The Generals (9-7) opened up their 2018 conference schedule on Saturday against the Senators of Walters State Community College (18-3). The weekend proved unproductive as the Generals fell in all three games of the weekend series.
Here’s what Head Coach Tyson Malik had to say about the Generals:
Game 1 – Saturday March 3, 2018 (L 4-0)
The Generals bats stayed quiet all day long as opposing pitcher Landon Knack threw 7 innings giving up only one hit to Garret Guymon. Knack only needed 96 pitches through 7IP, and he would strike out the Generals a total of 12 times.
Despite the quite day at the plate one huge positive for Jackson was starting pitcher Alan Rickman. Rickman finished 6 innings allowing only 4 hits and 2 runs. His pitch count climbed to 116 as he did allow 6 walks but also added 8 strikeouts. Derrick Junker and Kyle Brana both threw one inning to finish the game making it a solid day on the mound for the Generals who fell 4-0.
Game 2 – Sunday March 4, 2018 (L 14-4)
Jackson’s woes continued on Sunday as the Senators put up 14 runs on 15 hits in 6 innings. Spencer Woods got the start, Tyler Proctor came in to relieve in the 3rd, while Zach Gresham would finish off the 6th. None of the General’s pitchers seemed to be able to quite the bats of Walters State. The game ended in a run rule after the 6th inning.
The Generals did see some life from their bats however. Jackson put together 5 hits including homeruns from Alex Diriggi and Will Harris. Harris started the scoring with a 3 run bomb in the 2nd to give him his second HR on the season along with 8 RBI’s and put the Generals on the board for the first time in the series! Deriggi followed up with a solo shot to go back-to-back with the deep ball giving the freshman 4 HR’s along with 12 RBI’s. Sam Williams went 2-3 with a walk and a run scored. Josh Frantz also crossed the plate and finished 1-3 on the day, as Jackson fell 14-4.
Game 3 – Sunday March 4, 2018 (L 13-3)
The final game of the series was another instance of the Senators showing off their high-powered offense finishing the Generals in the top of the 5th with the run rule. DJ Wright, Josh Coburn, and Brandon Maxwell all tried to contain the Senators from the mound but none were successful. Coburn had the longest outing finishing with 1.2 IP. All in all the Generals gave up 13 hits, 13 runs, 3 walks and struck out 4.
On the bright side Jackson has a new homerun leader in the lineup! Garret Guymon went deep in the top of the 3rd against Peyton Alford to give the freshman his 5th homer of the season and he also claims his 14th RBI on Sunday as well. Guymon finished with 2 hits while Mike Conn, Donnell Bailey, Sam Williams, and DJ Wright all had one as Jackson fell 13-3.
The Generals are back in action Wednesday March 7 against a familiar opponent in Northeast Mississippi State CC. The Generals and Tigers have played twice this season and split the doubleheader on February 18th. The Tiger’s took game one 7-2 and the Generals won game two 5-4. Tuesday’s game against Triton has been cancelled.
Jackson continues conference action this Saturday and Sunday at home against Columbia State. Come see the Generals in action or listen live on WNWS.COM!
