ELLISVILLE – The first NJCAA Division II baseball poll was released Wednesday morning.
Jones County was ranked No. 4 in the poll and went out and celebrated its ranking by blasting Pearl River 20-1 in seven innings in game one of a doubleheader here Wednesday evening at Community Bank Park.
JCJC slugged four home runs and was never headed.
The Bobcats scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Clint Sasser led off with a walk,
Shelton Wallace singled and
Mason Irby walked to load the bases.
Tanner Huddleston's sacrifice fly to center brought home Sasser.
John Alan Wall scored Wallace with a single and sent courtesy runner
Chris Richardson to third.
Wall then stole second base. The throw to second went into centerfield, allowing Richardson to score.
The Bobcats made it 6-0 in the third.
Wallace singled and Irby and Huddleston walked to load the bases.
Erick Hoard delivered a two-run single and Huddleston score on a wild pitch.
Jones put the game away in the fourth when they sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs.
Sasser singled, Wallace singled and Irby was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Huddleston then followed with a grand slam over the rightfield wall to give Jones a 10-0 lead.
Hoard then singled and Wall was hit by a pitch.
Dalton Skelton then drilled a home run over the rightfield wall to put the Bobcats up 13-0.
Jonathan Parker drew a walk and was replaced by courtesy runner
Chris Richardson. After
Fred Franklin's groundout advanced Richardson, Sasser singled to score Richardson and make it 14-0.
Jones added a run in the fifth when Irby reached on an error, Hoard singled and Skelton singled to center to score Irby.
PRCC scored in the sixth when Zac Clark singled, Jonathan Turner walked and Lucas Scott walked to load the bases. Clark would score on a passed ball.
The Bobcats scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Franklin reached on a dropped third strike, Wallace singled and Irby drove in Franklin with a sacrifice fly to left.
Huddleston singled and Hoard followed with a three-run home run to rightfield. Pinch-hitter
Tristan Labove then hit an opposite field home run to end the scoring.
Mason Strickland, 7-0, posted the win.
He went the first five innings, allowed no runs, three hits, walked one and struck out six.
Zach Taylor pitched the sixth inning, allowed an unearned run, one hit and walked one. T.J. Hollis pitched the final inning, allowed no runs, walked two and struck out three.
Hoard homered, doubled, singled twice and drove in five runs, while Huddleston homered and had five RBIs. Skelton homered, singled and drove in four runs, while Wallace had four singles. Sasser singled twice, Labove homered, while Wall and Richardson added singles.
Peyton Lee tripled and singled for PRCC, while Clark and Carter Hankins added singles.
Zachary Boone, 2-2, went the first two-plus innings and took the loss. He allowed six runs (five earned), three hits, walked four and struck out one. Justin Demary went 1 2/3 innings, allowed eight earned runs, seven hits, walked one and struck out one. Tyler Kackley pitched 2 1/3 innings and gave up six runs (five earned), six hits, walked one and struck out two.
Wednesday's game
Ellisville
Community Bank Park
Game 1
Jones County 20, Pearl River 1
Pearl River (21-16, 6-13) 000 001 0 – 1 4 3
Jones County (32-3, 15-2) 303 815 x – 20 16 0
Zachary Boone, Justin Demary (3), Tyler Kackley and Carter Hankins, John Moore (6).
Mason Strickland,
Zach Taylor (6), T.J. Hollis (7) and
Mason Irby,
Jonathan Parker (2).
WP-Strickland (7-0).
LP-Boone (2-2).
PRCC hitters: Peyton Lee 3B, 1B; Zac Clark 1B, Carter Hankins 1B.
JCJC hitters:
Erick Hoard HR, 2B, 2 1B;
Shelton Wallace 4 1B;
Dalton Skelton HR, 1B;
Clint Sasser 2 1B;
Tanner Huddleston HR;
Tristan Labove HR;
Chris Richardson 1B;
John Alan Wall 1B.
LOB: PRCC-7; JCJC-5.
T-2:21.
