WILD WALK-OFF WIN

Meridian Yellowjackets shock Blum for Class 1A playoff series victory, advance to Regional Semifinals to face defending state champion Abbott

In the most dramatic fashion possible, the Meridian Yellowjacket baseball team rallied from the brink of elimination. And in the process, the Jackets advanced to the Class 1A Regional Semifinals for only the second time in school history.

Trailing by two runs with two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning in Game 3 of the best-of-three Class 1A Regional Quarterfinal series against the favorite Blum Bobcats, Jacket junior Jesus Martinez delivered a bases clearing double to right field as Meridian walked off with a wild and dramatic 13-12 victory over Blum last Saturday at the Cleburne Sports Complex.

After winning the three-game series, the Jackets (14-9) advance to the Class 1A, Region II Semifinal to face the defending state champion Abbott Panthers (13-8-1) in a one-game showdown at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Cleburne Sports Complex.

“I’m just really proud of these young men and their willingness to keep believing,” Meridian baseball head coach Roy Mozley said. “I think we’re all just feeling really blessed right now.”

Blum (15-5) opened the Regional Quarterfinal series with a hard-fought 4-2 victory last Thursday afternoon in a pitcher’s duel as Bobcat Ethan Peacock tossed a complete game, scattering seven hits while allowing two earned runs and striking out seven. Meridian junior Matty Jones took the loss on the mound despite only allowing one earned run on four hits while striking out eight.

But the Jackets bounced back in Game 2 using a clutch six-run rally in the top of the seventh to stun the Bobcats, 11-10, last Thursday night in the first of two slugfests. Senior Brayden Wehmeyer knocked in three runs with a double, junior Ian Gomez went two-for-three with a double scoring two runs and knocking in another, while Jones went two-for-five with a double to drive in two runs and score another.

In the Game 3 rubber match, Meridian built to a commanding 7-2 advantage going into the fifth inning, but the Bobcats rallied for six runs to grab their first lead of the game. The Jackets came right back with three runs in the bottom of the fifth to reclaim the lead, but Blum responded with three runs of their own in the sixth to push back ahead and added an insurance run in the top of the seventh for 12-10 lead before Meridian’s dramatic finish.

Martinez came up clutch for the game winner while going two-for-three at the plate to drive in four runs and score twice. Junior Bradley Kihnel drove in three runs and Jones knocked in two more, while senior Austin Pogue, sophomore Jesse Scott, Wehmeyer, Kihnel and Martinez score two runs apiece to contribute to the offensive onslaught.

Carrying the momentum built from a late season surge into the Class 1A Baseball State Tournament, the Jackets accomplished something the baseball program has not achieved since 2010.

Taking on the 2023 regional semifinalist and District 13-1A champion Graford Jackrabbits in a best of three-game Bi-District playoff series at Chisholm Trail High School in Fort Worth, the Jackets dominated the series opener, 11-0, before dropping the night cap, 1-0, in a nail-biting pitching duel. In the deciding rubber match, Meridian rose a gutsy pitching performance from Wehmeyer to a 5-2 victory.

In the Bi-District opener, Gomez drive in six runs while going three-for-five at the plate with a double and triple, while Jones tossed a complete-game, five-hit shutout, striking out six with no walks. Wehmeyer went a perfect three-for three while scoring two runs while and junior Ben Beaudin went three-for-four with two runs scored and one RBI.

Behind a pitching gem by Jackrabbit Cye Lemley, Graford (10-3) bounced back to win Game 2 and even the series. Lemley tossed a complete-game, two-hit shutout, striking out 11 and walking only one.

In Game 3, Wehmeyer tossed six innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs with two strikeouts and a walk before Jones closed out the win with a perfect seventh inning. striking out one. At the plate, Gomez went two-for-three with a run scored, Jones scored two and knocked in another run, while Wehmeyer, Kihnel and Scott contributed RBIs.

In a wild finish to the regular season in District 14-1A, Meridian shook off a three-game losing streak to wrap up the season with three straight wins, earning back-to-back trips to the playoffs for the first time since 2010.