By By Tony Krausz / assistant sports editor
May 30, 2004
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. Meridian Community College put itself in an all too familiar position after the opening game of the Junior College World Series on Saturday the losers' side.
The Eagles (46-13) fell 9-5 to the Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College Pirates (36-19) in the opening game of the 10-team, double-elimination baseball tournament at Suplizio Field.
MCC has put its back against the wall through most of the postseason this year.
The Eagles dropped the first game of the super regional to Faulkner State (Ala.) Community College, but they won the last two games of the best-of-three series to qualify for the World Series.
MCC also lost the first game of the final day of the Region XXIII tournament to Delgado (La.) Community College, but won the decisive game of the region tournament.
The Eagles will have to navigate their way through the losers' bracket to have a chance to win the program's first national title in seven trips to the World Series. MCC has won it's tournament-opener at Grand Junction just once since first making the trip out west in 1993.
MCC will take on the Grayson County (Texas) College Vikings at 11 a.m. today in an elimination game, as the team's long road to the finals begins. The game can be heard locally on WZKR 103.3 FM.
Grayson County lost 7-6 in 10 innings in the second game on Saturday to Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College. Pensacola will take on Indian Hills at 8:30 p.m. Monday in the fireworks game.
Vikings relief pitcher A.T. Cole issued a walk to Indian Hills shortstop Kelvin Vazquez with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Grayson County is making its fifth appearance in the World Series. The Vikings won the national title in 1999 and 2000.
Grayson County held a 4-0 lead entering the sixth inning, and it took a 6-5 advantage on a balk that plated a run in the eighth inning.
Indian Hill's Brian Joynt tied the game at six in the bottom of the ninth with a single to force extra innings.
MCC, which lost its first game of the World Series last year, will sent sophomore Chad Catalano to the mound against Grayson County.
Catalano (9-2) enters today's game with a 2.42 ERA, and he is holding teams to a .214 batting average. The Mandeville, La., native has 35 strikeouts in 63.1 innings.
MCC can look to last season for the model necessary to capture the championship, after losing the first game.
The Community College of Southern Nevada fell 7-6 to Seminole (Fla.) Community College in the first game of the 2003 World Series.
Southern Nevada went on to claim the series title, defeating San Jacinto (Texas) Community College North twice in the final two days of the tournament. Southern Nevada posted 14-1 and 4-1 wins over San Jacinto to win the World Series.