NATCHEZ &045; Whoever came up with the preseason MPSA Top 10 sure did Adams Christian a favor.

It’s been motivation ever since mid-February when the Rebels were excluded from that ranking, one that had nearly everyone else in their district in it. And while they’ve notched wins here and there over big-name teams during the regular season, nothing may have put an exclamation point on that feeling more than Tuesday’s 11-2 win over North champion Jackson Academy in the playoff opener.

It puts the Rebels in favorable standing heading into Thursday’s doubleheader at JA needing just one win to advance to the second round.

&uot;We seemed to be relaxed before the game,&uot; said AC head coach Gill Morris, whose team came in as the No. 4 team out of the South. &uot;They’re a quality team. You don’t go 12-1 in district and not be a good team. But now they’ve got to beat us twice, and we’ve never lost a doubleheader. We’re just tickled to be here &045; that’s the way we’re approaching this.&uot;

For a team that has been Jekyll and Hyde most of the season, the Rebels jumped on JA early and answered the Raiders’ only rally of the game to maintain control. The Rebels got some very timely hits off starter Tyler Winford, including a two-run homer in the first from David Trisler and a two-run double from Timmy Foster in the second.

&uot;As a team, we hit real well,&uot; said Dustin Case, who also homered as part of a four-run fourth. &uot;We came out to play. That’s what it all was. It certainly felt good to play tonight. We’ve faced the best pitching in the MPSA already this year. We’re not in awe of anybody. We’ll get ready for every pitcher.&uot;

It was enough for the Raiders to fall in a hole they couldn’t get out of midway through the contest. Winford, who pitched three innings before leaving without retiring a batter in the fourth, gave up seven runs &045; all of them earned &045; before giving way to reliever David Mooney.

The Rebels led 9-0 after the fourth.

&uot;They had three key hits &045; the home run first, a hit by Foster down the line hurt us and the third hit was a home run,&uot; JA head coach Trey Pace said. &uot;They had some great timely hits. We had ample opportunities we didn’t take advantage of. But we’ve been here before. You don’t always like to be in this situation, but I like our kids. They’ve got great attitudes.&uot;

Trisler had the first shot in the first for a two-run blast to center for a 2-0 lead, and the bottom of the lineup came up big for AC in the second as Ray Simpson’s shot up the middle scored Jamie Morris.

A walk to Glenn Williams loaded the bases, and Foster put one down the right-field line to drive in David New and Simpson for a 5-0 lead.

In the fourth Foster singled in Simpson, and Williams scored on a sacrifice fly. Case then sent one over the left-field fence for the 9-0 lead.

Jackson got two runs in the sixth when Adam Shaffer doubled in Travis Donald and Shaffer scored on an error, but the last three innings the Raiders left the bases loaded.

They left 11 on for the game.

&uot;They out-played us tonight, and they do a lot of that here,&uot; Pace said. &uot;It’s a small park, and you’ve got to take advantage of it.&uot;

The Raiders had the bases loaded in the fifth, but Foster got Winford and Mooney on infield grounders to get out of the inning.