The Pearl River Community College baseball squad, which features five players hailing from Marion County, claimed a state title May 6 and a No. 2 seed in the Region 23 Tournament.
Columbia High School’s Bryson Medious and Scooter Ginn, Columbia Academy’s Wiley Cleland and Cam Havard and West Marion’s Colby White all played a role in helping the Wildcats capture the crown.
“It was my first state championship, most of the guys on the team it was their first state championship and I think it was our coach’s first state championship,” Medious said. “It was pretty exciting.”
Cleland, who was a major part of CA raising the MAIS AAA State Championship banner in 2017, said it was a similar feeling doing it at the collegiate level.
“Any time you’re able to be a part of a team that wins a championship or competes for a championship, it’s very special knowing all the hard work you put into it and getting to see it come into reality and pay off at the end,” he said.
The Wildcats lost their opening-round game to Mississippi Gulf Coast 16-6 Wednesday but came from behind in an elimination game to beat Hinds Community College 8-4 Thursday. They will play either LSU-Eunice or Itawamba Friday.
Medious, a redshirt-sophomore outfielder who will continue his baseball career next season at William Carey, said the Wildcats coaching staff deserves a lot of credit.
“The whole coaching staff has been with us and working with us through the whole season,” he said. “That’s what got me to where I’m at now. Our hitting coach, coach (Rhyne) Hughes, worked with me a lot in the batting cage, and I believed in him and everything started happening great.”
Medious improved his offensive numbers across the board this season, rising from a .298 hitter with one homer, 22 RBI and seven steals to a .329 hitter with eight home runs, 38 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
Cleland has had to make adjustments throughout his freshman season, moving from shortstop in high school to splitting time at third base and right field.
“Playing outfield was a little different. I had never played outfield before, but I made the transition pretty good,” he said. “It’s different than playing middle infield.”
He got off to a slow start at the plate, but Cleland has provided much more thunder in his bat the past two months and was batting .231 with 11 extra-base hits (two homers), 28 RBI and five stolen bases heading into the tournament.
“I’ve just settled in a little better and got the hang of it. I feel a lot more comfortable now than I did at the beginning of the year. I had a rough start at the beginning, but being on a team like this you don’t really think about it,” he said. “Any time you get a chance to win a championship you’re not thinking about individual stats.”
White, who signed with Mississippi State prior to his sophomore season, was originally tabbed to move from the closer’s role to the starting rotation this season but found his way back to the bullpen to save eight games and compile a 5-2 record with 50 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings.
Ginn transferred into PRCC from Southwest Community College and has been a stabilizer at the keystone position for the Wildcats. The sophomore second baseman has played great defense to go along with a .257 average and 16 RBI.
Havard has been sporadically used during his freshman campaign with just five appearances.
The Wildcats aren’t the only team in the tournament with a standout from Marion County, though. Meridian Community College made a big jump from last season to this year, improving from 23-21 to 36-12 with sophomore reliever and Columbia High School graduate Logan McDowell playing a large role in the turnaround.
“The biggest difference has been the confidence and knowing we can win,” McDowell said. “If we play up to our potential, there’s really no (team) that can beat us. The only people who have really beat us this year has been ourselves.”
The Eagles earned the 3-seed in the tournament but lost their opening-round game to Itawamba 4-3 Wednesday evening. The Eagles tournament fate was decided post-deadline in a matchup with Mississippi Gulf Coast.
McDowell led the Eagles in ERA, strikeouts and appearances as a freshman and has followed with an equally impressive sophomore campaign this season that showed why he is heading to the Division I level next year at Louisiana-Monroe. The sidewinder has struck out 48 batters in 40 2/3 innings with a 4.43 ERA in a team-leading 21 appearances and has focused on sharpening his pitches this season.
“It’s come along pretty good. I had an outing the other day where my fastball got up a little higher, and I hit 87 (miles per hour) a few times,” McDowell said. “It was good to see a little bit of improvement. The year as a whole, I haven’t had the year I wanted to, but we’ve been winning so I’m really not worried about it.”
McDowell signed with the Warhawks prior to the season and said it was a reprieve but one that came with added expectation.
“It makes you one of ‘the’ guys so you have to pull your weight. That’s really the mindset I’ve had. It’s been a big relief, but you’re expected to do your job more than when you’re not already committed.”
Between the end of the season and toeing the rubber next season in Monroe, McDowell said he will focus on strengthening his entire body while resting his arm.
