Will Gibbs pitches No. 2 Jackson Prep past No. 4 Madison-Ridgeland Academy
FLOWOOD — Will Gibbs was determined get a win for No. 2 Jackson Prep Tuesday night against cross-town rival No. 4 MRA.
Behind the pitching of the Mississippi State signee and with a few timely hits, fourth-ranked Jackson Prep held on to beat second-ranked Madison-Ridgeland Academy 3-1 in the all-Patriot MAIS District 1-6A opener at Patriot Field on Tuesday night.
Jackson Prep (16-3, 1-0) and MRA (20-2, 0-1) will meet again on Friday in a doubleheader beginning at 4:30 p.m.
“Really proud of the way Will settled in and pitched well," Jackson Prep coach Brent Heavener said. "We went out there to take him out, and he said he wanted the game, so we let him have it. Jackson pitched well for them as well, and that was expected out of two aces. This is big for us to start 1-0 in conference. ”
MRA scored their only run in the top of the second inning as John Witt Snopek singled to center that allowed Stone Blanton to score to give the Patriots a 1-0.
Jackson Prep responded with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, as Louisiana Tech signee Eli Berch had a RBI single to center to tie the game 1-1, and Owen Ishee drew a bases loaded walk with one to give the Patriots a 2-1 lead.
“Everything is sparked by a big hit. Duncan had the double to leadoff and Eli followed with a single to score him and that’s what we expect out of those guys,” Heavener said. “We found ways and we played really good defense and got ourselves out of jams.”
Prep tacked on the third and final run in the sixth, as Trey Bridges scored on a throwing error. Bridges had three hits (all singles) to lead the Patriot offense.
Gibbs (3-1) tossed a complete game, and scattered seven hits, walked three with nine strikeouts.
“I just wanted to attack the hitters in the strike zone. Struggled early on, but once I settled down, I was able to use my slider to keep them off balance,” Gibbs said. “Defense played really well behind me, we manufactured runs and fortunate to come out with the win.”
Ole Miss commit Jackson Evers (3-2) took the loss on the mound for MRA. Snopek had two hits for the Patriots.
“We hit the ball well tonight, but it was just at somebody,” said MRA coach Allen Pavatte. “Give credit to Prep, they found a way to win and we didn’t”.
