By Robert Wilson
The 2021 Madison Central baseball team is considered one of the most talented teams in Mississippi history.
The Jaguars finished 34-2, ranked No. 1 in the nation and coach Patrick Robey was named national coach of the year. Madison Central – led by national two-way player of the year Braden Montgomery – won 21 games by 10 or more runs.
This year’s version of Madison Central might not be compared to that juggernaut of a team or have a future major league first round draft choice like Montgomery, but the Jaguars are having an outstanding season, playing solid baseball and put together another impressive victory Friday night.
Junior right-hander Hayden Wilson threw a three-hit complete game and allowed no earned runs and the Jaguars banged out 10 hits in a 6-1 victory over Madison County rival Germantown in a MHSAA Class 7A, Region 2 game at Germantown’s The Ranch in Gluckstadt.
Madison Central – ranked No. 4 in Mississippi by MaxPreps with the toughest schedule in the state, according to MaxPreps – improved to 17-5 overall and 6-2 in region play and defeated Germantown for the second time this week, winning 5-2 Tuesday at Madison Central.
Germantown, also known for its excellent baseball program like Madison Central, dropped to 11-13 overall and 2-6 in region play and is having its toughest season in school history.
Wilson – who made his first start this season – threw 111 pitches, 68 for strikes, faced only six batters above the minimum of 21 (21 outs, 3 hits, 2 walks and 2 errors, one was erased on a double play in the seventh inning). He didn’t give up a run until the seventh inning and that run was unearned. Wilson now has a 2-0 record with a 1.45 earned run average with 25 strikeouts and only six walks in 19 1/3 innings this season.
“Hayden has been a ‘work while you wait,’ guy,” said Madison Central coach Patrick Robey, who is in his ninth season as the Jaguars head coach. “It’s refreshing to see guys like that succeed. His sinker was very difficult for the Mav hitters to get underneath. Hayden’s a great kid, pitching with confidence and conviction. We felt he would be a guy that just got better as the season progressed and he certainly has.”
“Hayden was awesome all night,” Madison Central associate head coach Hunter Twitty said. “We’ve seen the stuff, but it’s been in shorter stints. This was his first start, so we were thinking if we could get four or five quality innings out of him we could hand it off to the bullpen, but he never gave us a reason to do that. He sank the fastball, landed the off speed most of the night and we played really good defensively behind him up until that last inning.”
“I felt like I was so effective tonight because of my ability to trust my teammates behind me,” Wilson said. “I didn’t try to be too big for the moment and do it myself. My team made several incredible plays behind me to help us win and that is what is going to help us make a run in the playoffs. This team is awesome, and we have a great bond and that is what makes us play so well. We truly want each other to succeed and want to play for the guy next to us. I think that things are going so well for us this year is because of our ability to lean on other people on the team. We have had several people have to fill different rolls and be ready when their name is called and that is what makes us play well.”
Senior leftfielder Ryan Delaney, senior centerfielder, leadoff hitter and Jones County Junior College signee Warren Hutchinson, senior catcher and Meridian Community College signee Landon Deslatte and senior second baseman and Pearl River Community College signee Gavin Parrow had two hits each for Madison Central. Delaney also scored two runs.
The win over Germantown gave Madison Central the region championship. The Jaguars are the No. 1 seed and play the No. 4 team from Region 1 in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
“We are playing pretty well right now,” Twitty said. “We’ve pitched it well most of the year, and we really like a lot of the pieces we have in the bullpen. Offensively, we are starting to get a little more consistent production throughout the lineup, which has been a positive. Hopefully, we can continue to improve and play a good brand of ball as we finish out the season and get into the playoffs.”
Meanwhile, it has been a difficult season for Germantown and third-year coach Chris Peden. The Mavericks had another rough game Friday with more errors (five) than hits (three). Germantown finished fifth and last in the region and will not make the playoffs. The top four teams make the playoffs.
“It has been a tough season. Our guys play hard and have not quit,” said Peden, who came to Germantown after being a head coach at Ridgeland and also helped Madison Central to two state championships as an assistant. “I’m proud of them for that. We have had our chances all year just have come up short. At the end of the day, I have to do a better job. We will continue to fight and finish the year out. MC played well and did the things that you need to win close ball games. Our seniors have won a lot of ball games in this program and this season will not define what they have meant to our program. Some have started since they were sophomores. It’s just been a year filled with struggles at the plate for our program. We have thrown a lot of young arms.”
Germantown has had eight 20 wins seasons in the past 13 years as a school. The least number of wins the Mavericks have had was 16 in 2019.
“Baseball is like life. It will humble you,” Peden said. “I tell our guys these are life lessons that will make them better fathers, husbands, employees, whatever. Like life, baseball is hard and not always fair. You’ve got to keep showing up. That’s what we will do. We won’t be down long. Folks better get us now because it’s coming in our feeder program (Germantown won the Little Six conference for the past two seasons). We will be back very soon.”
