Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
The Madison County High School (MCHS) Cowboys opened their 2026 regular season at home on Thursday, Feb. 12, with a big win over Franklin County High School. Both the junior varsity and varsity Cowboys emerged victorious in their opening contests.
In the junior varsity game, the Cowboys went out to an early 4-0 in the first inning. After scoring another insurance run in the bottom half of the third inning. The Seahawks managed to score two runs in the top of the fourth inning, but the Cowboys responded with one more run in the bottom of the fourth inning to give the Cowboys a 6-2 win.
Christian Robinson went one-for-two in the batter’s box, with one run batted in (RBI). Ke’Rion Bellamy had one hit in his two plate appearances, with one RBI. Benaiah Light, Kadence Eastham and Hunter Simmons also had hits for the Cowboys.
Eastham picked up the win for the Cowboys on the mound, giving up no hits, no earned runs and three walks, while striking out four batters. Bernard Brinson came in to relieve and yielded one hit, no earned runs and one walk while fanning four batters.
When the varsity teams took to the diamond, the Cowboys translated 11 hits into 12 runs as the Cowboy bats heated up a cool February evening. The home team scored two unanswered runs in the first inning, followed by a big five-run second inning, prompted by Kannon Plain’s three-run homer. The Seahawks got on the scoreboard with one run in the top of the third inning. The Cowboys responded with one run in the bottom of the third inning. After giving up one more run in the top of the fourth inning, the Cowboys added two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, one of which was a solo four-bagger by Alden Richie. After the Cowboys scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, the game was called, with the Cowboys taking a 12-2 win in their first regular season game of the year.
Micah Newman had one hit in two at-bats, with one RBI. Brett Harper went three-for-four at the plate, with two RBIs. Plain had a hot bat, going two-for-two in the batter’s box, with four RBIs and a home run. Richie went one-for-two in the batter’s box, with two RBIs and a home run. Collin Copeland, Jake Murphy and Myron Mobley also contributed hits to the Cowboy slugfest.
Dalton McNutt was the winning pitcher, giving up two hits, no earned runs and three walks while striking out seven batters. Richie also saw time on the mound for the Cowboys, giving up no hits, no earned runs, striking out three batters and walking one.
The Cowboys will return to Cowboy Field on Friday, Feb. 20, when they face the Bears of Dixie County High School. The junior varsity teams will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity game. The first pitch for the varsity game is planned for 7:15 p.m.