ELLISVILLE – Colton Smith (Bossier City, La.) logged his third quality start in his last five outings to lead No. 7 Jones College to a 4-2 game one win before No. 3 Pearl River scored five runs in the fifth to rally for a split, 7-3, in the nightcap.
The Bobcats moved to 19-8 overall, 2-2 MACCC with back-to-back splits against NJCAA Top 3 teams. PRCC moved to 23-7, 5-1 in league play. Jones split last week with No. 1 Est Central.
Jones hosts Mississippi Delta on Saturday, March 21 at 2 o'clock.
Jones 4, Pearl River 2
Smith scattered two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts over seven innings and back-to-back homers in the third from Chase Russell (Madison Central) and Sanders Ainsworth (Madison Central) helped Jones take the opener.
Trailing 2-0 in the third, Russell's 404' homer to straight-away center tied the game before Ainsworth's team-leading eighth homer gave the Bobcats the lead, 3-2, that they'd never surrender.
Smith (7-1) didn't allow a hit after the third inning and gave way to Trevor Hodges (Watson, La.) to close it out with a two-inning save, his third of the year.
Dylan Champagne (Prairieville, La.) hit his first collegiate home run in the sixth, a solo shot to right.
Pearl River 7, Jones 3
PRCC scored seven unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth innings to rally from a 3-0 deficit and earn a Tuesday split.
Kelan Guidry (Baton Rouge, La.) hit his first collegiate home run in the third to open the scoring, Champagne later followed with an RBI-double and Gage Reeves (George County) a sac fly to make it 3-0 Bobcats.
But a Nico Williams two-run homer got PRCC within 3-2 in the fourth and they'd tack on five in the fifth -- all with two outs -- to go ahead for good. A throwing error, two wild pitches and three walks in the frame aided the Wildcats.
Jones was held to a single the final three innings.
Brayson Graham (Wayne County) allowed just two hits with six strikeouts in 4.1 but walked three and allowed five runs. He took the loss and is now 2-2. Caden Freeman (Marshall Academy) tossed two scoreless in relief.
Ainsworth and Champagne had two hits apiece for Jones, who out-hit PRCC 6-5.
