MCC Baseball Falls In Region 23 Title Game

From School Reports


The Meridian Community College Eagles saw its 2012 season come to a sudden end Sunday afternoon in the 2012 Region 23 Tournament at Scaggs Field. Delgado scored on a bases loaded wild pitch to score the winning run in the tenth inning and escape with a 4-3 victory in the Region 23 Championship game. The Eagles finished the 2012 season with an overall record of 36-23 and the Dolphins will now advance to the South Central District Tournament to be held next weekend in Missouri.

Delgado took the first lead of the game with a pair of run in the bottom of the fifth inning to make the score 2-0. Bubby Riley drove in one run for the Dolphins on an RBI single, while Daniel Brockhoeft added an RBI single in the fifth inning. The Eagles answered with three runs in the seventh inning to take a 3-2 over Delgado. Blake Barrow tied the game for MCC with a two-run double and Jonathan Youngblood singled to give the Eagles the one-run lead.

Delgado scratched for one run in the bottom of the seventh inning on a sacrifice fly Brockhoeft to tie the game at 3-3. The game went into extra innings and the Dolphins came away with the final run in the tenth inning to preserve the win.

MCC finished the game with six hits and Youngblood led the way with a pair of base hits in the loss for the Eagles.

MCC Wins In Extras Over BRCC

From School Reports


The Meridian Community College Eagles completed its sweep of the opening day of the 2012 Region 23 Tournament, but the game needed extra innings. MCC scored on a single by Dallas Hannah with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 14th inning to escape with a 6-5 victory over Baton Rouge.

MCC improved to 36-21 for the season with the victory and Baton Rouge finished the 2012 season with a 25-33 overall record. MCC will now advance into the Region 23 Championship game against Delgado Community College that is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

The game was dominated by pitching for most of the game as MCC held a 1-0 lead after six innings of play. The Eagles scored a run in the bottom of the second inning on a single by Blake Barrow to give MCC a one-run edge. Baton Rouge battled back to score three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 3-1 lead over the Eagles. Two runs scored in the inning on an error by MCC and another run crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by Grant Authement to give the Bears the lead.

MCC tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning with a pair of doubles from the top of the middle of the lineup. Kasey Hinton drove one run in for the Eagles on a double to shallow center field and the second run came across to score on a double to left field by Johnny Tolson.

Baton Rouge would scratch for a pair of runs in the top of the 10th inning on an error in the outfield by Meridian to make it a 5-3 score in favor of the Bears. MCC answered right back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 10th inning on another mammoth home run by Wade Wass. The Pensacola, FL native delivered a two-run home run over the wall in left field to tie the game once again. The home run for Wass now brings his total for the season 23. Wass is now one home run away from tying the single season and career home run record at Meridian Community College.

MCC scored the winning run in the 14th inning on a single to deep center field by Dallas Hannah just pass the glove of Bo Parker to seal the victory.

Michael Manley (8-4) picked up the pitching win out the bullpen and finished the day with a pair of pitching wins in the first day of the tournament. MCC used five different pitchers in the game and the Eagles finished the game with 11 strikeouts as a pitching staff.

MCC Takes Dramatic Win Over Delgado

From School Reports


The Meridian Community College Eagles opened the 2012 Region 23 Tournament against Delgado Community College Friday afternoon at Scaggs Field and the game came down to the final inning between the rivals. MCC scored on a bases loaded hit by pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to take a dramatic 8-7 victory over the Dolphins at Scaggs Field.

MCC (35-21) trailed Delgado 7-6 going to the bottom of the ninth inning and Wade Wass led the inning off with a solo home run to tie the game at 7-7. The home run for the MCC catcher was number 22 for the season and currently leads the NJCAA.

Gabe Woods followed with a double and later scored in the inning on bases loaded hit by pitch of Samuel Peterson to give the Eagles the one-run victory.

Michael Manley (7-4) picked up the pitching win in relief for the Eagles by working the final two innings. Kasey Hinton and Dallas Hannah led MCC at the plate with three hits apiece. Hinton connected on his first carrer home run that came in the sixth inning for MCC.

Wes Stokes drew the start on the mound for Meridian and worked into the seventh inning and allowed seven earned runs. Stokes collected four strikeouts and ended the game with two walks.

Johnny Tolson added a three-run double and Wass had an RBI single in the game. Both teams finished with 13 hits apiece. Sean McMullen led the Dolphins at the plate with three hits and a pair of RBIs. Logan Jones added a pair of base hits and drove in two runs in the loss for the Dolphins.

MCC will play Baton Rouge in the final game of the opening day of the Region 23 Tournament Friday night at Scaggs Field beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Five MCC Baseball Players Ink Scholarships

From School Reports


The Meridian Community College baseball program has had a long standing tradition of paving the way for its players to excel at the next level. MCC baseball announced that five players on the current baseball team will continue their baseball and academic careers next season.

Wes Stokes, Johnny Tolson, Michael Manley, Gabe Woods, and Samuel Peterson all signed their national letters of intent in front a great crowd at the Castell Gallery at the MCC campus Friday morning.

Stokes signed his national letter of intent to play in the Southeastern Conference next season for Mississippi State University. Stokes is a native of Meridian, MS and attended high school at West Lauderdale. Stokes has enjoyed a superb 2012 season at Meridian Community College by leading the Eagles to a Miss-Lou Conference Championship. Stokes is currently 6-0 on the mound for and has logged over 67 innings, while collecting 45 strikeouts. Stokes has pitched two complete game shutouts this season and both game were conference wins against Baton Rouge Community College.

Stokes will join a list of players that have signed to play at Mississippi State that includes: Lake Thoms, Shane Kelly, Chris Curry (current MCC head coach), Casey Long, Todd Doolittle, Tyler Moore, and Wesley Thigpen.

Tolson will also take his talents to the SEC next season and play for the University of Arkansas. Tolson is a native of Lafayette, LA and has hit in the middle of the MCC lineup for most of the season. Tolson is currently hitting .355 for the Eagles, with one home run and 30 RBIs. Tolson is second on the team with 61 hits and has played a majority of his games this season at third base.

Manley will take his talents to Delta State University of the Gulf South Conference next season. Manley is a native of Terry, MS and was selected as a member of the 2011 All-Region Team as a freshman. Manley has logged over 44 innings and has collected 34 strikeouts, to go along with a 6-4 record. Manley has been used primarily out of the bullpen for much of the season at MCC and will look to make an immediate impact for the Statesman next season. Manley will join former MCC standout Ben Kingsley, who is currently a member of the team at Delta State University.

Woods will be continuing his career at Southeastern Louisiana University next season. Woods is a native of Albany, LA and transferred to MCC after spending a season at Ole Miss. Woods has played all of his games at second base this season and has been very productive at the plate recently for the Eagles. Woods is currently hitting .325 with three home runs and 40 RBIs.

Peterson also put to pen to paper on Friday morning by signing with McNesse State University. Peterson transferred to MCC after spending one season as a member of the baseball team at LSU. Peterson has played first base and catcher for much of the season, and has also pitched this season for MCC. Peterson is currently hitting .253 with 10 RBIs, and 12 runs scored. Peterson finished the season with a 2-1 record on the mound and logged over 21 innings pitched.

MCC is currently in preparation to host the 2012 Region 23 Tournament next weekend at Scaggs Field. The Eagles won the right to the host the event by winning the regular season Miss-Lou Conference Championship. The tournament is scheduled for May 11-13 at Scaggs Field.