Monday, May 5, 2008
Meridian cans Wildcats
6-1 in MACJC Title Bout
PRCC manages only three hits in championship game

     FULTON Meridian Community College exited the Mississippi Association of Community Junior College conference in grand style here Sunday in Crumbaugh Stadium on the Itawamba CC campus, canning Pearl River''s Wildcats 6-1 to claim the state championship.
      The Eagles, who have opted to leave the conference after this school year, also defeated host ICC 3-2 earlier in the afternoon to earn their berth in the title bout.
      Starter Jason Judge, a lefthander out of Lake, hurled a three-hitter in going the distance to pick up the win, while MCC smashed nine hits including a nifty plate performance by Brent Tanner who accounted for four RBIs off a first-inning two-run homer and a bases-loaded double in the seventh.
      "Give them credit," said third-year Wildcat head coach Jamie McMahon. "We just couldn't get hits. You''ve got to have runners on base to score runs. Judge pitched definitely a great game."
      Pearl River managed only six baserunners all afternoon off a third-inning double by Nick Smith, singles by Michael Diaz and Abad Santana, and three base on balls by Judge.
      Meridian went up 2-0 in the bottom of the first when Tanner belted his two-run dinger, then padded its lead to 4-0 in the second off a single by Josh Demoney and an RBI double by Drew Snider, who scored off off Shannon Steed''s ensuing base hit.
      The Wildcats bounced back with its only run of the game in the top of the third off Smith''s RBI-double.
      Starter Cory Jordan exited the mound for Kyle Lindsey in the bottom of the third and the Southern Mississippi signee pitched solidly for the remainder of the game, striking out seven, but hitting three batters. Lindsey loaded bases in the bottom of the seventh off two hit batters and a Scott Mosley single, setting the stage for Tanner''s two-run double.
      PRCC went three up, three down in the eighth and ninth frames.
      Meridian finished with nine hits. Besides Tanner''s effort, Demoney and Steed (one RBI) cracked two singles each, Drew Snider doubled, and Jarrod Parks and Scott Mosley both had base hits.
      The Wildcats committed two errors in the game, while the Eagles played error free.
      Pearl River, MACJC South Division champions, will now host May 14-17's Region 23 Tournament in Wildcat Stadium in Poplarville. Other participating teams include Itawamba, LSU-Eunice (La.), Mississippi Gulf Coast, Meridian, and Northeast Mississippi. The regional champ will earn a berth in the 2008 NJCAA Division II World Series set the following week in
      USA Stadium in Millington, TN.