Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
On Monday, May 1, the Madison County High School (MCHS) Cowboys opened the Class 1A District Five baseball tournament with a big win over the Tigers of Jefferson County High School. The Cowboy bats turned a total of 12 hits into 21 runs as the Cowboys chalked up a 21-0 win over the Tigers. The Cowboys opened the game with an 11-run first inning before adding 10 more runs before the game went to the minimum of five innings before the game was called.
Jackson Kendrick led the Cowboys in the batter's box with three hits in four at-bats, with three RBIs and a solo home run. Kyler Richie went one-for-two at the plate, with one RBI. Josh Watts had one hit in his two at-bats, with two RBIs. Parker Copeland went one-for-one at the dish, with two RBIs. Jason McDaniel had one hit for his two trips to the batter's box, with one RBI. Tyler Glavich went two-for-three at the plate, with five RBIs.
Sophomore Will Latner went the distance on the mound for the Cowboys, throwing a no-hitter with three walks and striking out 11 of the 19 batters he faced.
With their opening round win, the Cowboys moved on to face the Bulldogs of Liberty County High School on Tuesday, May 2.Â
It was a different story when the Cowboys faced the Bulldogs of Liberty County in the district semi-final game. The Cowboys had difficulty mounting much offensive firepower from their bats and were defeated, 4-1. The game was scoreless through three innings, then the Bulldogs put up three runs in the top half of the fourth inning. The Cowboys were able to cut into the Bulldogs' lead with one run in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the top of the seventh and held the Cowboys scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
The Cowboys managed four hits during the game with Watts and Mason Plain each having two hits apiece. Both Watts and Plain went two-for-three at the plate, with Watts scoring the only run for the Cowboys.
Copeland went the distance on the mound for the Cowboys, yielding seven hits, four earned runs and four walks, while striking out four batters.
Despite the loss, the Cowboys managed to make it into the state playoff tournament. The Cowboys are set to face the Tigers of Union County High School in the Class 1A Region Three Semi-final, on Wednesday, May 10, in Lake Butler, Fla. The first pitch is set for 7 p.m.