Pearl River baseball wins first postseason test over Meridian 4-2! Head Coach Avalon and local Wildcats discuss the importance of hosting the Region 23 Tournament.

The Pearl River baseball team is currently hosting the Region 23 tournament in Popvegas. Prior to the competition beginning, Head Coach Michael Avalon and local Wildcat players discussed the advantages of playing postseason ball at “The Dub.”

“This place is special,” said Head Coach Michael Avalon. “‘The Dub’ is a special place. A great atmosphere. I think it’s the best Junior College venue in the country, so anytime you get to host a regional, our guys are comfortable here, our fans are going to be excited to be here, and anytime you play at home, you like your chances better than being on the road. The more you can host, the better chance you have at winning it, so we’re hoping this year we’re able to finish it at home.”

“It’s just going to be so awesome,” said Wildcat outfielder Logan Fontenelle. “We get to have it here and no one else gets to experience the stuff we do and we’re playing at our home turf, so it’s awesome with all of the parents, family and everybody here. It’s our community, so it will be really cool.”

“Oh it’s awesome. Getting the home field advantage is a really good advantage because we play really well at home,” said Wildcat right-handed pitcher Jacob Johnson. “We get to play in front of our fans. We don’t have to travel, which is nice. We don’t have to get on the charter bus. It’s awesome being able to host. It’s a really good feeling and hoping we can host the super regional as well.”

“Obviously our goal is to go to Enid and win a championship, but you can’t do it today and it’s one step at a time,” said Wildcat outfielder Kyler King. “We’re looking to host a Regional, win that regional, win that Super Regional and head to Enid, Oklahoma and dominate there as well.”

The home field worked to their advantage as Pearl River won their first post-season test 4-2 over Meridian Community College. Starting pitcher KK Clark threw nine strikeouts during seven innings of work, one of which being his 100th strikeout of the season.

The City of Poplarville is in for a treat Wednesday night as Pearl River faces friendly rival Mississippi Gulf Coast in the winners bracket at 6pm. Baseball fans definitely want to be at “The Dub” tomorrow night.