NATCHEZ &045; Thank goodness for momentum swings.

Had it not been for some big hits in the fourth inning, the Adams Christian Rebels may have well been in bad shape in the first game of a three-game district series with Copiah Academy.

It took a mammoth home run from Douglas Davis and two more long balls that followed to get everything going in the right direction and a 14-4 win in six innings for the Rebels. But a slow start put them in a 4-1 hole early and head coach Gill Morris in a sour mood.

&uot;I don’t expect us to blow everybody we play off the field, but I expect hustle and I expect discipline. The first two innings we were like zombies out here,&uot; Morris said. &uot;I’m talking everywhere &045; at the plate, on the mound and on defense. I’m not going to take anything away from Copiah, but it seems we have to show up before we start throwing it hard and making that quick step on defense.

&uot;One of the higher-ranked teams would have beaten us like a drum tonight.&uot;

The Colonels and offspeed pitcher Brock Campbell did start out with a surprising lead before things started to turn for the Rebels. Slow start be darned, the Rebels pout up five runs in the fourth and six in the fifth to put the game away.

Jamie Morris scored the game-ending run in the sixth on an error for the 10-run rule.

&uot;It caught us off guard,&uot; said outfielder David Trisler, who had four hits in four at-bats. &uot;We were trying too hard to hit the ball. We started getting big hits, and Douglas’ home run was the key hit. We normally don’t start off the game as well as we want to, but we pick it up.&uot;

Davis’

homer was one of three in the fourth and fifth innings for AC, and sophomore Timmy Foster put the other two out of the yard. Davis’ shot was a rocket over the left-center field fence that gave the Rebels a 6-4 lead, and Foster followed with a solo homer for a 7-4 lead.

&uot;It’s all about concentration and being ready to play ball when you get to the park,&uot; Morris said. &uot;We’re terrible at that. I’m not a guy who is going to give a gung-ho pre-game speech, but I expect our kids to come ready to play. They know they weren’t ready to play. I thought we had some good two-strike swings at the plate. Doug went up 1-0 in the count, and I said, ‘If it’s there, go with it.’ He turned on it.&uot;

The Rebels got six more in the fifth off Crawford before he exited in favor of eighth-grader Matthew Wright, who got the third out of the inning and pitched the sixth. Dustin Case had a big hit in the fifth when he singled in Joseph Dunlap and Ray Simpson for a 10-4 lead.

Trisler then singled in Case, and Foster followed with a two-run homer for a 13-4 lead to end the sixth.

&uot;When you get up early like that, you’ve got to keep going,&uot; Copiah head coach Terry Bauer said. &uot;Four runs is not going to beat a quality team like that. You get a lead and you drop a pop fly (in the third), and it changes the whole outcome of the ball game. We didn’t have any fight left in us when we got down.&uot;

The momentum changed, and Davis took full advantage on the mound. He two hits in the final three innings and finished the game with nine strikeouts.

The Colonels got to Davis in the first inning with a three-run homer by Upton for a quick lead. Jake Green homered in the third for a 4-1 Copiah lead.