After an early morning of field preparation the Generals (9-4) split Sunday’s doubleheader with McHenry County College of Illinois and follow it up with a Monday sweep of Schoolcraft Community College in another doubleheader.
Sunday February 25th
Alan Rickman was the starting pitcher. He came in with a 4.09 ERA after 11 innings. His day was cut short with the Scot’s bats getting hot early. Rickman pitched for 3 innings giving up 8 hits and 8 runs. The toughest inning proved to be the third with the Scots going deep 3 times. Rickman also posted 7 strikeouts. Tough day overall for the Sophomore who will bounce back quickly for Jackson.
The Generals bats stayed cold in the first game as well offering little run support. The game ended in a run rule finish after 5 innings. It was in the bottom of the fifth that Jackson put up 2 runs courtesy of Mike Conn and Alex Deriggi.
Game 2 took an upswing for Jackson as Spencer Woods got the start. Through 6 innings Woods gave up only 3 hits and 3 runs while putting up 3 strikeouts and 3 walks. Josh Coburn would come in to close the game. He faced 4 batters giving up only 1 hit and had 2 strikeouts.
Jackson’s bats picked up as well, especially Freshman Garret Guymon. Guymon homered in the 1st with a solo shot to give the Generals an early 1 run lead. He also came through in bottom of the 6th with another deep ball to tie the game at 3. Guymon now has 4 HR’s on the season, tied for the most with Sam Williams. Mike Conn would put the Generals ahead with a 2 run homer in the bottom of the 6th as Jackson goes on to win 5-4.
Monday February 26th
Jackson started Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader against the Ocelots of School Craft Community College with Tyler Proctor on the Mound. Proctor working with a limited pitch count on the day only threw 3 innings. He gave up only 1 run and 3 hits along with 2 strikeouts and 3 walks.
Jackson started off strong offensively with Ian Bibiloni reaching on a single followed by a 2 run homerun for DJ Wright. The Generals bats stayed hot with 12 runs crossing the plate. Jackson had a 12-2 lead going into the 7th when things got a little crazy. Schoolcraft put up 8 runs in the inning with 5 walks and 2 hits given up by the Generals bullpen. Coach Malik said he was using the large lead to give some younger less experienced pitchers time to work through their challenges early in the season.
Game 2 began with DJ Wright on the mound. He threw 4 innings and also served as the DH. Only allowing 1 run, 2 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts on his day. His only difficulty seemed to come from the Generals fielding errors allowing the lone run of his outing.
The Ocelots would put up 3 more runs late in the game but Jackson kept the base paths warm with lots of hits and 7 runs. Ian Bibiloni crossed the plate 3 times and hit his 3rd homerun of the year in the 4th inning. Jackson capped off their sweep with a 7-4 victory over Schoolcraft.
Jackson State will begin conference play on Friday March 2nd at Walter’s State Community College. Coach Malik said he’s ready and glad that conference play is here in hopes that it will refocus his team and get them back to their hot start of the season. Live coverage of the Generals on wnws.com will return on Tuesday March 6th with Triton Community College coming to Jackson.
By: Coleman Smith
