Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Madison County Central School (MCCS) Broncos baseball team started their season with a double header on Monday, Feb. 13 against Wakulla Middle School. In the first game Wakulla built a sizable lead early, scoring three runs in the second inning and seven in the third. The Broncos managed to cut into the Wakulla lead with a three run third inning and added two more runs in the fourth, but were unable to score any more. The final score was 11-5. The Broncos did get a total of 10 hits during the game. Jahyren Lee, Blaydon Plain, and Zarion Preaster each had two hits to lead the Broncos' bats.
The Madison County Central School Broncos are ready to take on another baseball season. Pictured on the front row, from left to right, are: Jackson Kendrick, James Bryan, Mitch Rutherford, and Ethan Bochnia. On the back row, from left to right, are: Head Coach Dustin Rucker, Zarion Preaster, Blaydon Plain, Brandon Martinez, Roderick Williams, Jahryen Lee, and Coach Mike Ragans.
In the second game of the double header on Feb. 13, the Broncos made it a closer game, but still fell with a final score of 7-3. Wakulla took an early lead, scoring two runs in their first inning. The Broncos responded when Roderick Williams hit a triple on a 1-2 pitch count to drive in two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Wakulla had a four run second inning to take the lead for good. The Broncos did score one more run in the bottom of the third inning. Williams, Plain, and Rhett Rutherford, all had hits for the Broncos.
On Thursday, Feb. 16, the Broncos went on the road to Jasper to take on Hamilton Middle School. Ten errors and a total of nine base runners left stranded proved to be costly as the Broncos dropped their third game of the season with a 10-3 final score. After both teams went scoreless in the first two innings, Hamilton went ahead in the third, scoring three runs. The Broncos got on the scoreboard with a two run fourth inning and added another run in the fifth inning, but were unable to keep up with Hamilton. Williams had one RBI (Run Batted In) on one hit for the Broncos. Rutherford had two hits on four at-bats. Plain and Kyler Richie each had one hit for the Broncos.
On Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Broncos got into the win column in a big way with a 13-3 victory over the Panthers of Madison Creative Arts Academy. It was a close game with the score at 4-3 in favor of the Broncos going into the fifth inning. That's when the Broncos exploded, scoring nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Broncos galloped up and down the base lines all afternoon, stealing 11 bases. The Broncos also had 11 hits for the afternoon. Lee led the Broncos with four hits on four at-bats and one RBI. Preaster, Plain, and Rutherford also had multiple hits for the Broncos.