Meridians Baseball: Meridians News

Meridians get back to it Saturday facing the team that last beat them (last year).   We keep it close for awhile despite another dominating appearance by Bolia (8 K's with only 1 ball in play, no hits).   Kraus picks up the Win in relief again - the lucky recipient of not only Bolia's pitch count restriction, but also a Meridians' offensive explosion in the 6th after keeping it close through the first 5.  

Our first run (2nd inning) is certainly the loudest with Rutherford's first Meridians' bomb, a no-doubter to left field (team 1st in 2012).   Ross actually provides all our scoring until the big 6th, reaching on an error, taking an extra base and scoring on a Parkurst knock in the 4th.   RR finishes 2-4 (HR, 2B, 3 runs, 3 RBI).

The 6th sees 8 Meridians cross the dish to blow the game wide open.   Final: 10-4 over the Ludlow Trojans.

Reese with another non-web gem, barehanding a Meinken high-hop, airborne like Jordan and tossing in time at 1st.   Soto signals a pick-off, which Rutherford executes to perfection and Witt with a basket catch in right.   Multi-hit days for Reese and Parkhurst along with Rutherford - Arnold on base all day with a knock and 2 walks.

Sunday brings us a short-handed Cincinnati Chill team and a quick, hot doubleheader that we take care of in 10 innings total.   Reese (7 K's) and Mears (8 K's) earn easy Wins.   Reese leads the way, having a day with 6 hits (3 2Bs), 5 runs and multiple RBI.   Multi-hit days for Mears (3 runs, 3B), Parkhurst (2 runs, 2B, multi-RBI), Love (3 runs, multi-RBI, 2B, 3B), Soto (multi RBI), Vaughn, Kraus (Team Error hit, 3 runs) and Dearwester (2B, 2 runs).

Web gem goes to Vaughn with a sliding grab in Meridians traffic in left.   Herby gets traded midway through Game 2 for 'considerations' as we hope to face his pitching prowess.   He instead strives for stardom via reaching base in both of his at-bats for them, scoring their 1st run on the afternoon.   Finals: 13-0 and 13-3

Week 2 of the NKABL leading right into opening weekend of the CRC finds us with enough to play football on Saturday and a more refined squad for the double-dip on Sunday.   (Rack is back.)   Good baseball all weekend long facing a much-improved Whales team Saturday and the Cincy Royals all day Sunday.

Meridians newcomer Alex Bolia (NKU) makes his debut in striking fashion (unfortunate pun intended) mowing down 9 hitters in his 3 innings (pitch count) leaving the lead and the Win for Kraus Saturday afternoon.   Final: 5-1

Saturday debuts also included Tim Easterling (Rio Grande) who lasers a ball off the outfield fence, 3-feet foul on his first swing (knocking a 2B later in the AB) and doesn't get another fastball the rest of the day.   (Rack is back.)   Newcomer Averwater with 2 hits (2B), scoring 2 runs and handling the pitching staff all day.

Ross Rutherford joins the Meridians as well and peppers the ball all day, forcing a web gem by the Whales up the middle.   (Rack is back.)   Witt blasts one off the right field fence and wraps up our scoring in the 7th.

Meridians have their first A.M. start in the history of the team as the CRC decides (for us) to start at 11am with the number of teams in the Sunday DH league (10).   The Cincy Royals await us after breaking our hearts the year before with two losses that were right in our grasp.   Both teams seem to be awake right away as we each score 3 in the 1st inning, but Reese then puts their bats back to bed as he holds them scoreless for the remainder (bad bookkeeping says 8-9 K's) while we add 1 in the 3rd and 1 in the 6th.   Final: 5-3

Mears makes his first Meridians start, helping his own cause right away in the 1st - doubling home Couture to get us the lead right away.   Reese then manufactures our only other run in the 4th with a knock, delayed steal and aggressive baserunning to come around and score the eventual game-winner.   Mears earns the Win (15 K's, striking out the side in the 6th) allowing Josh Williamson to pick up the Save in the 7th.   Final: 2-1

Reese and Vaughn each with 2 RBI on the day, Reese with 2 runs.   (Rack is back.)   Rutherford guns a one-hopper over 2nd base in between innings to goose Mears, Mears returns the favor with a textbook one-hopper to gun down a runner in Game 1 from centerfield.   (Rack is back.)   Rutherford catches both ends of the DH and was still walking on Monday.

...it's a tradition.   And we did it right, picking the annual effort back up at Pappadeaux Thursday night - putting away 7.5 pounds of crawfish between 5 main participants with 3 other spectators (but yes, Kendra ate one that she commissioned to have pre-cracked, pulled and squeezed for her).

Soto, Parkhurst, Reese, Arnold and Meridians' rookie Vickery made the journey with the 3 lead-off men handling the mudbugs menu.  We have so much fun that we forget to force Vickery to eat at least one 'fish...

Meridians reach the 125 win mark!   Returning to the CRC while maintaining a schedule in the NKABL as well, we hit the 125 win mark in the home stretch of the 2011 season (7/31).

100 wins: A great maiden voyage in the NKABL sees us at 13-1 after our first August game (8/2) of the summer.   After a rain-shortened 2007 season (5 games played), the Meridians get back to it in 2008 and then dominate most of 2009 in the new league.

With a shutout and enforcing the 10-run rule in the same game, the Meridians reach 75 wins in the final game (10/15) of the 2006 season.   We play in only 1 tournament and average less than 20 league games per year so a good feat in 5 short seasons.

5/29/05: With a 2-1 victory over the Hilltoppers on our Opening Day (5/22) and sweeping the Outlaws the next weekend (5/29), the Meridians hit 50 wins early in the 2005 season.

Tyler Fugate:  5-2       Derek Reese:  3-4, Save

Justin Kraus:  1-0        Kyle Herbstreit:  1-1        Chris Cornett:  Save

Chase Stewart:  1-0    Tyler Sickinger:  1-0, Save      

2011 Meridians HRs

Tanner Lahmers (3), Justin Kraus (2), Christopher Lee, Chase Stewart

Iron Man Honorable Mentions to two of our 2011 Meridians rookies:

Tanner Lahmers - playing out of position, this natural outfielder rarely spent time roaming the green grass this summer.   Warned that we needed infield help - he did see some dirt for us throughout the summer both at SS & 3B, but where our biggest hole turned out to be was behind the plate where he found himself for a handful of games throughout the season and then both tournament games to wrap up the summer.

Kyle Herbstreit - a pitcher by trade, Herby gets recruited to play infield for us.   He does grab the bump from the veterans a few times, but the rest of the summer found him all across the diamond - refusing no assignment - including a catching debut of 9 innings in the humid heat of early June and a standard 9-3 put out in his right field debut in late July.

2011:  Derek Reese

2010:  Mike Soto

2009: Chuck Moore

2008: Kevin McClung

2007: Jack Parkhurst

2006: Jim Rack (Summer) and Mike Soto (Fall) 

2005: Scott Bush & Jared Cutter (Summer) and K.C. Fread (Fall)

2004: Blain Williams (Summer) and Scott Bush (Fall)

2003: Kevin McClung

2002: Jim Rack

We fail to get the job done in Sunday's NKABL Tournament final.   Gater comes in a bit rusty after exactly a month off, but goes the distance (118 pitches) tallying 13 K's in this hard-luck loss.

Not a single multi-hit day for any of the Meridians, but with a wild arm on their hill - we do take 5 walks and 4 HBP (2 requiring medical attention ~ Arnold: bruised jaw & broken molar with Lahmers taking one directly off the hand).

While not a top team in the NKABL, the kids from Ludlow do get hot in the last few weeks of the year to take down the top 2 including slipping by us for the first time.  Final: 4-5

Although not a tournament type final score, definitely a close contest with our new rivals in the NKABL.   Back & forth all night, this game certainly had the feel of postseason with each run being celebrated by both sides.  

2011 Meridians Silver Slugger Derek Reese booms two doubles on the night with 2 RBI, scores 3 runs including the tying run in the bottom of the 7th after earning a BB and a delay steal of 2nd base.   'Stinky glove' Reese also earned his keep toeing the rubber for the first 5 innings and leaving with the lead (5 K's).   The 'other' Tyler steps in and earns the Win thanks to the offense, helping himself with a Sac bunt to get Reese & Love in scoring position.   Soto gets the opportunity then after putting one in the pitcher's hip the time before - this time also goes back up the middle, but with more mustard on it.   Reese scores from 3rd and Love rounds 3rd hard also looking to score, but another good Tarheels outfield throw holds him up.   The toss to 3rd to try and nab him sails into foul ground and the Meridians walk-off.   Final: 9-8 to advance to the the NKABL Final next Sunday.

Multi-hit nights for Soto and Cornett (2 SB) along with Reese, Sickinger also adds 2 SB and a smooth double-play before taking the bump.   Next up, the Ludlow Trojans who knocked off C. White Tile in extra innings the game before.

With the rain following on Sunday, the Meridians fail to make-up the ground needed on number of games played and lose their #1 seed in the final weekend of league play leading into the NKABL tournament.

Herby gets the nod in the confusing start time for the umpires and Tarheels.   Reese steps in after a long 2nd inning in which they plate 7 runs.   The rest doesn't matter much as we only muster 3 total ourselves.  We now look at a probable rematch in the 2nd round of the tourney with the only NKABL team to beat us this year.

Multi-hit nights for Parkhurst, Soto and Newcomb (2 runs) with Lee going off the fence in right field.   Lahmers tosses for two outs in the 1st inning with a wild pitch play at the plate and gunning down a man at 3rd.   Reese picks one off and Bowman dives in the 2nd base hole for an out.

While Kraus kept a lot of the NKy Owls efforts in the air by way of a multlitude of pop-ups, the biggest air of the night goes to our starting pitcher as he loses one in the trees in right for a solo bomb.   Fueled by the Smart Car he scooted into Meinken with and some rest after tossing the first 5 innings, Kraus takes aim on Lahmers team lead in homers with a no-doubter in the 6th.   Tyler Sickinger grabs the 2-inning Save after fielding all those pop-ups on the infield, in foul ground and in left field...   Arnold does help him out later with a sliding grab in left.

Too hot to keep a book so not sure if we had any other offensive stars, but we got enough to get it done.  Final: 6-4

Thanks to Matt Biscotti and Tyler for helping out while super-sub Ehrhardt (snagging one of our RBIs and all pop-ups on that side of the infield) should probably lose that tag for how much he's helped out this year alone.   We get Bowman and Cornett back after a few weeks' hiatus from both and a few of the crew take in cartoons afterwards.

Not until this late in July do we finally see our nemesis in the NKABL and we see a lot of them as 4 different guys take the mound for C. White Tile in this one-sided contest.   We take 4 walks in the 1st with hits by Reese and Lewis along with a Sac fly from Soto to plate our first 5 hitters.   We then seal it in the 2nd with 7 more crossing the dish thanks to 5 more walks, 2B by Powell and hits by Ehrhardt, Reese and Drake.   Every Meridian walks, hits or both with 3 knocks by Reese and 2 from Ehrhardt.   2 runs each from Herby, Ehrhardt, Reese and Powell.

Soto tries to turn a left turn Meinken hop into a 4th out in the 2nd inning.   And thanks go to Dante for keeping our hurler from getting nervous, even after he takes a comebacker to the bicep.   Reese perseveres and tosses all 5 with Oscar cheering him on (although... what Oscar was really saying was, "act like you've been there before and get some pants on!")     Final: 12-2

The Gater likes this swamp-like heat...   Tyler totals 14 K's (2 of which allowed with extra outs) including striking out the side in the 3rd, 5th and 7th!   He only faces the minimum in the 1st and 2nd though with Herby's 9-3 putout from right field and then Dante's pick-off at 1st in the 2nd inning.

No scoring until the 3rd when we cross twice, but they get their only run in the bottom half.   Parkhurst plates our first run, Lahmers our second.   We add two more in the 4th thanks to a wild pitch and another RBI from Jack (who beats out one of his hits after passing over the bag on his first pass, but nonchalants his way back to safety).  

With Tyler's performance - the game never felt at risk, but really a close contest with us knocking off the previously undefeated NKABL Tarheels (NKU club team).   Final: 4-1

Multi-hit night for Parkhurst (3 with 2 RBI) and Lahmers (including a booming double to right) with Reese walking all night (3) and Arnold taking two HBPs for the team.   And despite Herby's outfield assist and Powell's gun, Arnold also snatches the web gem of the evening with a sprawling dive in the gap to end the 6th.

A/C starts things off with a ringing double down the line (a legit two bagger despite the fan interference).   Just Kus drives him home (hitting righty against their nasty lefty) with a looping liner (now deemed the 'black olive single').   The Ringbearer strolls to the dish next knowing how much power the Ring doth posess and proceeds to take aim on his 4th Meridians bomb...   However, he hits the pill so hard that it bangs off of the top of the outfield fence and shoots all the way back into the infield without anyone touching it (and with TL's 'Yankee' speed, he barely gets to 1st).   Dan Pow steps up next and tries to score TL from 1st with a two-base triple, but to no avail.   The Dawgs then walk our ghost man to get to Arnie Topher, but the plan backfires as he knocks their hurler off the hill with a comebacker back through the box into the outfield's grassy knoll.   Our next ghost man battles hard, fouling pitch after pitch into the Hille ravine and earns a free pass.   P.B. Cups finally gets to the park and approaches the plate full of strife and angst.   He channels his inner demons and launches a no-doubter off the 5th semi-trailer in the lot behind the left field fence.   Due to a technicality however, the 7-run inning ends up just being a heat-induced daydream as the umpires call a triple play based on their copy of the rule book...

And actually, all of the above is fiction if you didn't figure it out already as we get two call-offs on game day & then 3 no-shows and are unable to field a team...   Thanks to (in order of appearance above):  Andy Couture & Justin Kraus (both hungover, but early arrivees nonetheless), Tanner Lahmers, Dante Powell, Christopher Arnold and Derek Reese.

Guest Manager Jason Ehrhardt steps in for our return to Ludlow:  After spotting the young (and somewhat mouthy) Trojans an 0-1 lead in the 1st, the Meridians take control of the game in the 3rd inning by plating 4 runs.   3 more score in the 4th and 2 more in the 5th inning to get to a comfortable 9-1 lead.   The Trojans get the last handful of runs to make the score look a bit closer than it was, but the outcome was never in doubt.   Final: 10-7

Tyler gutted out 5 and 2/3 throwing to a strike zone that resembled the diameter of a Dixie cup!   Gater still collects 8 K's on the night though.   Reese came in to retire the final 4 outs (2 K's) and pick up the Save.

Lahmers and Lee both went deep, but the hardest hit ball all night belonged to Parkhurst who hit a laser off of the top of the left-center field fence!  Jack, getting a rare opportunity to swing from his natural right side, emits conjecture from the opposing 3rd baseman, "Can he really hit righthanded?"  Jack answers on the next pitch with his shot to one of the deepest parts of the field.

Tanner tricks their 1st baseman with the classic, "I'm going to hit a pop-up in fair play, you're going to let it drop & spin foul and then I'm going yard on the next pitch" play.

All 10 Meridians grab a base knock with multi-hit nights from Ehrhardt (3 runs), Lahmers (2 RBI), Parkhurst (2 RBI), Gater and Drake.

Meridians return to CRC play after 3 weeks off with a sweep of the Cincinnati A's.   We go back to our horses on the hill as both Gater and Reese toss CG's.   Tyler picks off yet another baserunner while Reese tries to barehand slap any ball that comes back into his vicinity.   (Herby and Soto mangle the scorebook in Game 1, somehow getting 3 innings into 2 columns...)   Finals:  7-? and 11-9

Cornett dominates the day hitting the ball hard all afternoon (multi-hits, 3B) with 6 RBI (4 in Game 2).   We get a midsummer cameo from Shumar who scores 4 times on the day with multi-hits and walks.   Herby with 3 hits, 3 SB and 3 runs out of the lead-off spot in Game 2.   Anson Hall makes his debut finally (2B, RBI, R) and we get a string of subs out to play: Powell, Ems and Lee.

Love with 3 hits, 2 SB, 3 runs on the afternoon.   Multi-hit day for Kraus (3), Powell (3 with 2 2B's), Reese (2 RBI), Fugate (RBI) and Bowman (2 SB).

Herby returns to the hill and only has to toss 4 innings as we put this one away right away in the top of the 1st with 12 men crossing the dish.   That's with the lead-off guy making the 1st out and then Soto responsible for both the 2nd and 3rd...   5 more cross in the 2nd, 5 in the 3rd and 4 in the 4th (Final: 26-1) vs. the newly-formed Whales.

Herby walks a few, hits one ("Ow!!"), but strikes out the side in the 3rd & 4th after lead-off singles in each (only hits given up with 9 K's total).  

And the offense... (deep breath...)   Every Meridian hits, every Meridian scores:  Lahmers, Williams and Bach with 3 hits each while Soto, Reese, Lee, Drake and Herbstreit all have multi-hit nights.   Lee scores all 4 times.. Couture, Ehrhardt, Williams and Bach 3 times each with Lahmers, Soto and Drake each scoring twice.

An umpire misfire delays the day, but Tanner's buddy steps up to call the DH for us.   Game 1 gets away from us after 3 innings of 0-1 ball from Reese.   Their 4th inning brings in 6 with 3 more to follow in the 5th to wrap it up.   Soto breaks up the potential no-no with a clean liner to left with one out to spare.

We get back to real baseball again in Game 2, leading throughout with a close finish.   Kraus mops up Game 1, then steps up to start the finale as well.   JK knuckles his way to the Win, letting Cornett grap the 3-inning Save.   Final: 5-4 vs. Cincinnati Brew Crew

Web gem from Bowman who almost snags a shoestring liner in the 2nd base hole, keeps it within distance and then backhands the toss to Soto for the scoop.   Reese 'hoovers' a ball in the 3rd base hole for a tag & toss double play as well.   Tanner throws out the potential tying run at 3rd in the 7th of Game 2.

Soto tallies the only multi-hit afternoon (3), but a key RBI for the eventual winning run by Kraus in the 6th inning of Game 2 with a key steal by Bowman to get in scoring position for him.   Cornett scores twice in the finale with a SB to try and get in a 3rd time.

Barnburner Thrusday night vs. a new squad in the NKABL, the Tarheels (NKU club team).   They drop a 5-spot on us right away, but then we start chipping away in the 3rd with doubles by Herbstreit and Reese, scoring 2.   Knocks by Lahmers, Bowman and Herby again plate 2 more in the 4th while they tack on 3 more of their own.   We really close the gap in the 5th though, crossing the plate 6 times on 7 hits including Lahmers popping a 2-run shot to left center.   They edge their score to 11 in the 6th and while we don't do anything right away, we find ourselves in prime position in the bottom of the 7th.   Drake, Herby and Lewis fill up the bags on consecutive singles to load them.., but only a K, pop-up and groundout follow...  (Final: 10-11)

Herbstreit with 4 hits, Reese with 3 while Lewis, Lahmers, Bowman and Drake also have multi-hit nights.   Herby, Lahmers and Bowman each score twice.   Reese and Herby share the mound with Lewis tossing a quick 7th.   Herby picks one off with D-Will gunning down another.  Soto's a little shaky at 3rd somehow taking a Meinken hop off the outside of the glove, but a great backhand snag by Jack at the other hot corner.

Chase Stewart (Miami, NKU) makes his Meridians debut earning his first Win with us while helping himself with a 2-run tater as we cruise to an 8-4 win in Game 1 vs. the A's.  

Wilder makes his '11 debut as well wrapping up the final 2 innings although we lose him and his famous hammy late in Game 2.   That game also brings Herbsteit's successful first catching stint with us, receiving Reese's 9 innings in the finale (5-12).

Game 2 drama as we fire back in the 7th inning to take it into extras; see the difference expand even greater, but still have a shot at it with still more fight in us at the very end.

Multi-hit afternoons for Arnold, Kraus, Stewart, Herbstreit and Reese who catches the first 7 innings and then pitches the last 9...

Meridians swelter into 2 CRC matches on Memorial Day weekend and, as per usual with a holiday weekend, a mix-matched squad.   We do get Gater and Reese back on the bump, but we drop two heartbreakers to the Royals (Finals:  3-4, 6-7).

Highlights include a diving snag by J-Love in Left, Gater striking out the side in the 6th ~ taking a pitch in the teeth and then finishing the game back on the hill;  multi-hit afternoons for Reese, Herbstreit and Ehrhardt.

Reese tosses another complete game as well after catching all of Game 1.   We see our potential tying run thrown out at the plate to end Game 1 and after taking the lead in the 6th on an Ehrhardt-called squeeze (executed perfectly by Couture), unfortunate errors cost us the finale.

We ride the arms of Tyler Fugate (who returns after a summer off) and Derek Reese through two close contests Sunday afternoon (Ohio War Dawgs).   And while the 'veterans' shoulder the hill, the Meridians' newcomers make themselves known as well with their bats.

Game 1 is all 'Gater', imposing his will on a young, talented lineup through 7 innings (coming off his Senior season at Wooster where he usually never threw more than 2 innings at a time).   We start the scoring off right away in the 1st with Soto dropping one into center with 2 outs to score Couture.   D-Will adds another in the 3rd, lacing a ball into right and that's all Tyler needed to wrap it up (Final: 2-0).

Game 2 brings more scoring, but not until the 3rd when we plate 3 (2 on Merdians rookie Bowman's double to right).  The War Dawgs answer with 1 in the 5th and 2 in the 6th to knot it up until the bottom of the 9th.  Meridians newcomer Lahmers hustles a strikeout into a 3-base error leaving him at 3rd with no outs.   Cornett then adds his cheapest hit of the day with a check-swing pop into right to walk us off (Final: 4-3).

Reese guts out all 9 innings after a Spring of catching primarily with the UC club team. 

Multi-hit days for Cornett, Reese, D-Will and Soto with Couture walking all day along with Herbstreit.   Gater picks off the first baserunner he gets, Arnold with a diving catch in left, Herbstreit handled SS all afternoon including a quick DP (Bowman) with the runner in motion.   Kraus with an interesting adaptation of 1st base in Game 2, showing off his tap-dancing skills he took classes for as a youngster with D-Will tossing rockets all about the infield and outfield.

The All-North Coast Althetic Conference teams were announced last Thursday (5/5) with our Tyler Fugate earning 2nd Team honors (1st Team last year as a Junior).   "Gater" was the squad's closer for the second-straight year.   He went 3-0 with the second-most Saves in the NCAC with 6, coming over a Scot-high 17 appearances on the mound.   Tyler's ERA was a staff-low 1.56 during conference regular season play (17.1 innings).   Overall, he had 33.1 innings pitched and 37 strikeouts - 10th highest total in the league.

Tyler Fugate was named NCAC (North Coast Athletic Conference) Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Monday (3/21/11).

K.C. Fread’s 2-run double caps off a 4-run 1st inning and that was more than Scott Barber needed as he guts out 9 more shutout innings to add to his dominating season on the hill (Championship Final: 4-0 over the OS Suds).   Barber tries to outshadow his performances on the bump [0.23 ERA, 10-0, 117 Ks, 5 BBs, 6 CG (78 innings)] by leading the team (2nd in the league) in hitting at a .510 clip (.633 slugging) followed by the rest of the 5 horsemen offensively: Mike Shrimpton (.475), Fread (.411 - led the team with 27 RBIs), Kevin McClung  [.390 - led the team with 37 runs (led league), 13 2Bs and 11 steals - tied with Fread with 39 hits while 4-0 with a 1.31 ERA] and Jared Cutter (.383 at the plate, 1.66 ERA over 65 innings).  

The Meridians were well represented on the Yankees as has been the norm for years now with Fread, Cutter, McClung, Chuck Moore and Mike Soto playing their parts through the season including the only power with both Cutter and Moore going deep in 2010.

The Yankees only give up 1 run during their playoff tear, scoring 28 times themselves!

Blain Williams:  1-0               Justin Kraus:  1-1

Brad Wilder:   1-2, Save       Daron Williams:  1-1

Miguel Aurich:   1-0       

2010 Meridians HRs

Blain Williams - Derek Williams - Jim Rack:   1 each

Tyler Fugate (Wooster):  8-0       Blain Williams:  4-1, Save

Derek Reese:  2-1, Save              Justin Kraus:  1-0

Conor Thomas:  1-0                       Daron Williams:  1-0

Chuck Moore:  Save       Phil Pratt:  1-0       Tedd Schaffer:  1-0       

2009 Meridians Bombers

Chuck Moore (6 includes 1 inside-the-park), Blain Williams (4), Phil Pratt (2)

Ryan Williams (2), Mike Soto (2), Derek Williams (2), Kevin McClung (2)

Bradley Younger (1), Chris Wood (1)

Ralph Lewis again represented the Meridians by himself in 2010 along with some of the Murfreesboro Mudcats getting to the Championship game and through 8 innings before Mother Nature took over (2009's final washed out after 1 inning).   Soto returns in '11 along with Ralph and some of the same 'cats (as the Boone County Pirates this go-around) and go undefeated through seeding, but only get to the semi-finals.

Members of Meridians with Mid-South Blues are 2008 Bama Bash Champions!

3 members of the Meridians (Mike Soto, Jack Parkhurst & Ralph Lewis) come back as champions as the Mid-South Blues win the (Birmingham) Bama Bash 35+ conference for the second straight year!   Lewis led the Meridians' contingent with a .529 average and Soto came in at an even .400 (both in the top 4 for the team).  Parkhurst makes his '08 debut on the mound.   5 games in the last 24 hours of the weekend (5/2 - 5/4).   Soto (as a 33 year-old age exception) scores the championship run in walk-off fashion from the bat of Brian Lee (also hit an even .400).   Lee, along with other current/former Murfreesboro Mudcats Soto, Lewis, Delbert Cagle, Edwin Magras and a local Birmingham contingent help form the Blues tournament team out of Memphis, TN.   Soto (2nd in back), Lee (last in front) and Cagle (4th in back) also 2007 Roy Hobbs World Series champions in picture on Meridians News page.

We (Murfreesboro Mudcats) spent the first part of the week figuring out some new positions and making some errors.   (I was primarily in left field where I haven't played consistently since high school.)   We found the right formula and proceeded to go 3-0 from Friday morning on to the win the AA World Series Championship!!   The 16-hour road trip WAS worth it...

Soto (2007 World Series MVP) started the scoring in each of the Mudcats' final two games with 2 RBI each and went 3-6 and 4-4 in Friday's games.   Just the 2 RBI in the championship game Saturday, but the first got us the lead right away in the 1st inning and the second tied it up midway through the contest.   Down 2-3, we scored 3 in the top of the 9th inning and then held on in the botton half to win the championship!