Eagles eye Colorado in '09

(MERIDIAN, Miss.) – Twenty-five games at Scaggs Field and a trip to the prestigious Northwest Florida Tournament highlight a challenging 2009 Meridian Community College baseball schedule announced this week by fourth-year MCC head baseball coach Chris Rose.

The Eagles usher in the ’09 season at home with a doubleheader versus Bossier-Parrish on Feb.1.

Then the Eagles travel south for seven road games in seven days.

MCC’s first stop is in Laurel, MS to play former MACJC rival, Jones County in a doubleheader on Feb. 4.

The Eagles will then play in their first of three tournaments on the season at the prestigious Northwest Florida Tournament in Ft. Walton, FL on Feb. 6-8. There, the Eagles will face Alabama Southern, host-Northwest Florida State and Shelton State. MCC will then travel back north to face Alabama Southern for a doubleheader in Monroeville, AL on Feb. 10, thus completing their first major road trip.

“We have put together a very challenging schedule for 2009. Opening with Baton Rouge will be a very strong challenge,” said MCC head coach, Chris Rose.

“Then on the road to a much improved Jones, and a NWF tournament that have four teams all of which are nationally known. Needless to say we will be tested early on. The schedule should help us understand what we have.”

MCC will return home to host the annual Rush Tournament at Scaggs field on Feb. 13-15. The Eagles open up the tournament Friday by hosting Southeastern Illinois at noon then Wabash College at 3 p.m., and then play in the nightcap on Saturday against Southeastern Illinois at 6 p.m., before finishing the tourney with a afternoon doubleheader on Sunday against Wabash and then Southeastern Illinois.

“We usually get a major advantage over the two northern teams as they don’t get outside much before we play,” said Rose.

“This year is different, both Wabash and Southeastern Illinois have had weather that enabled them to practice so I look for them to be sharp when they arrive.”

Meridian will stay at home following the Rush Tournament to host Alabama Southern on Feb. 17 and Kaskaskia on Feb. 20 and 22.

MCC’s final regular season tournament will come at Bossier Parish when the Eagles face Angelina and host-Bossier Parrish on Feb. 27 in Bossier, LA. The final day, MCC will play Northeast Oklahoma and Weatherford on Feb. 28.

The Eagles kick off the month of March at home with a seven game home stand.

First, MCC will host Northwest Florida State College for three game series on March 6-7. Then the Eagles will host Kishwaukee in a double-header on March 11 and Northwest Shoals on March 17.

MCC will then play eight consecutive road games starting with a trip to conference opponent-Baton Rouge Community College March 21-22, then the Eagles travel to Thomasville, AL to face L.B. Wallace on March 26. Longtime rival of MCC and conference foe, Delgado, reappears on the Eagles schedule as MCC continues their road trip in out of New Orleans against the Dolphins on March 28-29. MCC’s final game for the month of March comes at Tuscaloosa, AL with a game against Shelton State on March 31.

A return game with Shelton State on April 7 opens up the final month of the regular season for MCC, then the Eagles host conference opponent Baton Rouge Community College on April 11-12.

MCC’s final road trip keeps them in the Twin States area with back-to-back double headers at Northwest Shoals on April 14 and at Wallace State-Hanceville on April 15.

Meridian will host conference foe and tradition rival, Delgado, April 18-19 in a weekend series to close out its 2009 regular season schedule.

The 2009 NJCAA Region 23 Division I Baseball Tournament is scheduled May 1-3 in Baton Rouge, LA and the NJCAA District Tournament will be played on May 15-17 at the Region 16 champion’s campus.

The 2009 NJCAA Division I Baseball World Series is set for Grand Junction, CO on May 23-30, a site MCC has visited many times in its storied past.

“We are now back D1, that means the winner of the district tournament goes to Grand Junction. The harsh reality is that people will look at a MCC Baseball as underachieving if we don’t go to the World Series and that’s ok with me,” said Rose.

“Every person involved in this program knows how high the bar is set coming in and embraces the fact that we have a higher standard than most. We have one goal: World Series.”