Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
For the second season in a row, the Madison County High School (MCHS) varsity baseball team is headed to Ft. Myers for the Class 1A State Final Four. The Cowboys punched their ticket to the big dance with another dramatic victory in extra-innings. This time it was against a very familiar foe, the Hornets of Lafayette High School, in a rematch of the district championship game.
After a scoreless first inning, the Hornets went on top with one run in the top of the second inning. Then, in the bottom of the second, Jae Mitchell responded in a big way with a solo home run that sailed over the left field wall. The score was tied at one run apiece for the remainder of regulation. Just as the week before, the Cowboys found themselves heading into extra innings. Again, in a manner very reminiscent of the Cowboys' Regional Semi-final game with Williston, Dustin Bass stepped up to the plate. In a slight twist, this time it was Dustin's twin brother Dylan Bass at second base. Then, Dustin hit a walk-off single that brought Dylan home for the winning score. With the 2-1 victory, the Cowboys solidified their place as back-to-back Region Champs and set them up for a rematch of last season's state championship game against Trenton High School.
Jae Mitchell hit his second home run of the season to score the Cowboys' first run of the evening against the Hornets of Lafayette High School.
Dustin Bass went one-for-four at the plate with one RBI. Jae Mitchell had one hit, a home run, accounting for one RBI. DT Thompkins and Dilan Lawson also had base hits for the Cowboys.
Dilan Lawson turned in another great performance on the mound for the Cowboys.
On the mound, Lawson turned in another great performance. During his seven innings, Lawson gave up six hits, no earned runs, two walks and chalked up 10 strike-outs. Drew Herring came in to relieve in the eighth inning, walking one batter and striking out one.
Dylan Bass slides home to score the winning run for the Cowboys on Thursday, May 17.
The Cowboys will now travel to Ft. Myers for the State Semi-final game against the Tigers of Trenton High School. The game is scheduled for Friday, May 25 at 10 a.m. The game will be played at Hammond Stadium in the CenturyLink Sports Complex, in Ft. Myers. For more information on the game and the webcast, visit www.fhsaa.org/sports/baseball.