News and Announcements
Meridians back to 20 regular season Wins and we welcome new Lahmers and Aultman munchkins to the ranks!
Team MVP Joe Mills back to his usual ways both on the mound and at the plate in his Meridians’ sophomore season.
89.3 IP, 109 K’s with 10 Complete Games and 2 Saves.
Silver Sluggers
Joe Mills – .368 with Team lead in most offensive categories: RBI (28), Hits (28), Doubles (14), HR (3) and a Slugging % of .671!
Matt Broering with a breakout year – .351 and tied for Team lead in Runs (22) with Woltermann & Newman – 2nd in Average, Hits (27), Doubles (6) and HR (2).
Both above as well as Bret Miller were CABL All Stars for the Meridians.
Meridians HRs: Joe Mills (3), Matt Broering (2), Austin Newman and Nick Woltermann.
Our Rookie of the Year is Austin Newman who steals 3B from Kroell and is a luxury at SS when needed. Team leader in OB % (.517), 2nd in Walks, tied for 2nd in Runs (22) and 3rd on the team at .339
Cincinnati Adult Baseball League (CABL) 2015~ (25+)
2020 (20-8) and 2019 (24-9) CABL Runner-up
2018 #2 seed CABL, 3rd place
finish (22-9)
2017 CABL Mega Bowl Fun Dip Champions (24-13)
2021 Consolation Survivors (22-12)
National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF) 2002-2014 (18+)
Meridians team colors are royal blue and white.
(meridian = the highest point or stage of development; peak, a zenith)
Formed in 2002, the Meridians have a 171-96-3 overall record in their 13 seasons in the Cincinnati Recreation Commission (CRC) league and NKABL: 2014 CRC Sunday Champions (10-0), 2013 NKABL Champions, 2011/12 NKABL Tourney Runner-up, 2009 Regular Season Champions (18-1) and #1 seed in the 2009 NKABL Tournament – #2 / 2011-2, #3 / 2010 NKABL Tourney, 2008 and 2006 CRC City Tournament.
Meridians with a team record 20 regular season Wins and it was the year of the Baby with a new Miosi, Miller, Meza and Couture adding to our Meridians fans!
Team MVP goes to newcomer, Joe Mills, with an assist from Meza for bringing him to us.
Silver Sluggers
Saul Meza - .484 (possibly 2nd in the entire league) with Team lead in Stolen Bases (24), OB% (.562) and HBP (9) - 2nd in Hits (30), Slugging % (.565). and tied for 2nd in Runs (19 in 20 games).
Nate Kroell - #12 on the League Leaders board with their 'plate appearance' qualifier at .405 - Team lead in Hits (34) and Runs (21), tied in Walks (11) - 2nd in Average, RBIs (18) and OB% (.485). "Man, I suck" Kroell was also a Labor Day tourney co-MVP.
All three above as well as Bret Miller and Nick Woltermann were CABL All Stars for the Meridians.
Meridians HRs: Nick Woltermann (4, 3rd in league), Justin Kraus and Joe Mills.
Our Rookie of the Year award goes to Matt Broering, solidifying our catching ranks and 4th on the team at .350 - (FYI, Wolt ineligible as a former 18+ Meridian.)
We get Saul Meza back all season and he proves his worth and then some when healthy leading the Meridians to a team record 24 Wins! We have four guys taking the plunge: Couture's nuptials were during the season (violation of Meridians statutes) with Gater, Jaspers and Knoebel slated in '18.
Team Co-MVPs go to our starting staff of Bret Miller and Nate Kroell
Silver Slugger: Saul Meza - .311 with Team lead in Stolen Bases (16), OB% (.512), Runs (tied, 21 in 23 games), Walks (tied, 15), HBP (tied, 12), 2nd in RBI (14) from the Lead-off spot! and 2nd in Hits (19) and Slugging % (.407).
All three above as well as Tanner Lahmers were selected as CABL interleague All Stars for the Meridians on Team Soto.
Meridians HRs: Derek Reese (2 including the walk-off, line-drive, extra inning shot on 6/14) and CJ Manuel
Our unofficial Rookie of the Year award obviously goes to Bret Miller who's reputation preceded him and he then impressed Jack & I in 2016 holding the CABL All Stars down representing his Dayton team/league at the time. Mr. Miller went on to log 111 innings (509 batters faced!) for the Meridians in '17 including iron man duty in back-to-back starts 4 times! including in the Finals. 10-5 with a 3.22 ERA and 90K with Wins over the Hustle, Colt 45's and Roosters (all 20-win teams).
Meridians back at it in Indy with both some regularity in play as the entire tournament is set at the new turf fields of Grand Park in Westfield, IN (north of Indianapolis), but a lot of late recruiting. Pitching personnel was in short supply as both the CABL and Dayton Roy Hobbs leagues started their tournaments early. This cost us our own teams' arms as well as an ironic match-up in Dayton costing us both our potential Sunday semi-final starter, Sanders, and one of our Monday pill flingers.
In an immediate twist - we see our 2015 semi-final foes, the Ft. Wayne Jackers, right away in pool play Saturday morning. We pick up a former Butler University arm to start the match-up and begin the scoring right away with Duncan knocking Etscheid in, but that's all we do until the 7th with back-to-back hits from Kroell (2-3, 2B) and Hitt, knocked in by Tilley and Duncan again. Final: 3-7
Next up is a Lexington squad and a tight contest. Kraus doubles home Reese in the 2nd and that's all we muster in Game 2 Saturday. Etscheid 2-4, SB and Reese 3-3, R. Final: 1-2
Now the fun starts though as we're paired with the defending champs out of Chicago for Sunday. Meridians go on the offensive immediately plating our first 3 hitters. Etscheid doubles on the first pitch he sees and is immediately knocked in by Kroell. He & Reese are then pushed across by Hitt & Gater.
Lahmers gets to jog home in the 2nd after Etscheid blasts one out to left. The boys then take a break for awhile to rest up for the 9th when they finally follow up the Grays' 5-run 6th with a 6-run final frame! Hitt & Gater come home on Couture's knock, Couture barely scores from 1st on Parkhurst's 2B and took a power nap on the soft turf at home plate. Kroell, Reese and Duncan push across 3 more for a Final of 12-9.
Kroell closes this one out on the mound and has the game-winning RBI! Etscheid: 2-4, 2B, HR, 2R, BB - Reese: 3-4, 2B, 2R, SB and Lahmers: 3-3, 2R, BB, SB.
The Jackers rematch gets ugly in the end, but we do some damage as well getting into double-digits against them as well for the 2nd year in a row in the semis (10-18). Etscheid: 4-5, 2B, R, BB - Tilley: 3-4, 3B, R, BB.
"Extraordinary" Matt Hitt keeps the dugout lively all weekend and was just fun to watch including pulling the 1st baseman off the bag and throwing out the runner anyway Sunday and a sliding grab in CF of the semi-final.
Word came through that the Columbus Pirates won the tourney that afternoon then.
Meridians Tournament MVP: David Etscheid who thrives in the lead-off spot going 9-16 with a HR-3B-2B, but only 4R and 2 RBI as Coach is proved correct that his talents are wasted all the way at the top of the lineup. Etscheid also makes his Meridians pitching debut in the 25+ tourney tossing well in both games of the Saturday DH to kick off the marathon stretch for the guys playing both in Indy and back home in Cincinnati through Wednesday.
Meridians field teams for 6 games in 5 days including vs. both the #1 seed & defending Indy tourney champion, Chicago Grays, on day 3 and the #1 seed & defending CABL regular season & tourney champion, Cincinnati Hooks, on the 5th day.
Thanks to the members of the Indy Irish (Herbert), Indy Giants (Hitt, Johnson), Cincinnati Sting (Tilley, Chapman) and former Meridian, Duncan, for joining us in Indianapolis.
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