For supporters of Meridian High School athletics, there was plenty of entertainment at the school on Tuesday night. The baseball, softball, and boys’ soccer teams were all in action at home, and all playing host to division rival Brentsville.
Baseball and softball both began their matchups at 6:00, and unfortunately, neither of them went well. The softball team found itself down 3-0 after one inning and it only got worse from there, as they ended up losing 11-1 in a shortened game due to the 10-run mercy rule (the lone run was a homer in the second by Madison Keelan). Baseball, meanwhile, was able to hold Brentsville scoreless through two innings before the Tigers broke it open en route to an eventual 7-2 victory. Meridian’s runs came on a Josh Wattles hit that ran Atticus Kim home in the fourth, and then Alessio Azimipour batted in Zander Green in the sixth.
Looking to salvage the evening, the soccer game tipped off at just past 7 P.M., and it was clear early on that the Mustangs had the upper hand as they dominated the possession battle. They drew first blood just past the ten minute mark as Tai Bhalla found the back of the net, the first of what would become three goals – all by Bhalla – in a span of four minutes. Meridian went into the halftime break up 3-0 with plenty more high danger chances, including one shot that hit the crossbar and nearly bounced in, and then they added two more tallies in the second half as Felix Green and Tucker Albaugh padded the lead. They hung on for the 5-0 shutout win as Inigo Diz had a pretty easy night on his end of the field, and the boys improved to 6-3 on the season.
They’ll be right back at work tomorrow night as they visit Annandale, as will the softball team as they’ll travel to Fauquier. Meanwhile, baseball’s next action will be at home against Skyline on Friday.
