Jackson senior first baseman Ryan Cheney put on an offensive clinic Monday against Central ace Garrett Stevens.

Cheney went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and two RBIs, to help the Indians beat the Tigers 11-1. in Class 4 District 1 first-round action.

The Indians advanced to today's semifinal game against Fox.

Cheney was telling me afterward he has been working to change his approach at the plate because he has struggled this season.

He entered Monday's game with a .260 average and was 0-for-3 at the plate the last time he faced Stevens earlier this year.

Cheney told me he read the article in Sunday's Southeast Missourian on Stevens. It was about how Stevens struggled as a junior and used that as motivation to work during the offseason so he could have a strong senior season, which he has had.

"I actually read that article and I was reading about he struggled last season and I've been struggling so far this season," Cheney said. "I kind of just looked at it and said, 'Hey, our team hasn't really been playing as well as we should have, and I kind of just looked at it and said, 'We can do the same thing. Let's do it right now.' I told my teammates today, 'The season starts here. Our record is 0-0. It's a brand new beginning and let's go out there and let's win it."

Michael Mouser said Cheney has been strong of late.

"He's been doing really well coming down the stretch here," Mouser said. "He's just been getting hot and he's going to stay that way through the rest of districts. That hit [RBI double in second to tie score] was really crucial for our game plan because we were down. Sometimes if we get down, our whole team gets down. He just kept us in the game at that point."

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Also, as I have reported in the paper, there continues to be numerous coaching changes in basketball. If you haven't seen them already, the two most recent involve Mark Verticchio, leaving the Oak Ridge boys basketball team after one year to accept the job with the Delta girls and Shawn Kinder stepping down as Delta boys basketball coach to lead the Leopold boys team. .