PRESS RELEASE WRITTEN BY TYLER JOHNSON.

 

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 1 Pearl River baseball team faced No. 5 Lansing and Baton Rouge in Poplarville on Sunday. Pearl River overcame an early deficit in game one to defeat the Stars 4-3 on a walk-off single and used a strong pitching performance to defeat the Bears 2-0.

“Lansing jumped out on us in game one, so I definitely give credit to them,” Pearl River coach Michael Avalon said. “We need to give even more credit to our pitchers. We put up zeros for the rest of the day. We want to hang our hat on our pitching. If we can defend well behind our arms, we have a chance every time out.”

PEARL RIVER 4, LANSING 3

Lansing (3-5 overall) got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning with a two-run shot over the right field wall and an RBI single to set the score at 3-0. Pearl River (17-3) responded in the bottom of the second after Ian Montz(Lafayette, La; Acadiana) led off the inning with a walk and came around to score on a wild pitch. Logan Walters (Petal) scored moments later after Blaise Breerwood (Poplarville) hit a chopper to the shortstop to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Luke Lyon (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) settled in on the for the Wildcats after the first inning retiring nine of the next 10 batters faced to keep Pearl River in the game.

The Wildcats tied things in the bottom of the fourth on a bases-loaded walk by Breerwood to tie things 3-3. From there, a pitcher’s duel ensued with neither team able to string hits together.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Gabe Broadus (Wilmer, Ala; Faith Academy) was hit by a pitch and then swiped second base to get himself into scoring position. After an intentional walk was issued to put Alex Perry (McComb; North Pike) on first base, Montz scorched the first pitch he saw off the glove of the Stars first baseman to drive in Broadus and walked things off for a 4-3 victory.

Lyon was solid for the Wildcats tossing four innings, and striking out seven batters.

Breerwood led the way with two RBIs on the afternoon. Montz finished with one hit, one RBI, and one run scored. Hunter Sute (Tuscaloosa, Ala; American Christian Academy), Walters, and Broadus all finished with one hit each.

PEARL RIVER 2, BATON ROUGE 0

Byrion Robinson (Brookhaven) got the start in game two and retired eight of the first nine batters he faced to hold Baton Rouge (8-18) off the scoreboard. The Wildcats finally struck in the bottom of the third after Parker Ryan (Madison; Jackson Academy) looped a ball down the left field line for a double and eventually came around to score on a Broadus single.

The Bears forced a pitching change in the fourth by getting two of the first three batters on base with walks. Blake Hooks(Petal) entered in relief and quickly ended the threat with a strikeout to get out of the jam.

The Wildcat offense paid him back for his efforts in the fifth after Ryan and Marshall Phillips (Hattiesburg; Sumrall) opened the inning with back-to-back walks. Broadus laid down a sacrifice bunt shortly after to get the runners to second and third and Preston Soper (Madison; Germantown) followed it up with a rocket off the glove of the pitcher for a single, driving in Ryan and padding the lead 2-0.

From there, Hooks continued to shut down the Bears batting order to preserve the slim lead and give the Wildcats the shutout victory.

Robinson finished his outing with 4 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and one walk. He struck out seven batters.

“The bottom line is that the sky is the limit for him,” Avalon said. “A big thing for him is confidence and we’re seeing him get it as he goes.”

Hooks earned the save by pitching the final 2 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters and walked three.

Broadus, Soper and Ryan were the only Wildcats in the hit column.

UP NEXT

The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday against Southwest and Hinds. First pitch is scheduled for noon.

TICKETING

Season and single-game tickets for Pearl River baseball are available now and can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets.