[03/14/02]Porters Chapel players and coaches spent Tuesday mopping up rain water on their field.

On Wednesday, the Eagles spent the afternoon mopping up Greenville Christian (4-4).

Ryan Hoben threw a five-inning complete game and PCA (5-3) battered four pitchers for 11 hits in a 16-1 win over the Academy-AAA team.

“I hope this was the lightswitch,” said PCA coach Randy Wright, whose team has been struggling with inconsistency. “We beat a really good team. Greenville Christian … will make the playoffs.”

Hoben gave up an unearned run in the top of the first, then allowed only one hit over the next four innings. He struck out six and threw only 52 pitches.

“I threw strikes and any time someone hit it, my defense was there,” said Hoben, who singled and scored in the Eagles’ eight-run first.

Gerald Mims had a single, double and three RBIs to pace PCA’s offense. Aaron Curry had a pair of hits and two RBIs, while Josh Rush had a single, double and scored three runs and Humphrey Barlow had a two-RBI single in the first. T.J. Smith had a double and three RBIs.

“We’re not hitting the ball well and they hit it really well,” Greenville Christian coach Ted Thornton said. “We have to play ourselves into position to win. We kind of quit after the eight runs in the first and that was the ballgame.”

Greenville took a 1-0 lead, but PCA sent 13 to the plate in the bottom of the inning for an 8-1 lead. Barlow’s two-RBI single and Smith’s two-RBI double highlighted the first, in which eight of the first nine batters scored.

“I’m dad-gum glad to see the hitting come today because we haven’t seen it yet this year,” Wright said. “It’s a very welcome sight.”

Mims’ RBI single in the second upped the lead to 9-1 and the Eagles scored six more in the third for a 15-1 lead. Rush and Smith each had RBIs in the third after being hit by back-to-back pitches. Mims had an RBI on a walk, Curry had an RBI single and Andrew Embry drove in two with a single. PCA sent 11 to the plate in the third.

The Eagles’ game against Canton in the final round of the PCA Tournament scheduled for today was canceled. PCA will play Saturday against Humphreys Academy at 2 p.m. and Central Holmes at 4:30, both at Greenville Christian.