By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
May 17, 2004
Meridian Community College just likes to do things the hard way on the baseball diamond.
The Eagles (46-12) won back-to-back games on Saturday against Faulkner State (Ala.) Community College, after falling in the first game on Friday.
MCC also had to play two games in the Region XXIII finale, after falling to Delgado in the opening game on May 9. The Eagles bounced back to win the elimination game to claim the regional crown.
The team's resilience paid off in a second straight trip to the Junior College World Series in Grand Junction, Colo., on May 29-June 5. MCC finished in fifth place last year in the 10-team national baseball tournament.
The Eagles were given three days off after the super regional victory, giving the players a break from Sunday-Tuesday.
Fourteen of the MCC sophomore players pick up their diplomas today in the school's graduation ceremony, and the squad will return to the practice field on Wednesday.
Federico said the team plans to practice from Wednesday to May 24, and the Eagles are tentatively scheduled to leave for Colorado on May 25.
The trip to the World Series will be the first for the Eagles' 14 freshmen and sophomore pitcher Chad Catalano, who transferred to MCC from Pearl River before this season and picked up the win in the second game of the super regional.
Though these players may not have gone to Colorado last season, the freshman and transfer pitcher have already been well versed in what to expect at the national tournament.
San Jacinto (Texas) Community College is the only other team, besides MCC and Pensacola, that has qualified for the World Series. Teams representing the Northern, Southern, Eastern, East Central, South Central, Central and Western regions have not been determined.