Following six weeks of workouts and several exhibition games this fall, Pearl River Community College head baseball coach Jamie McMahon says Wildcat fans have something exciting to look forward to next spring.

“Overall, we have a lot of guys coming back, especially in our infield,” said McMahon. “That’s going to help us experience wise. We will be young on the pitching mound, but we have some good arms.”

The Wildcats were 38-12 last spring, missing the MACJC state playoffs by one game.

“The biggest thing that hurt us last year were injuries,” said McMahon. Indeed, pitchers P.J. Treadway of Picayune and Kyle Lindsey of Purvis both were hurt. Treadway has moved on to Southeastern Louisiana. Lindsey, who injured the middle finger on his pitching hand, returns as the pitching ace for the Wildcats.

“The biggest thing we tried to accomplish this fall was teaching the younger guys our system,” said McMahon. “We worked on little things, like base running.”

Offensively, McMahon expects the Wildcats to be more potent than a year ago. One reason will be the addition of Florida State transfer Kyle Maxie, an all-star catcher who prepped at North Forrest. He will join the team at the semester break.

“Offense will be a strong suit for us,” said McMahon. “We will have some 3-hole hitters from the second through the seventh spots in our lineup. We hit .310 as a team last year, but we did not have much power. I think that will change this year. I think we will have the best lineup we have ever had at Pearl River.”

Success on the diamond starts with the pitching corps. Besides Lindsey, McMahon will be counting on Chris Hartfield, Brennen Hodge, Kelly Ray, Tyler Watkins, Ryan Hebert, Wayne Smith, Heath Stevens and Seth Edwards.

Smith, the red-shirt freshman lefthander from Oak Grove, had elbow surgery last year and is recovering from a shoulder injury this fall. He may be the team’s closer. Stevens, sophomore from Picayune, had shoulder surgery over the summer, but could be ready to pitch by March.

“We have got some good arms,” said McMahon. “They are not dominant arms, but enough good ones that we can use any one of them at any time.”

Maxie and Grenada sophomore Johnny Allen will handle the catching chores. Sophomores Daniel Lawrence of Petal and Adrian Bowens of Lumberton are working at first base. Sophomore Jeremy Greene of Purvis, who hit .390 last spring, returns at second base. Freshman Reggie Lee of Hattiesburg will play at shortstop, along with Stephens, who hit .370 last spring. Brock White of Columbia and Edwards, a Picayune freshman, are working at third base.

Sophomore Zac Tisdale of Petal played some infield last season but faces shoulder surgery later this fall.

The list of outfielders includes freshman Nick Smith of Purvis, who led the team in hitting this fall, Lindsey, Hattiesburg sophomore Jermaine Jackson, Purvis sophomore Hunter Dunaway, and Picayune sophomore Hoyt Hughes.

McMahon also expects Hattiesburg freshman Josh Wiley, a member of the PRCC football team, to make contributions in the spring.

The Wildcats finished 4-2 in exhibition games this fall.