MAIS 6A Championship: Jackson Prep explodes for 14 runs in run-rule win over MRA in series opener
FLOWOOD — Jackson Prep senior Will Gibbs doesn’t need much run support. On Tuesday night, he got plenty.
Jackson Prep scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning springboarding the Patriots to a 14-3, 10-run rule win in five innings over rival Madison-Ridgeland Academy in Game 1 of the MAIS Class 6A State Championship series at Patriot Field.
Game 2 of the series is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday night at MRA. If necessary, Game 3 will be back at Jackson Prep at 6 p.m. Thursday night.
“Really big first inning for us," Jackson Prep coach Brent Heavener said. "We wanted to come out and find good pitches to hit, and when you send 14 batters to the plate, you know you're going to score a lot of runs."
MRA took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a RBI check-swing single to center by Peyton Martin.
It was all Prep after that.
Prep sent 14 batters to the dish in the bottom of the inning, pounded out nine hits.
Prep scored their first three runs off a throwing error, but the highlights of the inning were a two-run single by Matthew Cochran, a two-run double by Cy Craig and a two-run home run to left center by Louisiana Tech signee Eli Berch.
Trey Bridges added a sacrifice fly in the third to give Prep a 12-1 lead and the Patriots scored their final two runs in the fourth on a two-run infield single by Owen Abney.
Duncan Matthews, Berch, Craig and Rives Reynolds all had two hits to lead Jackson Prep (30-6) offensively.
“These guys are hungry and want to win another state championship and they set the tone early tonight,” Heavener said. “We’re chasing history to try to win five in a row and we will refocus and get ready for tomorrow.”
Gibbs (8-2), a Mississippi State signee, tossed a five-inning complete game, scattering four hits, three runs, walked two and had 11 strikeouts.
Those 11 strikeouts gave Gibbs 122 strikeouts on the season, breaking a Jackson Prep single-season school record for strikeouts that was set back in 2015 by Noah Hughes (112).
“When you get 11 runs it makes my job as a pitcher a lot easier," Gibbs said. "I wasn’t really worried about the record, but it’s a big accomplishment. I thought I pitched pretty well with the slider working really well and fast ball and keeping them off balanced. With the offense giving me the support they did is big for the first win in the series. We feel really good about tomorrow.”
Jackson Evers (8-3) took the loss on the mound for MRA. The Patriots (35-5) got a two-run double by Connor Stewart in the fifth to cut the Prep lead to 14-3.
“We didn’t play well and we had that one bad inning," MRA coach Allen Pavatte said. "That’s baseball and they did a good job of capitalizing on our mistakes. Everything went their way tonight and we didn’t have an answer. We’re still alive and still playing, so we just have to bounce back at home tomorrow.”
