Jones College edges Pearl River 2-1 to reach regional final

POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Jones College secured a spot in the Poplarville Regional championship game after a 2-1 victory over top-ranked Pearl River on Wednesday at Dub Herring Park. The Bobcats (37-16) scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning and relied on dominant pitching to hold off the Wildcats (45-10).

Jones’s starting pitcher, Brayson Graham, pitched six shutout innings, scattering two hits while striking out seven and walking five. He navigated multiple jams, including bases-loaded situations in the second and sixth innings. Trevor Hodges earned the win in relief, allowing one run over three innings and improving to 9-1.

The game was dominated by pitching and defense, with neither team scoring through the first six innings. Pearl River’s Cal Culpepper struck out five over five scoreless frames before being relieved by JP Abt. The Bobcats finally broke through in the seventh, taking a 1-0 lead on Chase Russell’s two-out single that scored Brayden Quick, who had been hit by a pitch and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt.

Jackson Estes answered in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run for Pearl River, tying the game at 1-1. The decisive ninth inning saw Quick open with a single, pinch-runner Brady Smith advance on a sacrifice bunt, and Eli Wheat deliver a single to put Jones ahead. Hutchinson then dropped a bunt single, allowing Smith to score the winning run. Hodges retired the Wildcats in order to end the game.

Jones collected eight hits, with Talan Theriot and Wheat each contributing two. Hutchinson and Russell drove in the Bobcats’ runs. Pearl River stranded 10 runners, including multiple opportunities in the early innings against Graham. The Bobcats will face the winner of the Pearl River/Copiah-Lincoln game Thursday at 2 p.m., with the regional final scheduled for 6 p.m. and the Bobcats needing to be beaten twice to be eliminated.

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