the river wild

The unexpected is almost expected in baseball. Stuff happens, especially in the postseason when everything’s on the line. Take Pearl River Community College’s recent exploits as a prime example. The River was eliminated from the MACJC Tournament late Friday night — the Wildcats will play on next week in the NJCAA Region 23 event — by an 8-7 loss to East Central, a game the ‘Cats led 6-3 going to the ninth. But consider how PRCC got there. The Wildcats had a losing record (24-25) when the regular season ended, but they managed to tie for fourth place in the highly competitive South Division race. So, they got to play rival Gulf Coast in a play-in game. PRCC won. That earned the Wildcats a trip to Fulton to play North champion Itawamba in the best-of-3 playoff round. PRCC won, scoring 23 runs in a two-game sweep against a formidable pitching staff. On to the state tourney at Smith-Wills Stadium, where the ‘Cats were beaten 4-0 by Hinds in their opener. That put them in an elimination game on Friday against nationally ranked South Division champion Jones County, which was playing for its postseason life. PRCC won a 5-4 thriller behind the pitching of a freshman lefty named Buck Bernard. The magic ran out against East Central later that night. But PRCC will get a crack at the Region 23 crown next week with a trip to the national tournament on the line. Don’t bet against the ‘Cats. Stuff happens in baseball.
P.S. Hinds and East Central meet in the championship round today, starting at 1 p.m. at Smith-Wills. ECCC must beat Hinds twice to win the title. Hinds won a 12-9, 10-inning, 4-hour game with the Warriors on Friday.