Jackets take win over Jaguars

Tyson Knox picked a good time to get his first home run of the season for the Starkville Yellow Jackets.

A two-run shot by Knox in the third inning gave the Jackets a lead they didn't surrender and went on to defeat the Madison Central Jaguars 5-1 on Wednesday night.

“It's a great feeling,” Knox said about the homer.“god's got me and I'm following His plan.”

Starkville improved its overall record to 10-9 and remained undefeated in Class 7A, Region 2 at 3-0.

After the Jackets defeated Clinton twice last week and now Madison Central, it has been a good stretch of baseball for coach Mark Monaghan's team.

“I'm super proud of them,” Monaghan said. “This division is a gauntlet and there is not going to be an off week at all. To come out, be able to execute, get the good starting pitching we've had from Jonas (Coleman) and be able to get some big hits is big. Chase Russell, the Madison starter, is as good as they come. He's got a good mix of pitches and he can throw them at any count. We knew it was going to be a challenge, but it was one pitch at a time, one swing at a time and good things will happen.”

The Jaguars jumped out to a 1-0 advantage with a solo home run by Will Jackson in the second inning, but that was short lived.

Kieran Coleman had a two-out single and Knox stepped up to the plate to line his home run over the wall to put Starkville up 2-1.

The Jackets got three insurance runs in the sixth when Kieran Coleman and Knox had back-to-back singles to start the inning, then Kieran Coleman scored