By By Ryan Satcher / staff writer
March 27, 2002
The Eagles of Meridian Community College used good pitching from a pair of sophomore left-handers and solid defense to sweep visiting Rockingham (N.C.) Community College in a baseball doubleheader at Scaggs Field on Tuesday.
Chord Robinson allowed only four hits and one earned run as MCC took the 3-2 victory in the first game.
Justin Bounds pitched well in the second game and allowed only two runs to help MCC win the nightcap 9-2. "The two sophomores stepped up," said head coach Mike Federico. "Robinson and Bounds threw well. We played solid defense behind them and had some key hits when we needed them."
MCC 3
Rockingham 2
The homestanding Eagles scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take their first lead of the game and held on to beat the visitors 3-2 in a close ball game.
Robinson got out of the first three innings with no runs scored as Rockingham left a couple of runners in scoring position. MCC was also unable to score as Rockingham pitcher Josh Whittle was effective.
Rockingham finally put the first run of the game on the board when Justin Dill took a pitch and drove it over the right field fence to make the score 1-0.
MCC didn't stay behind long, scoring a run in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game. Adam Smith led off the inning with a perfect bunt down the third base line for an infield single. Tyler Scarbrough singled and Nate Sanders followed with a walk to load the bases with only one out. Whittle struck out the next batter and looked to be getting out of the jam when he lost control of a pitch and hit Billy Porter to bring in Smith. Meridian was unable to plate another runner in the inning and the score was 1-1 after four innings of play.
Rockingham came back to take the lead again in the fifth inning on an unearned run. Harold Andrews started the inning by reaching on an error. Jon Booth singled to give Rockingham a runner at first and second with one out. Another MCC error loaded the bases for Jeffrey Roberts who hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate Andrews and give the visiting Eagles a 2-1 lead. After a wild pitch and intentional walk, Robinson got a big strikeout with the bases loaded to get out of the inning.
Meridian finally got the lead for good as it answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Wes Shows reached on an error and Brad McKee followed with a single. Some bad communication by Rockingham allowed Smith to reach on another bunt to load the bases. Walt Bounds scored Shows with a sacrifice fly to tie the score 2-2. An error allowed McKee to score and MCC scored the final run of the game to take the 3-2 lead.
Michael Goodman came in to pitch the seventh inning and pick up the save. Robinson took the win to improve to 2-0 on the season and relief pitcher Jonathan Wallace got the loss.
MCC 9
Rockingham 2
Meridian once again fell behind early but Bounds settled down and the MCC bats got hot to help complete the sweep with a 9-2 victory.
The visiting Eagles got on the board in the first inning. Booth singled to start the game. He stole second and moved to third when the throw from the catcher went into the outfield. Whittle knocked the runner in from third on a ground out to give Rockingham an early 1-0 lead.
MCC struck for two runs in the second inning to take a lead. Scarbrough doubled and was knocked in as Billy Porter hit a two-out two-run homer to give Meridian a 2-1 lead.
The homestanding Eagles also scored two runs in the third inning. Shows and McKee got back-to-back hits with one out in the inning. Shows later scored on a ground out by Smith and Bounds singled in McKee to give MCC a 4-1 lead after three innings.
Dill singled to start the fourth for Rockingham and later scored on a ground out by Sam Davis to cut the Meridian lead to 4-2. That would be as close as the visitors would get as Meridian scored three runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth. Phillip Garrett singled to start the fifth. Shows singled to give MCC a runner at first and second with no outs. McKee grounded to third for a fielder's choice. Smith followed with a two-run double down the left field line to make the score 6-2. Scarbrough later singled in Smith to give MCC a commanding 7-2 lead.
Chad Bradley started the sixth inning with a walk and moved to second on a single by Garrett. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Shows then hit a ground ball to first. The throw to home was not in time to get courtesy runner Jake Bell. Garrett scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to give MCC a 9-2 lead.
Bounds, Joey Pounders and McKee combined to shut down the visitors and secure the win.
Bounds moves to 1-2 on the season and Mark Gammon got the loss for Rockingham. Meridian improves to 11-18 with the sweep while Rockingham falls to 14-14. MCC will be in action this weekend when the Eagles host Bossier Parish for an important three-game Miss-Lou Conference series.