Pearl River baseball turns second chance into second National Championship

ENID, Okla. (PRCCAthletics.com) — One year after heartbreak and weeks after wondering whether its season would continue, the Pearl River baseball team turned a second chance into its second National Championship.

Given new life through an at-large bid, the Wildcats made the most of their opportunity, storming through the NJCAA Division II World Series undefeated. PRCC outlasted No. 8 South Mountain 4-3 in an 11-inning thriller Saturday night to claim the program's second National Championship and second title in five years. The victory also pushed Pearl River past the 50-win mark for the season.

"They never quit. They always believed," head coach Michael Avalon said. "This was our goal on day one — to get back here. We didn't know how it would work or how it would look, but they never stopped believing."

Avalon reflected on the journey that brought his team back to the mountaintop.

"My mother-in-law sent me something about David and Goliath this morning," Avalon said. "God gave him five stones, and he only used one. We had 35 stones we could have used, and we only used 15 or 16 of them, but we were strong because of every young man on this team. They believed in the stone we were throwing at the time."

"I'm so thankful for this group and I love them. I love this place," he added. "The fans are unbelievable. The guys never quit. We're National Champions, and that is so hard to do. Seeing this on their faces is worth every bit of it. Before they won, they were already champions."

It was arguably the toughest battle of the season for Pearl River (50-11) against South Mountain (52-18).

The Cougars struck first, building a 2-0 lead through the opening two innings before the Wildcats began to chip away.

In the fourth inning, Jackson Estes (Madison; Germantown) jumped on the first pitch he saw and drove it the other way over the wall in left field, cutting the deficit to 2-1 with a solo home run.

Jacksonville State signee Drew Harrison (Madison; Germantown) settled in after the early damage, tossing scoreless third and fourth innings before handing the ball to Landon Watts (Picayune) in the fifth.

The right-hander worked around a leadoff double in his first inning of work and kept the Cougars off the board, giving Pearl River an opportunity to pull even.

Jackson Beddoe (Sulphur, La.) continued his scorching World Series at the plate, doubling before advancing to third on a groundout. Moments later, Beddoe raced home on a passed ball to tie the game at 2-2.

Watts was electric through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, and the Wildcats rewarded him with a go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. Beddoe singled and Gatlin Pitts (Fairhope; Bayside Academy) drew a walk to put pressure on the South Mountain defense. A wild pitch moved the runners up, and moments later Pearl River executed a perfectly timed double steal. Pitts broke for second, drawing a throw from the catcher. As the ball left his hand, Beddoe sprinted for the plate and slid home safely to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.

The Cougars refused to go away. In the top of the ninth, South Mountain loaded the bases and worked a game-tying walk to force extra innings and silence the Pearl River faithful.

Rather than unravel, Watts responded with perhaps his biggest inning of the season. The sophomore escaped another bases-loaded jam in the 10th, preserving the tie and giving the Wildcats another chance. Nothing came easy in the bottom half, but Colin Jenkins (Mt. Olive; Simpson Academy) answered the call in the 11th. The right-hander retired the Cougars in order on two flyouts and a groundout, sending Pearl River back to the plate needing just one run.

Estes opened the inning with a single before Coy Clements (Hattiesburg; Oak Grove) was hit by a pitch. With two outs and the winning run aboard, Ethan Garner (Gulfport) stepped to the plate.

The sophomore lifted a towering fly ball into the swirling Oklahoma wind. Lost in the sun by the South Mountain outfielder, the ball dropped safely onto the grass in left field, allowing the winning run to score.

Seconds later, the Pearl River dugout emptied onto the field in celebration of a walk-off 4-3 National Championship victory.

Harrison tossed four innings of two-run baseball, scattering seven hits and one walk while striking out seven. Watts delivered a championship-caliber performance in relief, allowing just one run on three hits across six innings while striking out nine. Jenkins earned the victory after a scoreless 11th inning.

Estes, Beddoe and Nico Williams (Gulfport) finished with multi-hit performances.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Harrison and Estes were named to the NJCAA Division II World Series All-Tournament Team.

Harrison threw 12 innings during the tournament, allowing just two runs while posting a 1.50 ERA. The right-hander struck out 15 batters and walked only three.

Estes finished 7-for-15 at the plate with three home runs, five RBIs and several of the tournament's biggest swings.

Beddoe was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after going 8-for-15 (.533) with five extra-base hits. He drove in six runs, scored five times and stole two bases during Pearl River's championship run.