TAKING THE EARLY LEAD

Looking for their first outright title since 2010, Meridian Yellowjackets open District 14-1A with back-to-back run-rule wins over defending co-champ Jonesboro, Aquilla

Taking two big steps toward capturing their first outright district title since 2010, the Meridian Yellowjacket baseball squad opened District 14-1A competition with back-to-back wins over the best the league has to offer.

While junior starting pitcher Ian Gomez tossed a one-hit shutout, the Jackets erupted for a 10-run second inning to overwhelm the co-defending champion Jonesboro Eagles, 10-0, last Tuesday in the district opener.

“Anytime you’re fortunate enough to open district play with a win, that’s usually a good thing for your team psyche moving forward,” Meridian baseball head coach Roy Mozley said. “The second inning was obviously a momentum changer. The players did a great job of stringing together some disciplined, competitive and well-executed at bats.”

At the plate, junior Jesus Martinez led the Jackets by going three-for-three with a double, scoring two runs and driving in four, while junior Matty Jones knocked in two more runs and junior Bradley Kihnel scored twice. Even though Meridian (2-0 in district, 6-4 overall) managed only one extra-base hit, the Jackets drew seven walks and three hit batters while stealing 10 bases against Jonesboro (1-1, 4-3).

Riding the momentum of the district opening win, the Jackets smashed 20 hits on their way to a second straight 10-run rule victory to knock off the Aquilla Cougars, 12-2, last Friday. With seven Meridian hitters collecting multiple hits, Jones and junior Ben Beaudin slapped doubles while senior Brayden Wehmeyer beat out a triple to lead the way.

On the mound, Jones tossed a complete game five-hitter, allowing only one earned run while striking out 13 and walking two to earn the win over Aquilla (1-1, 5-3). At the plate, Beaudin went four-for-five to drive in four runs, and Kihnel, Martinez and senior Austin Pogue collected three hits apiece, while Jones and Wehmeyer scored four times each.

Competing in District 14-1A against Jonesboro, Aquilla, Oglesby (1-1, 3-8) and Gholson (0-1, 0-2), Meridian hopes to be one of the top two teams in the Class 1A district will punch their ticket into the postseason after sharing the district title with Jonesboro last season.

Riding a two-game win streak, the Jackets will take on Gholson at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Waco before returning home to host Oglesby at 5 p.m. Friday to wrap up the first round of district play.

“As far as the district race goes, I expect to see competitive play,” Mozley said. “The teams that play with the most discipline and consistency will continue playing. And that’s where we’d like to be as well. We’ve made progress in all three key phases of the game. But there’s still plenty of work to do if we want to play baseball in May.”

Looking to make back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since the 2009-10 seasons, the Jackets took the first step toward restoring Meridian’s winning baseball tradition by claiming a share of their first district title since 2010 last year by finishing the regular season in a deadlock at the top with the Jonesboro.

“We’re excited to be opening district play this week,” Mozley said before taking on Jonesboro. “And we’re looking forward to the challenges that will present.”

Certainly, the Jackets looked ready to meet the challenge when facing the Class 2A Hico Tigers (13-1) Saturday in their final non-district tune-up after going 13 days without playing a game. Although Meridian rallied late to force extra innings, the Tigers came back to pull out a wild 8-6 victory.

Although Hico jumped out to a 2-0 first inning lead and tacked on two more in the fifth, the Jackets responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Meridian rallied for two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. But Hico responded with four runs in the top of eighth before holding off another two-run rally by the Jackets to secure the win.

Junior Ian Gomez went one-for-two at the plate with an inside-the-park-homer along two walks to drive in three runs and score twice, junior Matty Jones went two-for-five with a double, two RBIs and a run scored, senior John Wyatt went two-for-two with two runs scored and senior Brayden Wehmeyer went a perfect three-for three.

Despite only playing one game in the last 17 days, Mozley remains positive about what the team has accomplished in eight non-district games.

“We’ve made progress in all three key phases of the game,” Mozley said. “But there’s still plenty of work to do if we want to play baseball in May.”

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 establishing a distinctive Class 14-1A league.