Following a successful 2023 regular season, the Bears now shift their focus to the postseason and a chance to make some more noise. First up is a best-of-three Region 23 road play-in series beginning Thursday at No. 3 Pearl River.
 
"We are feeling good and glad that we got in," Southwest head coach Jack Edmonson said. "We are feeling really excited. I am proud of our guys, proud of our program. Just being back in the playoffs is a step in the right direction and one that we hope to see happen every year from now on."
 
Edmonson said that even though he wants his team to carry over momentum built from the regular season, the Bears will also be wiping the slate clean and starting a new season.
 
"Everybody that goes to the playoffs, that is what you do, it is a new season," he said. "We've got to win two games to move on. We are just like everyone else, we hope we can win the first two. If it takes us until Saturday to do so, we'll take it. But we are hoping to go and do our best to win the first two games."
 
For the Bears, this series marks their second trip to Poplarville. Earlier in the year, they fell to the Wildcats 9-5 in exhibition play. Edmonson said that he was proud of the effort his team put forth in the game.
 
"I feel confident and we feel prepared to go play them," Edmonson said. "We played a really tight game with them and beat them for five and a half innings at their place earlier in the year. So we feel confident about going there and playing there and we know that we have a chance to beat them. They are the defending National Champions and we know that and that's ok. We are excited about the opportunity to go and compete with them. It is not everyday that you get to go and play the National Champions and we are excited about that opportunity."
 
The Bears wrapped their regular season on April 25 against East Central and have used the time since then to not only prep for the playoffs but also to rest some players and get them ready.
 
"We have been able to get some guys healthy for us and get some guys some rest," Edmonson said. "I think that is going to be huge for us, moving into Thursday."
 
Two of the pitchers who have taken advantage of the time to rest are freshmen Luke Lirette and Brycen Smith. They along with sophomore Justin Thomas have logged at least 40 innings pitched this year. Lirette leads the team in strikeouts with 53 while Smith has 38.  
 
On the offensive side, sophomore Braiden Jones leads the Bears in several categories including hits (57), home runs (10), RBIs (46) and runs scored (51). He along with Hunter Harrell (54 hits), Connor McHenry (46 hits) and Jerod Williams (43 hits) provide sophomore leadership for the Bears. Both Jones and Harrell have also shined on the mound for the Bears and can be called upon if needed.
 
In addition, some freshman have also made their marks on offense. Marcus Jackson leads the team in doubles with 14 while Tyler Otts is third on the team in RBIs with 27.
 
"We've been scoring runs and if we continue to do that, continue to have good approaches, we are going to continue to be tough to pitch to and we are going to get on base and when we get on base, we are going to be able to score," Edmonson said. 
 
Edmonson believes that many on the team, who came from winning programs in high school, understand the mentality needed in order to compete in the playoffs.
 
"A lot of the people on our team come from winning programs so they have gone through the playoffs before," he said. "And one thing that is a struggled to fight with in junior college is that school is winding down and a lot of team have to fight the mentality of school winding down but we have to keep our foot on the gas with the baseball side of it. That's been good with this group, they've been anxious to practice, anxious to play, they've had tons of energy. The test is keeping everyone on that path for the rest of the year."  

The Wildcats boast an experienced team led on offense by Alex Perry (.364 AVG) and on the mound by Cooper Cooksey (1.37 ERA).
 
First pitch for Game 1 is set for 4 p.m. Thursday with Game 2 at the same time on Friday. If necessary, Game 3 is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
Tickets can be purchases at prccathletics.com/tickets. Fans are encouraged to purchase tickets ahead of time. Tickets for the first two games are on sale now and if a Game 3 is necessary, tickets will go on sale Saturday at 8 a.m.