PRCC hosting Region XXIII Tournament next week

For the first time in eight years, the Pearl River baseball team is hosting the Region XXIII tournament for the right to go to the NJCAA World Series.

The Wildcats check in as the number one seed in next week’s six-team field, followed by two seed Meridian, three seed LSU Eunice, four seed East Central, five seed Itawamba, all of which are ranked nationally in the top 20 and then PRCC’s first round opponent six Hinds.

But here’s the thing, only one of those schools can punch a ticket to the World Series by winning the Region XXIII crown.

The MACCC champion Wildcats come in riding a nine-game winning streak with an overall record of 34-7 and just one loss at the Dub all season long.

If they can keep their winning ways going just a little bit longer, they might just become the first ever PRCC baseball team to go back-to-back if the pride of West Harrison has anything to say about it. PRCC Head Baseball Coach Michael Avalon said, “It’s the ultimate goal at our level is to make it to the World Series. And so, it’s what we talk about every day since the first day of practice in the fall. That’s been our goal. That’s been our mission. And I thought Taylor Woodcock put it really well the other day for our team when we won a conference championship. This is just a check point on our mission. And so, as a coach, I was excited to hear that, that these guys don’t seem satisfied with just winning the conference championship, even though that’s a huge accomplishment. We get to host a regional for the first time in I think eight years now at Pearl River. And so – but to hear him put it that way and say hey, this is just one part of it.”

Next week’s tournament is double-elimination as the Wildcats aim to be one of the 10 heading to Enid, Oklahoma.

First pitch between PRCC and Hinds is 7 p.m. Monday.