PANAMA CITY, Fla. — In search of a response and needing a shot of momentum, No. 5 Pearl River turned to right-handed pitcher Jacob Johnson (Carriere; Pearl River Central) in relief against No. 24 John A. Logan.

The freshman answered the call and helped the Wildcats respond from its earlier 7-1 loss against No. 12 Chipola with a 4-2 victory over the Volunteers to secure a split on day two of the Visit Panama City Beach College Baseball Classic. Johnson struck out an incredible nine batters in 3 2/3 innings.

"This was such a long day because it's high-level baseball," head coach Michael Avalon said. "When you're playing high level-baseball, it's one at-bat, one pitch or one pitcher bringing you some energy. Jacob Johnson brought us that energy tonight. I was glad to see him get out there and compete. He was really good."

Avalon spoke about the pitchers that the Wildcat shave faced so far in the tournament.

"People that aren't here — these arms we are facing are incredible. Every pitch is 90-plus. The sliders are 83-84. It has been really good pitching."

CHIPOLA 7, PEARL RIVER 1.
Pearl River (2-1 overall) had its hands full against a Chipola team that was playing in its sixth game of the season. The Wildcats gave the ball to Camden Clark (Laurel; West Jones) for his first collegiate start. The freshman worked efficiently through the first two innings before running into a little trouble in the third, giving up a pair of runs before turning the ball over to AJ Hansen (Mobile, Ala.; McGill-Toolen). Two more runs crossed the plate in the frame before Hansen got out of the inning.

The Wildcats placed two aboard in the fourth but couldn't get either around the bases. An error and a sacrifice fly helped the Indians extend their lead to 7-0 in the fourth inning.

PRCC again placed two baserunners in the fifth inning but couldn't get the big hit it needed. The shutout was ended in the sixth inning, doing damage with two outs. Topher Jones (Hernando) singled, and Caston Thompson (Jayess; Brookhaven Academy) walked. Jackson Hood (Madison; Germantown) drove in the first run with a single up the middle, 7-1. The Indians went on to secure the victory an inning later.

Keegan Giger (Petal), Jones, Hood and Jacob Keys (Brandon) were the only Wildcats to collect a hit.

Clark threw 2 1/3 innings in his PRCC debut, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Hansen allowed one run on two hits and a walk, collecting two hits.

Patrick Spencer Jr. (Greenville; Washington School) pitched two innings in his first outing since recovering from an injury. He allowed three unearned runs on two hits in a walk, pitching two innings. The right-hander frequently hit 96 miles per hour on his fastball.

Dylan Wallace (Columbia) recorded the final three outs for PRCC, striking out one. 

PEARL RIVER 4, JOHN A. LOGAN 2.
Southern Miss signee Caleb Dyess (Carriere; Pearl River Central) effectively worked his way out of trouble through the first two innings of the contest against John A. Logan (1-2). A single and a double by the Volunteers in the third inning plated their first run of the game.

Pearl River had a pair of singles in the third inning but had no luck plating the runners. 

Jacob Johnson (Carriere; Pearl River Central) took over for his former high school teammate in the fourth inning, and that's when the electricity began. John A. Logan picked up a run in the frame due to an error and a single, but Johnson recorded all three outs by way of the strikeout to give PRCC a shot of momentum.

The Wildcats promptly squared things up in the bottom half. With Logan Terry (Semmes, Ala.; East Central) aboard on a fielder's choice and Keegan Giger (Petal) on first on a four-pitch walk, Kyler King (Picayune) was hit by a pitch to load up the bases. It brought up Jaxon Milam (Phenix City, Ala.; Glenwood Academy) in a similar situation to PRCC's season-opener against Northwest Florida. The left-handed hitter didn't waste any time in the at-bat, jumping on the first pitch and sending a line drive into right field for an RBI. The ball hit off the right fielder and got away from him, allowing Giger to score the tying run, 2-2.

Johnson returned to work in the fifth inning, blowing his mid-90s fastball past Volunteer hitters for two strikeouts and getting another batter to fly out. Johnson's dominance continued in the sixth inning as he needed 15 pitches to strikeout the side to bring his total to eight strikeouts.

The Wildcats snatched the lead in the sixth. Keys singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Seven pitches later, another wild pitch sent Keys sprinting for home plate. The ball ricochetted off the backstop and shot back to the catcher. Keys jumped over the catcher's tag attempt and stepped on the plate to give PRCC its first lead of the day, 3-2. Milam then picked up another hit and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Jones then slapped a hard chopper over the third baseman's head and down the left field line for an RBI double, 4-2. 

An infield single to begin the seventh inning for John A. Logan was erased by Johnson's smooth pickoff move for the first out of the frame. Johnson walked the next two batters before punching out his ninth batter of the game. Pearl River opted to hand the ball off to Max Miller (Vancleave) for a lefty-lefty situation. The Volunteers countered with a right-handed pinch hitter, but it didn't matter for Miller, who struck him out on five pitches to slam the door.

Milam had a big game, finishing 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Jones, Hood, Terry, Keys and Giger each had hits.

"The better the arm, the better Milam hits," Avalon said. "He's just different. He has seen a lot of good baseball in his life. He's who we want up in a big situation."

Dyess was good in his first start of the year, finishing with three innings pitched and two strikeouts against three walks, two hits and one run.

"Dyess answered the bell and threw well against a really good team," Avalon said. "It wasn't his best stuff, but he gave us a solid start."

Johnson earned the win by throwing 3 2/3 innings, striking out nine. He allowed just one unearned run, two hits and three walks. Miller struck out the lone batter he faced to get the save.

NEXT UP
The Wildcats close out the Visit Panama City Beach College Baseball Classic tomorrow at 10 a.m. against Dyersburg State.

The games can be heard at WRJW 1320-AM, 106.9 FM and WRJWRadio.com.

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