Clinton, Miss. - Caleb Goff quickly knocked off any rust that he may have acquired and pitched a gem for Northeast Mississippi Community College on Saturday.
Goff tossed four innings of two-hit baseball for the Tigers in an 8-1 victory against Pearl River Community College in the opening game of a doubleheader played on the campus of Clinton High School.
The 5-11, 173 pounder from Hernando had not seen action for Northeast since a relief stint at Arkansas Baptist College on March 18, but the lengthy break between appearances did not faze Goff.
He struck out two and allowed zero runs in the inaugural start of his collegiate career. The win was also the first for the southpaw in a Tiger uniform.
Northeast gave Goff (1-0) plenty of run support early in the matchup. Three straight men reached base by either a walk or hit by pitch to begin the contest.
The Tigers took advantage of the free passes with a sacrifice fly by Trent Turner and Ben Foster's RBI single that put Northeast ahead 2-0 after one inning.
Luke Stanley led off the second with a base knock and came home two batters later on Heath Wood's single up the middle to make the score 3-0 in favor of the Tigers.
Josh Peterson then smashed a huge double that plated Easton Hall and Wood to extend Northeast's advantage to 5-0 at the end of two frames.
The Tigers (19-15) added lone runs in the third and fourth innings, respectively, on a RBI fielder's choice by Stanley and Foster's sacrifice fly to boost their lead to 7-0.
Pearl River scratched a run across on a RBI single by Jalen Haskin in the sixth, but Northeast answered in the bottom half with Turner's team leading fifth homer of the season. The solo shot accounted for the final score of the game.
The trio of Townsend Myers, Cody Bo Dillard and Blake Drabik hurled the last three frames and gave up only one unearned run to preserve the victory for the Tigers.
Trevor Bennett (1-2) started and took the loss for the Wildcats after allowing five earned runs on five hits and three walks in three innings.
Pearl River, who was the designated home squad in the nightcap, took a 1-0 lead in the opener after two frames, but Northeast responded with a five-run top of the third.
Jack Hurdle got the big inning underway with a RBI single that plated Riley Alef to temporarily tie the contest at 1-1.
Scott Pala and Turner began a two-out rally moments later with back-to-back RBI hits that gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead.
Peterson then crushed the initial home run of his collegiate career. The two-run blast from the Arvada, Colo., native brought Turner in and put Northeast up 5-1.
However, the Wildcats (20-18) responded with 12 unanswered runs over their next three at bats to put the matchup out of reach for the Tigers.
Alef cut Northeast's deficit to 13-6 in the sixth with his second double of the afternoon that plated Jordan Montgomery. The New Albany native now leads the Tigers with five doubles so far this year.
But Pearl River added three more runs in the latter half of the frame to invoke the run-rule and claim a 16-6 win over Northeast to split the neutral site series.
Tanner Whitaker got the call for his first start in a Tiger uniform. The right-hander out of Tishomingo County High School lasted 2.2 innings with three runs conceded on three hits and four strikeouts.
Mason Maxey (0-2) took the decision after facing three Wildcats hitters and granting one earned run.
Trey Grice (1-0) was the winner for Pearl River in relief. He worked the last 3.1 frames and gave up one run on three hits with three strikeouts.
Peterson paced Northeast in its final scheduled non-conference doubleheader of the 2014 campaign with four RBIs. Turner topped the Tigers with three base knocks.
Northeast returns to Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division action on Thursday, April 17 at Holmes Community College. First pitch for game one is slated for 1 p.m. in Goodman.