On Tuesday, April 7th, Meridian’s varsity baseball team destroyed Manassas Park by a mind-boggling score of 26-1. The game was never in doubt, as the Mustangs boasted a 13-0 lead after two innings. The game was officially over by the middle of the fifth inning, when the mercy rule was invoked.

While the Mustangs did have an excellent first inning, scoring four runs, it was the second inning that really set the tone of the game. The Cougars had the bases loaded with just one out, but the Mustangs, led by senior pitcher Ryan McDonald, rallied to force two quick outs and end the inning. Meridian proceeded to score nine runs in the bottom of the second, essentially sealing the game then and there.

However, the Mustangs didn’t take their foot off the gas. They scored eight runs in the third, and five runs in the fourth, meanwhile allowing just one run. After the top of the fifth, the game ended per mercy regulations. Senior Andrew Niemi led the scoring with 5 RBIs, followed by freshman Nate Landers and senior Jack Mossburg, both notching 3 RBIs apiece. 

“This was a great game for us to come out of spring break and get the rust off, get some at-bats in, just get the competitive juices going again,” Mustangs head coach Adam Amerine commented.

Coach Amerine also commented on the importance of the Mustang’s defensive stand in the second inning. 

“That was huge. Anytime you’re playing a team that’s down a little bit, you don’t want to give them any hope, so it was good to come out of [that inning] with no runs allowed,” coach Amerine reflected.

The emphatic win pushed the Mustang’s record to 3-4 on the year. The team will look to continue this form into their next few games, starting with their game on April 10th, where they will travel to Brentsville to take on the Tigers.