2008: Kevin McClung
2007: Jack Parkhurst
2006: Jim Rack (Summer) and Mike Soto (Fall)
2005: Scott Bush & Jared Cutter (Summer) and K.C. Fread (Fall)
2004: Blain Williams (Summer) and Scott Bush (Fall)
2003: Kevin McClung
2002: Jim Rack

CG by Cutter with Parkhurst going 3-3 weren't enough to get past a young, good-hitting Ohio Heat team  (Final 4-6).   Along with Parkhurst - Cobb and Lewis have multi-hit days.  A few physical and a few mental errors cost us, but a well-fought contest overall.   Web gem to Cobb on a chopper up the middle and throw back across his body to 1st.

Meridians' 2008 Silver Slugger goes to Kevin McClung who led the team in hitting, HRs and injuries.   McClung also tossed the 2nd no-hitter in Meridians' history this summer and earned a team-lead 4 victories on the hill overall.

Meridians close out their Sunday DH schedule trying to make up one of the rainouts and end up with a long, strange day at the field ending in lightning.   Soto starts off 5 for 5 in the morning Roy Hobbs game and continues with a 2B right away in CRC play as he survives his last triple-header Sunday of 2008.   Meridians bats start out hot right away with 5 runs in the 1st inning and we look to cruise from there, but while our bats fall asleep for awhile - they chip away and make it a game.   From there on out, runs are a plenty for both teams as we end up with a football score and a loss in 8 innings.   Kraus guts out 7 innings in the sweltering heat and continues to help himself with the bat.

McClung shows up "a mess" with a new bad foot to accompany his bad arm, proven by his single off the wall.   Later in the Game 1, Blain comes up lame racing in for a blooper.  So the injured Blain replaces the hurt McClung at 1st base and we are looking years above our actual ages (Blain still gets one more hit though after the injury).   While coach and everyone else calls everyone they know to fill in, we let the game slip away.  2 last minute call-offs and a no-show leave us with just 9 for the day until Ryan finds a taker in Brandon Webb (did anybody else realize that this was his name? - we should have let him pitch...).   Brandon comes out cold and jumps into right field and then right back in to hit after years away from baseball and playing college football.   He proceeds to crack a no-doubter to left field for a 2-run homer.   Great pick-up Ryan! (hopefully that made up for his 3 broken bats on the day)   Lewis hits the hill to finish Game 1 and rotates something like 5 bats throughout the afternoon (Ohhh, Donna...).

Once we get 9 semi-healthy bodies in the lineup for Game 2, we get back to our brand of baseball.   After catching Game 1's 8 innings, Fread tosses 6 shutout innings (despite a miniscule strike zone to work with) for the 8-0 win.   Kraus booms a ball to the opposite field fence and thinks he has wheels, trying for a triple.   Soto plays 3rd base for 22 innings (including Hobbs) and only gets 3 balls all day.   Derek is now the pop-up king and no ball in the air is safe anymore as he snags two more tough ones today including a sliding grab on the 1st base side.   Drew Clim lasers a ball from center to preserve the shutout.   All Meridians contribute as we score 18 runs on the day.

Fread debuts on the mound and Daron finishes with 2 scoreless innings, but the Meridians can't hold the lead.   Pratt triples home our first 2 runs and then is brought home after his 2nd triple by Thomas.    Pratt covers a lot of ground on the night both in centerfield and on the basepaths.   Derek gets all of the pop up practice he could ever want.   Parkhurst, Cutter and Pratt with multi-hit nights while Kraus continues to pad his season hitting stats.

(Final:  3-5 vs. Yorkville)

Meridians bats come back to life and put 14 runs in the books, but not enough to outscore the Hawks as we drop both games.   Blain Wiiliams gets back to the hill and gets through 3 innings quickly as well as a strikeout looking to start the 4th, but the Hawks find their bats a plenty after that.   Daron Williams only gives up 3 runs through 4 innings before their bats awake yet again in Game 2.   Meridians lead through 3 innings in Game 1 and pull within in 1 run in the 5th inning of Game 2, but to no avail.   Most Meridians find the mound on the day including Cobb for his first cameo in '08 along with the starters and Pratt, Kraus & Pearson.

McClung collects 5 hits on the day with a bad wing including a 2B and HR.   Newcomer Clim is on base all day from the infamous AH spot - Blain, Pratt, Fread, Cobb, Thomas and Ryan Williams all with multi-hit days.   Web gems from both Blain and Derek on sliding grabs in the outfield as well as a snare in the 2nd base hole by Ryan.

Slow start to both games, but we figure it out pretty quickly and stay in control all afternoon.   McClung gets the CG win in Game 1 (9 K's) with Daron Williams getting his first CG for the Meridians in his Game 2 win.   Daron shines on this day with only 5 put outs in the field while he strikes out the rest = 16 K's!   4 of the other outs handled by his brothers with Blain finding 2 of them dropping into his glove in center and Derek wiping the other two off the bases by throwing out a runner at 3rd and picking another off of 1st.   Derek's 2-week layoff didn't cool off his bat as he doubled and went yard at Roselawn 1.

K.C. flashbacks to Little League and keeps running all day until they finally get him out.   (Scored himself from 1st the first time though.)   Netherly causes our adversary dugout discontent when he keeps trying to pop out to the catcher before finding his stroke.   After a 2-6 start to the season, the Meridians have won 7 of their last 8.

(Finals:  8-1 vs. Cincinnati Royals and 9-2 vs. The Heat)

With their 3-4-5 hitters out - the Meridians' arms on the hill should have been the saviors, but the other bats in the lineup do their jobs as well.   Justin Kraus tosses a CG shutout, gets recruited and helps his own cause with the bat in Game 1.   Kevin McClung returns from his no-no the weekend prior and holds a good-hitting Hawks team close enough for two Meridians comebacks and a CG win as well.

Multi-hits days for every Meridian including Daron Williams (while playing a solid outfield) and Kraus who knocks in the evetual game-winner in Game 2 off the bench (in turf shoes, keeping the spikes off after his Game 1 performance).   Casey Hall makes a much-needed cameo appearance and doesn't even see the mound, but scores the tying and go-ahead runs in Game 2.   Big hits in Game 2 from Ryan Williams (including a booming double to left), Porpiglia, Derek Williams (who keeps up his hot hitting), Parkhurst, newcomer Andrew Yokley and Hall with McClung on base all day as usual.   Soto starts the scoring in Game 1 by getting McClung his running in by scoring him from 1st and then just keeps hitting all day long.

Web gems from McClung who catches up with a sure infield hit from the mound and flips back to Parkhurst.   Parkhurst returns the favor with a flip to McClung later after taking one off the chest.   Yokley in left with a diving snare and then pelts Hall in the infield looking for a 4th out.   The ever-popular double-play combination of Soto to Hall to Parkhurst turns one in Game 2 while the fence fails to pry a pop up from Soto.

(Finals:  8-0 vs. Red Sox and 7-6 vs. Cincinnati Hawks)

Winning streak ends with a laugher on Thursday night against the Chiefs.   3 out-of-town, 2 last minute call-offs and an injury give us just 9 on a night we usually have a football team in the dugout (and puts Soto at shortstop, which is never a good idea along with outfielders playing 3rd and 2nd).   Blain with a multi-hit night, Phil with a stand-up triple and Derek watches his double off the bottom of the fence like he has power.   Soto's offensive line skills put their 3rd baseman on his back, clean pass blocking in the score book as the Chiefs' catcher waits until he's on the 3rd base bag to throw the ball.

Chiefs' website tries to summarize the game above (not sure on how many innings we played), but they're unable to form too many coherent sentences and throughout their website use words such as jamb (probably good with peanutb butterb though), quitely (when it's supposed to be 'quietly'), Everst, nest (next), bakc, officail and the pride of Kentucky - Luoisville.   And what in the hell is a "bubble ride"?

Kevin McClung completely shuts down the opposition in Game 1 for the 2nd no-hitter in Meridians' history (both 5 inning, 10-run rule affairs - Casey Hall, 2005).   The only blemish keeping the perfect game at bay was a 1st inning error by one of our pitchers filling in at 2nd base (2nd batter of the game).   8 K's along with the 0 hits - "You buckled him!"

McClung cruised so easily in Game 1, he starts Game 2 as well to win both.   Daron Williams relieves in Game 2 for the hold.   Only 1 run allowed on the day as the Meridians score 25 times.   Derek Williams curses in the outfield, eats strawberry shortcake and then goes yard in Game 2.   Soto hits into a triple play (and yes, Blain was involved...).   Fread finds playing 3rd base to his liking in Game 2 and also drops a bomb (2 HBP and a BB as well).   Multi-hit days for Porpiglia (also 4 BBs), McClung (2 3Bs+), B. Williams (2B, 3B+), Pratt, Soto and De. Williams.   Ryan Williams hits at'em balls all day.

(Finals:  11-0 and 14-1 vs. Cincinnati Royals)

Down 3-7, we don't make an out in the home half of the 7th and end it with Pratt taking the walk-off walk to force in Derek Williams from 3rd.   The 7th starts with back-to-back walks to Parkhurst and Cutter.   Lewis forces an error with a bunt that scores Parkhurst from 2nd and newcomer Jared Porpiglia takes a walk as well.   Derek then comes up big with a solid, 2-run single.   Netherly forces yet another error and McClung takes his walk as well, which loaded them for Pratt who starts off 0-2, but fights off a few pitches and waits out the pitcher for his well-deserved free pass to end it.

Daron Williams earns the win in relief of the lefties Kraus and Pearson.   Kraus with 3 K's and 1 runner (almost 2) picked off.   Sloppy game with multiple errors on both sides, but we'll take the ugly win.   Lewis the only one with a multi-hit night as everyone contributed.   Soto with 2 runs, scoring once by himself by causing a balk.   Parkhurst, Lewis, Netherly with RBI's in addition to Derek's 2 and Pratt's BB to win it.   (Final:  8-7 vs. Yorkville)

Sweltering Sunday starts off well with Daron Williams on the hill and a lead in the first few innings of the day, but the heat and hot bats of the Cincinnati Hawks keep us down for the duration as we drop the pair.   Too hot to keep a book, but Soto only makes 1 out all day (3-4 with 4 walks) and that one ends the suffering at the end of Game 2.   Multi-hit day also for McClung, Pratt and Blain Williams (who gets picked off yet again, and this time was worse than all of the others...).   Pratt and B. Williams  make their Meridians' debut on the mound with Phil unable to hit the mascot so he tries to hit the on-deck batter instead (who he then struck out).   Web gems from Soto sliding to the dugout fence for a pop-up and Pratt with 2 sliding grabs in right field.   Great play all day by newcomer Ryan Williams (yes - another Williams, but this one's not related).   Kudos to Derek Williams and Fread who don the gear for the 2 games after Soto catches 8 innings in the morning for the Cincinnati Yankees win.

We didn't have to wait 3 hours between games this time, but Game 1 was cut short due to time and we only get 6 innings in.   Not that we had done much to that point except put a lot of runners on base to no avail.   Only note to speak of was the Meridians debut of Daron Williams on the mound despite a sprained ankle.   A quick 1-2-3 inning for him with 2 K's.   (Final:  0-6 vs Cinci. Royals)

We took out our frustrations during Game 2, scoring 13 runs and wrapping it up in 5 innings.   McClung goes yard at Roselawn 1, Fread hits all afternoon and Kraus helps himself with a long double while earning his 2nd win in as many starts.   (Final:  13- 1 vs. The Heat)

Web gems of the day to Pratt with two lasers shot in from right field and McClung very strong all day at short, charging hard and throwing rockets across the diamond.

Yes, the title's accurate - we played at 1:30 and then again at 5:30 with a make-shift Memorial Day weekend lineup.   Players brought in from across OH, KY & IN.

Game 2 highlights:   We play with 9 and just 9 with the pitcher hitting and outfielders playing 2nd and 3rd.   Complete Game by Justin Kraus in his Meridians debut!   3 of our 5 runs knocked in by '07 Meridians Silver Slugger, Jack Parkhurst, who also pushed the winning run from 1st to 3rd with his hardest hit ball of the day.   2 HBP later, we walk off with the win in the bottom of the 7th.  We either score there or the game is a tie due to darkness.   (Final: 5-4 vs. Cincinnati Royals)

Blain Williams makes his Meridians' return, hitting all day and adding two brothers the the Meridians mix.   Strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play by Kraus and Derek Williams.   Great bare-handed stop on a gapper by perennial sub Chris Arnold and relay by fellow sub Taylor Fisher (Dayton Braves) to easily gun down a runner at 2nd.

Game 1:   We make a mini-comeback with 4 runs in the 4th, but not enough as we drop our first game of the season.   4 hits (B. Williams, Parkhurst, Pratt & De. Williams) while the team accepts 4 walks.    (Final: 4-12 vs. Cincinnati Hawks) 

We lose our make-shift shortstop (naturally a pitcher) in pre-game warm-ups, which puts Soto at short all day without incident (nothing in Game 1, but challenged right away in Game 2).   At least 4 of our guys picked off (3 in Game 2, two of them off 2nd base) on the day so it's obviously our first time out this year.   Web gems go to Meridians' newcomer, Phil Pratt with a spin & throw along with a diving stop at 3rd base.   Taking it for the team and getting us the win in Game 2 were Boehringer & De. Wiilliams.   Multi-hit days for B. Williams, Parkhurst, Pratt and De. Williams.