Monarchs maul Eagles

Rain postpones remainder of NJCAA district tourney slate

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Even before rain hit Friday afternoon, there was a downpour on the Maple Woods campus as the host Monarchs hammered Meridian Community College 18-2 in the first game of the NJCAA South Central District tournament.

Seminole (Okla.) State led Maple Woods 1-0 after four innings in the second game before the rain arrived. The Eagles and Trojans were also scheduled to play Friday afternoon. Instead, MCC coach Chris Rose said there will be a coaches’ meeting this morning to revise the schedule once the field conditions are known.

The Eagles (37-18) got off to a quick start in Friday’s opener, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Brent Tanner singled with two outs and moved to second on a passed ball before former West Lauderdale star Tyler Vick drove him home with a single. Vick now has 71 RBIs.

After Maple Woods (39-17) tied it in the home half, MCC again grabbed the lead. Jonathan Pace singled to open the second and moved to third on a Taylor Scarborough single and scored on a Kenny Sanders grounder.

From there it was all Monarchs. Maple Woods scored four runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead for good before scoring 10 in the third, all unearned, to seize control.

“It was horrible,” Rose said. “We couldn’t play defense. They score 18 runs and, I think, only four were earned. (Starting pitcher Eric) Callender was pitching well.)

“We’ve just got to find a way to come back and get it done. We’ve been in elimination games before. If we had lost 18-2 and just been overwhelmed, it would be disheartening. But, I’ve checked on the team and they’re good. Maple Woods is a good team, but they can be beaten.”