Meridians Baseball

Meridians close out their Sunday DH schedule trying to make up one of the rainouts and end up with a long, strange day at the field ending in lightning.   Soto starts off 5 for 5 in the morning Roy Hobbs game and continues with a 2B right away in CRC play as he survives his last triple-header Sunday of 2008.   Meridians bats start out hot right away with 5 runs in the 1st inning and we look to cruise from there, but while our bats fall asleep for awhile - they chip away and make it a game.   From there on out, runs are a plenty for both teams as we end up with a football score and a loss in 8 innings.   Kraus guts out 7 innings in the sweltering heat and continues to help himself with the bat.

McClung shows up "a mess" with a new bad foot to accompany his bad arm, proven by his single off the wall.   Later in the Game 1, Blain comes up lame racing in for a blooper.  So the injured Blain replaces the hurt McClung at 1st base and we are looking years above our actual ages (Blain still gets one more hit though after the injury).   While coach and everyone else calls everyone they know to fill in, we let the game slip away.  2 last minute call-offs and a no-show leave us with just 9 for the day until Ryan finds a taker in Brandon Webb (did anybody else realize that this was his name? - we should have let him pitch...).   Brandon comes out cold and jumps into right field and then right back in to hit after years away from baseball and playing college football.   He proceeds to crack a no-doubter to left field for a 2-run homer.   Great pick-up Ryan! (hopefully that made up for his 3 broken bats on the day)   Lewis hits the hill to finish Game 1 and rotates something like 5 bats throughout the afternoon (Ohhh, Donna...).

Once we get 9 semi-healthy bodies in the lineup for Game 2, we get back to our brand of baseball.   After catching Game 1's 8 innings, Fread tosses 6 shutout innings (despite a miniscule strike zone to work with) for the 8-0 win.   Kraus booms a ball to the opposite field fence and thinks he has wheels, trying for a triple.   Soto plays 3rd base for 22 innings (including Hobbs) and only gets 3 balls all day.   Derek is now the pop-up king and no ball in the air is safe anymore as he snags two more tough ones today including a sliding grab on the 1st base side.   Drew Clim lasers a ball from center to preserve the shutout.   All Meridians contribute as we score 18 runs on the day.

Fread debuts on the mound and Daron finishes with 2 scoreless innings, but the Meridians can't hold the lead.   Pratt triples home our first 2 runs and then is brought home after his 2nd triple by Thomas.    Pratt covers a lot of ground on the night both in centerfield and on the basepaths.   Derek gets all of the pop up practice he could ever want.   Parkhurst, Cutter and Pratt with multi-hit nights while Kraus continues to pad his season hitting stats.

(Final:  3-5 vs. Yorkville)

Meridians bats come back to life and put 14 runs in the books, but not enough to outscore the Hawks as we drop both games.   Blain Wiiliams gets back to the hill and gets through 3 innings quickly as well as a strikeout looking to start the 4th, but the Hawks find their bats a plenty after that.   Daron Williams only gives up 3 runs through 4 innings before their bats awake yet again in Game 2.   Meridians lead through 3 innings in Game 1 and pull within in 1 run in the 5th inning of Game 2, but to no avail.   Most Meridians find the mound on the day including Cobb for his first cameo in '08 along with the starters and Pratt, Kraus & Pearson.

McClung collects 5 hits on the day with a bad wing including a 2B and HR.   Newcomer Clim is on base all day from the infamous AH spot - Blain, Pratt, Fread, Cobb, Thomas and Ryan Williams all with multi-hit days.   Web gems from both Blain and Derek on sliding grabs in the outfield as well as a snare in the 2nd base hole by Ryan.

Meridians take a 1-0 lead in the 2nd inning, and... then... that's it.   Too many walks against a good-hitting Hawks team lead to a long, short night while most of the Meridians' bats sleep through the game.   Cutter with a multi-hit night pushing Soto to 3rd to let Lewis knock in our lone run on the night.   Netherly's debut on the mound with a quick 1st inning and Kraus picks off another runner.

Slow start to both games, but we figure it out pretty quickly and stay in control all afternoon.   McClung gets the CG win in Game 1 (9 K's) with Daron Williams getting his first CG for the Meridians in his Game 2 win.   Daron shines on this day with only 5 put outs in the field while he strikes out the rest = 16 K's!   4 of the other outs handled by his brothers with Blain finding 2 of them dropping into his glove in center and Derek wiping the other two off the bases by throwing out a runner at 3rd and picking another off of 1st.   Derek's 2-week layoff didn't cool off his bat as he doubled and went yard at Roselawn 1.

K.C. flashbacks to Little League and keeps running all day until they finally get him out.   (Scored himself from 1st the first time though.)   Netherly causes our adversary dugout discontent when he keeps trying to pop out to the catcher before finding his stroke.   After a 2-6 start to the season, the Meridians have won 7 of their last 8.

(Finals:  8-1 vs. Cincinnati Royals and 9-2 vs. The Heat)