Courtesy of The Greenwood Commonwealth
Jackson Academy waltzed into Louis Coleman Field as the top-ranked private school baseball team in the state but limped away dazed and confused.
Senior ace Jared Meeks kept the Raiders totally off balance at the plate while his teammates did their job at the plate in a 10-2 victory Tuesday at Pillow. "That was a huge win against a really good team," said Mustang coach Tim Burton, whose team has won five of its last seven games. PA improves to 10-9 overall, 6-4 in the North AAA standings while snapping the Raiders' eight-game win streak. JA slips to 14-4, 7-3.
The two teams will play a doubleheader at JA Thursday. Meeks has obviously worked his way back into top form after missing about three weeks of action earlier in the season with an arm injury. In his third game back, Meeks pitched a complete game on his 18th birthday, giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out eight and walking none. "Jared is certainly back," Burton said. "He pitched a great game against a great team. JA never could figure him out. He does such a good job with his slider because he throws it from two different arm slots." He threw only 82 pitches in a complete game. That is a very commanding performance."
JA went up 1-0 in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Michael Martin, but the Mustangs came back in the bottom of the inning to go up 2-1. James Davidson led off with a walk and scored on a double by Andrew Ables, who later scored from third base on a groundball out by Bo Farmer. Pillow added a run in the second to take control of the game. Adam Crick reached on an error and scored on a double by Davidson to make it 3-1. The Mustangs then chased Raider ace Michael Martin from the game with two outs in the third inning after second baseman Zack Davis ripped a two-run home run just inside the poll in left field.
It was the first homer in varsity action for the 5-foot-7, 160-pound junior who was mobbed by his teammates after crossing home plate. Burton said Davis' home run might have surprised some people but not him. "Zack always hits the ball hard. He just got the right elevation on that one," said the first-year PA head coach. "That really got our guys fired up. They were really happy for him because Zack is such a great kid. They love to have fun with him." After the Mustangs pushed their lead to 5-1, things went south for the Raiders, who gave up two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth without giving up a hit. JA finished with six errors. Davis had a homer, while Davidson and Ables each added a double. Landon Taylor, Gaston Lyon, Jim Tom Pilgreen and Crick each had a single.
Senior ace Jared Meeks kept the Raiders totally off balance at the plate while his teammates did their job at the plate in a 10-2 victory Tuesday at Pillow. "That was a huge win against a really good team," said Mustang coach Tim Burton, whose team has won five of its last seven games. PA improves to 10-9 overall, 6-4 in the North AAA standings while snapping the Raiders' eight-game win streak. JA slips to 14-4, 7-3.
The two teams will play a doubleheader at JA Thursday. Meeks has obviously worked his way back into top form after missing about three weeks of action earlier in the season with an arm injury. In his third game back, Meeks pitched a complete game on his 18th birthday, giving up two runs on seven hits while striking out eight and walking none. "Jared is certainly back," Burton said. "He pitched a great game against a great team. JA never could figure him out. He does such a good job with his slider because he throws it from two different arm slots." He threw only 82 pitches in a complete game. That is a very commanding performance."
JA went up 1-0 in the top of the first inning on an RBI double by Michael Martin, but the Mustangs came back in the bottom of the inning to go up 2-1. James Davidson led off with a walk and scored on a double by Andrew Ables, who later scored from third base on a groundball out by Bo Farmer. Pillow added a run in the second to take control of the game. Adam Crick reached on an error and scored on a double by Davidson to make it 3-1. The Mustangs then chased Raider ace Michael Martin from the game with two outs in the third inning after second baseman Zack Davis ripped a two-run home run just inside the poll in left field.
It was the first homer in varsity action for the 5-foot-7, 160-pound junior who was mobbed by his teammates after crossing home plate. Burton said Davis' home run might have surprised some people but not him. "Zack always hits the ball hard. He just got the right elevation on that one," said the first-year PA head coach. "That really got our guys fired up. They were really happy for him because Zack is such a great kid. They love to have fun with him." After the Mustangs pushed their lead to 5-1, things went south for the Raiders, who gave up two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth without giving up a hit. JA finished with six errors. Davis had a homer, while Davidson and Ables each added a double. Landon Taylor, Gaston Lyon, Jim Tom Pilgreen and Crick each had a single.
