STRONG OPENING ACT

Meridian Yellowjacket baseball aims for back-to-back trips to Class 1A playoffs for the first time since 2010 with strong group of returning players

By sweeping to victory in each of their final three District 14-1A games last season, the Meridian Yellowjacket baseball team not only secured a berth into the Class 1A playoffs for the first time since 2017, the Jackets clinched a share of their first district title since 2010.

Now under new head coach Roy Mozley, the Jackets hope six returning starters — senior catcher/pitcher Brayden Wehmeyer, senior infielder Ben Beaudin, junior pitcher/infielder Matty Jones, junior pitcher/infielder Ian Gomez, junior infielder Bradley Kihnel and sophomore outfielder Jesse Scott — along with a host of newcomers can lead Meridian to back-to-back postseason appearances.

After winning three of their first four games to open the 2024 Texas high school baseball campaign, the Jackets (3-1) will visit the Hico Tigers (8-0) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday before playing in the Jonesboro Tournament Thursday-Saturday, opening with Gorman (0-1) at 12:20 p.m. Thursday.

In the season opener on the road Feb. 27, Gomez, Wehmeyer and Kihnel combined on the mound for a five-hit shutout while striking out 13 as the Jackets blanked the Dawson Bulldogs, 6-0. Kihnel knocked in two runs, Gomez scored three times and Wehmeyer went three-for-four at the plate to lead the Meridian offense.

Playing in the Bluff Dale Tournament last weekend, Meridian rallied for two runs in the sixth inning to slip past Lipan, 2-1, in the opener Thursday before the Jackets took their lumps against Azle Christian, 17-0. Bouncing back on Saturday, the Jackets crushed the host Bluff Dale Bobcats, 21-0, by hammering six extra base hits while drawing 16 walks as Gomez and Wehmeyer combined for a one-hit shutout, striking out nine.

“It was very important for us to get off to a good start last week by winning three of our four games,” said Mozley, entering his 10th season as a baseball head coach and 23rd year as a coach. “However, there is still plenty of work to be done between now and the end of April. Our goal as a team is to simply work hard and improve each practice and each week of the season.”

Due to the shortage of smaller schools with baseball programs, the University Interscholastic League has always combined Class 2A and 1A teams into consolidated districts for the regular season, then separating them for the playoffs into two different postseason tournament brackets.

Packed in a district comprised of 11 Class 2A and 1A baseball teams, the District 14 coaches voted to split into separate leagues by classification for district play. Therefore, Meridian finds itself competing in District 14-1A against Jonesboro, Gholson, Aquilla and Oglesby, while District 14-2A consists of Class 2A’s Valley Mills, Bosqueville, Crawford, Moody, Bruceville-Eddy and Hico.

While four teams advance to the playoffs in Class 2A, only the top two teams in the Class 1A district will punch their ticket into the postseason. Jonesboro and Meridian (7-1 in district, 9-10 overall) shared the district title last season with the Eagles coming out on top in the tiebreaker showdown.

“I have family in the Waco area and Meridian was an attractive area to live and work,” Mozley said.

“I’m enthused and excited to be coaching this group of young men. I’m looking forward to helping be a part of their continued development and growth as baseball players and as a team.”