POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The top-5 showdown between No. 2 Pearl River and No. 4 East Central lived up to its lofty expectations Wednesday afternoon, but the Wildcats came up short. PRCC fell 3-1 in game one and dropped the nightcap 7-2.
“We played hard tonight. A lot of credit goes to their group,” head coach Michael Avalon said. “They made more plays than us tonight. They capitalized on our mistakes in game two. We have to learn from this and rebound.
“The atmosphere tonight was amazing. The support that we had behind us was incredible — what a special place to play at.”
GAME ONE
Pearl River (42-7; 22-2) starting pitcher Thomas Crabtree (Collierville, Tenn.) was in cruise control through the first two innings of the day, striking out two batters along the way.
The Wildcat offense got runners aboard in each opening frame but stranded them before plating any runs.
East Central (42-4; 18-4) turned a leadoff single into two runs by sending a rocket over the wall in left field in the third inning, 2-0.
The leadoff runner reached on a single in the fifth inning, but Crabtree promptly induced a ground ball for a double play and a groundout to end the inning.
East Central used the long ball to plate an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, extending its advantage to 3-0.
The Wildcats broke the shutout in the eighth inning. Marshall Phillips (Hattiesburg; Sumrall) drew a walk and then advanced to second on an errant pickoff attempt. Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) came up clutch next, roping an RBI single into left center field, 3-1. PRCC threatened some more before the frame ended but couldn’t tack on any more runs.
A stellar defensive play by Jeff Ince (Brandon; Jackson Prep) kept the Warriors from adding any additional runs in the top of the ninth. A ball was chopped toward second base. He charged in, fielded it, made a quick tag on the nearby runner and fired to first just in time to secure the inning-ending double play.
PRCC got the leadoff runner aboard in the bottom of the ninth but eventually grounded into a double play to drop the contest, 3-1.
Crabtree threw six innings of four-hit, two-run baseball. He picked up six strikeouts. Conner Ware (Madison; Germantown) pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. He had two strikeouts. AJ Hansen (Mobile, Ala.; McGill-Toolen) recorded two outs and walked one.
Bryce Fowler (Madison; Germantown) was the only Wildcat with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-5. Jonah Katsaboulas (Brandon) walked twice.
GAME TWO
East Central took an early lead in game one, scoring its first run of the game on an RBI double, 1-0. The Wildcats evened the contest up in the bottom of the second. Ince and Phillips walked and advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt. The Warrior catcher couldn’t corral a pitch and allowed a run to score on a passed ball, 1-1.
ECCC capitalized on a flurry of Wildcat miscues in the fifth to plate five runs and move in front 6-1. The Warriors eventually tacked on another run in the top of the seventh, 7-1.
PRCC tried to make a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, loading up the bases with no outs. A run crossed the plate on a groundout, but ECCC closed things out to win 7-2.
JP Robertson (Madison; Germantown) allowed four runs on two hits and two walks in four innings of work. Only three of his runs were earned. Austin Tommasini (Madison; Madison Central) allowed one run on one hit and one walk. Carson Fair (Southaven) threw 2 1/3 innings scoreless innings, giving up one hit and a walk while striking out four.
Fowler had PRCC’s lone hit of the game. Ince walked twice in the contest.
NEXT UP
Pearl River heads to Chipola on Friday for a 1 p.m. contest. The single nine-inning game will be livestreamed at https://www.team1sports.comchipolaathletics
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