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May 08, 2009
Jaguars rally past Golden Wave
Rod Walker • rwalker@clarionledger.com • May 8, 2009
MADISON - For three innings Thursday, it seemed as if someone (specifically Tupelo Dandy Dozen pitcher Lex Rutledge) finally had cooled off red-hot Madison Central. But the Jaguars, undefeated in the playoffs, woke up and continued their winning ways. Trailing by five runs in the fourth inning, Madison stormed back to claim an 8-5 victory in Game 1 of the Class 5A semifinals before an estimated 1,200. "We had every reason to quit but we didn't," said MC coach Gregg Perry, whose team has won its five playoff games by a score of 53-11. The No. 2-ranked Jaguars (24-5) look to close out the No. 5 Golden Wave (24-7) today at 6 p.m. in Tupelo. Game 3, if necessary, will be Saturday at 6 p.m. in Madison. The left-handed Rutledge, a Samford signee, no-hit the Jaguars and had six strikeouts through 4 1/3 innings as Tupelo built what seemed like a commanding 5-0 lead. "We had been saying the whole game that if we could just hit one and get us rolling, we'd be all right," said Perry. Brayden Jones delivered, igniting MC by blasting a fourth-inning solo homer over the right-field wall for the Jags' first hit of the game. And it was all MC after that. Rutledge walked three batters in the inning and was replaced by Kyle Graham (3-1), who also walked in a run and took the loss. "I really don't have a clear explanation of how or why the wheels fell off there in the fourth inning, but they just did and we'll have to deal with it," said Tupelo coach Gary Enis, whose team was 5A runner-up in 2008. "Those four consecutive walks killed us. We outhit them 8-4. You would think five runs would be enough but it wasn't today." Alex Collum then hit a three-run double that gave Madison its first lead of the game. "My first two at-bats were pretty bad so I felt like I had to redeem myself," said Collum. "A lot of people have a lot of heart on this team and we know the way we hit, we can come back anytime." Junior right fielder Ryan Bolden added a two-run homer, his second of the year, in the fifth to cushion the lead. "Ryan is platooning for us, but when he gets his chance to play, he shines," said Perry. Jones (8-2) earned the win for Madison despite hitting five batters in the game. Junior L.J. Hollins, a standout receiver in football, came in and relieved Jones in the sixth and closed the door to earn his fourth save. The sidearmer entered the game with runners on first and second, but struck out the side in the sixth and then retired all three batters in the seventh. MC is expected to pitch Matt Peters today, while Tupelo will counter with Dandy Dozen pitcher Chris Stratton, a Mississippi State signee.
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