The Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets celebrate Jaylen Robinson crossing home plate in the 2-1 win over Coffee. 

The Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets defeated Coffee County, the No. 8 ranked team in Class 6A, 2-1 on Friday night.

Central went up early in the game scoring one run in the second and another in the third inning. With one out in the second, Jaylan Robinson hustled out the box to stretch a base hit down the first base line into a double. Reid Harvey followed with a single to score Robinson.

In the third, Shane Stephenson led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second when Slade Taylor took a pitch to the helmet. Jake Green stroked the first pitch he saw for a double to left field, scoring Stephenson.

“The boys have focused a lot in cleaning up their swings and they transferred some of that work to the plate tonight,” said Coach Ryan Strickland. “Right now, they have confidence in the work they have put in throughout the year and they expect to go out and compete. That’s their attitude.”

Pitching coach Houston Massey once again was pleased with the efforts of the pitching staff. Mack McDowell got the win on mound in his second start of the season, pitching 4 1/3 innings while striking out five, walking two, and allowing three hits. Griffin Taylor pitched the final 2 2/3 innings to pick up his second save of the season. 

Coffee scored one unearned run on Taylor, who allowed one hit while walking two and striking out five. 

“Our staff have been consistent in throwing strikes, challenging hitters to beat them. They have pitched in some high-pressure situations that will benefit them down the road,” Massey said.

The win Friday night was the second of the week after shutting out Lowndes County lsat Tuesday night behind a strong pitching performance from Jake Green with Taylor picking up the save. McDowell picked up two hits, while Slade Taylor drove in two runs.

“We put together a good week as a team and that is what is important moving forward. We’ve got to keep picking each other up and competing with that 16 versus 1 mentality,” Coach Strickland stated.

The Yellow Jackets will be back in action Tuesday at home against Berrien County followed by a trip to Lee County. Region play will begin Friday when Thomas County travels to Warner Robins.