walks.

DeWitt threw 2 1/3 innings in relief, striking out three and allowing just one hit.

GAME TWO
Ana-Grace Garcia (Baton Rouge; St. Joseph's) earned the game two victory with a dominant outing, tossing eight innings while allowing five hits, two runs, and three walks. She also struck out a season-high 10 Bobcat batters to lead the Wildcats.

Jones opened the scoring in the first inning, plating its only two runs of the game on a two-RBI single.

Pearl River answered in the bottom half of the inning. Goodman led off with a single, followed by a walk from Alexander (Poplarville). Shania Fondren (Batesville; South Panola) then delivered an RBI single to bring Goodman home and cut the deficit to 2-1.

The teams settled into a pitching duel over the next two innings before Pearl River evened the score in the fourth. A leadoff walk and a hit-by-pitch put two runners on for Ben. After both advanced a base, Ben drove in the tying run with a groundout to second.

Garcia took control from there, recording nine consecutive outs heading into the sixth. After allowing a leadoff double, the sophomore regrouped and struck out two batters to keep the game tied entering the seventh. Neither team scored in the seventh, sending the game into extra innings.

In the top of the eighth, Jones threatened with two baserunners, but Garcia once again shut the door to preserve the tie. In the bottom half, Zion Seals (Shannon; Nettleton) drew a leadoff walk, setting the stage for Ben. Working into a 1-2 count, Ben launched a no-doubt walk-off home run over the fence, lifting Pearl River to a 4-2 victory over Jones.

Ben finished 2-for-4 and drove in three of PRCC's runs. Eaves also had a two-hit game. Goodman stole three bases.

NEXT UP
Pearl River heads to Scooba to take on East Mississippi in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The games will be livestreamed at EMCCLive.com.

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