POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The No. 2 Pearl River baseball team got its Region 23 Tournament appearance started on the right foot Tuesday afternoon, recovering from an early deficit to take down Hinds 5-2.
The victory sets up a matchup with No. 3 LSU Eunice Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
“It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it sure was beautiful. Any time you get a win in this setting against a really hot team like Hinds — it’s special,” head coach Michael Avalon said. “I knew it was going to be tough today. We will need to play better tomorrow against a really tough LSU Eunice squad. That was the message to the guys, and hopefully, we can do that.”
Following a week-long layoff, it took Pearl River (48-8 overall) and its starting pitcher Thomas Crabtree (Collierville, Tenn.) some time to get going against Hinds (28-28). The Eagles struck first in the contest, scoring a run on a groundout in the first inning and another on a solo shot in the third frame.
PRCC did damage in the third inning — all with two outs. Creek Robertson (Oxford; Madison Central) turned the lineup back over by sending a single up the middle, bringing up Bryce Fowler (Madison; Germantown). The Southern Miss transfer had his pitcher’s back, ripping a lefty-lefty two-run homer over the wall in straight-away center field — his 11th of the season — to tie the game up at 2-2.
“It was a big moment, and we just needed someone to pop that pressure,” Avalon said. “Bryce Fowler is a tough kid. He stepped up there and got a big hit for us. That was a special play by a really special player.”
Crabtree did an excellent job of working through traffic in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames, escaping jams in each inning to keep the score deadlocked at 2-2. PRCC rewarded his efforts in the sixth, picking up a run to put Crabtree in line for the victory. Marshall Phillips (Sumrall; Hattiesburg) led off with a single, Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) walked and Alex Wade (Decatur, Ala.; Madison Academy) dropped a perfect bunt single to load up the bases. Jonah Katsaboulas (Brandon) came up with the clutch hit, placing an RBI single just in front of the charging right fielder, 3-2.
Needing nine outs to secure a victory, the Wildcats turned the ball over to it its future LSU Tiger, Conner Ware (Madison; Germantown). The left-hander went straight to work, striking out the first two batters he faced before inducing a groundout. When the eighth inning rolled around, Ware worked around a single to retire the side without any damage done.
The Wildcats added two runs of insurance in the bottom of the eighth. Phillips was plunked to open the frame to bring up the heavy-hitting Thompson. The left-handed hitter wasted no time in his at-bat, sending the first pitch thrown to him flying deep over the wall in center field for a two-run homer, 5-2.
The blast was more than Ware needed as he struck out all three batters that stepped into the box in the ninth inning to secure the victory for the Wildcats.
BY THE NUMBERS
Fowler and Thompson had the big blows of the day, each finishing 1-for-3 with a two-run homer. Ince, Phillips, Wade, Katsaboulas and Robertson each had one hit. Thompson and Katsaboulas each walked twice.
Crabtree earned the victory with six innings of two-run baseball. He scattered three hits and seven walks, striking out a trio of batters. It was his 10th victory of the year. Ware picked up the save with three innings of one-hit baseball. He struck out five of the 10 batters he faced.
TICKETS
Tickets for the tournament are available NOW at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets. Tickets are $12 each day. PRCC’s box office is CARD ONLY. Cash will NOT be accepted at the gate.
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Pearl River’s tournament central page is active at PRCCAthletics.com/Region23. It will be the home for all tournament information, including livestreams, photos, brackets, directions, scores and more.
TUNE IN
The entirety of the tournament will be livestreamed at PRCCMedia.com/Gold. All Pearl River games can be heard at WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM and WRJWRadio.com.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on Twitter (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
