Poplarville is officially Title Town for JUCO baseball and softball with Pearl River Community College claiming the national championship in both sports this year. After the Wildcats secured the program’s first softball title five days ago, the baseball team added to the trophy case with its second championship in four years.
Pearl River left fielder Ethan Gardner sealed Saturday’s big win in dramatic fashion with a walk-off RBI single that scored Madison native Jackson Estes in the bottom of the 11th. Gardner’s hit was quite timely, as it was not only his first of the game but also the most consequential in the 4-3 victory over South Mountain.
“My mother-in-law sent me something about David and Goliath this morning,” Pearl River head coach Michael Avalon said after the game. “God gave him five stones, and he only used one. We had 35 stones we could have used, and we only used 15 or 16 of them, but we were strong because of every young man on this team. They believed in the stone we were throwing at the time.”
The Wildcats (50-11) found themselves trailing early in the matchup, with the Cougars (52-18) hitting a pair of RBI singles to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Pearl River bounced back with an Estes solo shot in the bottom of the fifth, followed by a passed ball that scored Jackson Bedoe in the bottom of the sixth, knotting things up 2-2.
Avalon’s club added another run to the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth to take its first lead of the contest, but a bases-loaded walk in the top of the ninth proceeded by a fruitless bottom of the frame sent the game to extras. After a scoreless 10th inning, Gardner called game with the biggest hit of the season.
Estes had the hottest bat of the night with two hits and a home run. Beddoe joined him with two hits. On the mound, Collin Jenkins (7-0) was credited with the win after holding the Cougars scoreless in the top of the 11th. Landon Watts, who took over for Madison native Drew Harrison in the fifth inning, notably had nine strikeouts while allowing just one run on three hits in six innings.
“I’m so thankful for this group, and I love them. I love this place. The fans are unbelievable. The guys never quit,” Avalon said. “We’re national champions, and that is so hard to do. Seeing this on their faces is worth every bit of it. Before they won, they were already champions.”
Pearl River ends the 2026 season as the top dog in the NJCAA Division II scene and will look to run it back again next year.