On Tuesday, Apr 7, Meridian baseball outclassed Manassas Park, winning by a score of 26-1. The Mustangs boasted a 13-0 lead after two innings, and the game was officially over by the middle of the fifth inning, when the mercy rule was invoked.
While it can be difficult to point to a single moment in such a dominant performance, the Mustangs’ defensive stand in the top of the second inning set the tone of the game. With the bases loaded, and with just one out for Manassas Park, Meridian brought the inning home, allowing no runs.
Head coach Adam Amerine commented on the importance of the stand postgame.
“That was huge. Anytime you’re playing a team that’s down a little bit, you don’t want to give them any hope, so it was good to come out of [that inning] with no runs allowed,” Amerine reflected.
The Mustangs never took their foot off the gas, scoring eight runs in the third inning and five runs in the fourth, all while allowing just one run. After the top of the fifth, the game ended per mercy regulations. Senior Andrew Niemi led the scoring with 5 RBIs, followed by freshman Nate Landers and senior Jack Mossburg, both notching 3 RBIs apiece.
“This was a great game for us to come out of spring break and get the rust off, get some at-bats in, just get the competitive juices going again,” Amerine said.
The game continued a trend of dominance for the Mustangs, as this is not their first time mercy rule win this season.
Despite their seemingly average record of 3-4, the Mustangs have shown a lot of promise so far. They have had multiple close losses to established programs, and multiple dominant wins. The team is also very young, with several underclassmen in their batting order. These players will only improve as time goes on, and Meridian will look to be a powerhouse program in a couple years time.
The team hopes to build on their impressive form as the season progresses, starting with their next game against Skyline on Apr 16.
