ELLISVILLE – In front of one of the best crowds of the year at Community Bank Park on Good Friday, third-ranked Jones College swept a pair from Coahoma to keep pace in the MACCC.
Jones improved to 28-9 overall, 11-3 in the MACCC and is currently just a game back of first.
The Bobcats remained unbeaten (27-0) against the Tigers since at least 2010.
Up next is a road doubleheader at Copiah-Lincoln on Wednesday, April 8, the first of three straight away from home.
Jones 11, Coahoma 4
Jones erupted for six runs in the second inning and never looked back, powering past Coahoma in the opener.
After a leadoff run scored on an RBI-single from
Dakota Smith,
Chase Russell delivered the biggest swing of the frame—a three-run homer to right-center. Two batters later,
Dylan Champagne launched a two-run shot to cap a six-run inning that put the Bobcats comfortably ahead 6-0.
That early cushion was more than enough for Russell on the mound. The right-hander also starred at the plate, finishing 2-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs while earning the win. He worked six innings, allowing three runs on four hits with two strikeouts.
Jones continued to pile on with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Sanders Ainsworth drove in a run with a single in the fourth, and
Gage Reeves tripled and later scored on an error in the fifth to extend the lead to 8-2.
Coahoma (9-24, 2-13 MACCC) showed some life in the middle innings.
Colyn West delivered a two-run double in the fifth to get the Tigers on the board, and James Washington III added an RBI single in the sixth. West finished with three RBIs, accounting for most of Coahoma's offense.
Jones answered immediately in the bottom of the sixth when Russell struck again with his second two-run homer of the game, pushing the lead to 10-3. An RBI-single from
Brady Smith in the seventh added insurance.
Coahoma scratched across a final run in the ninth to make it 11-4 on a sacrifice fly from West.
The Bobcats totaled 14 hits on the afternoon, with Ainsworth going 3-for-4 and Smith and
Kelan Guidry adding two hits each to the balanced attack.
Jones 1, Coahoma 0
Behind a dominant outing on the mound from
Drew Lambert, Jones completed the doubleheader sweep.
In stark contrast to the offensive explosion in game one, the nightcap turned into a pitchers' duel—one controlled almost entirely by Lambert.
Lambert was superb, tossing a complete-game four-hitter in a career-best seven innings. The right-hander kept Coahoma off balance all game, allowing just four hits while striking out three and working around three walks to secure his third win of the season.
The game's only run came in the third inning. After Guidry reached and moved into scoring position, Champagne delivered an RBI-single through the right side to give Jones a 1-0 lead.
That was all the support Lambert would need.
Coahoma threatened at times, getting multiple baserunners in a few innings, including a two-hit effort from Trey Williams. But Lambert stranded six runners and never allowed a runner to advance past second base in the late innings.
Coahoma starter Tanner Bridgewater was solid in defeat, allowing just one run on seven hits over six innings.
Russell was 0-for-3 in the finale at the plate, ending his reached base streak at 67 games.
