By DONN ADAMSON
Daily Journal Sports Editor

Published: Thursday, April 02, 2009
Updated: Thursday, April 2, 2009 10:49 AM CDT

PARK HILLS — The difference was night and day for the Mineral Area College Cardinals between the two games they played against the Meramec Magic on Wednesday. It was lights out after the second inning of the first game and it was all sunshine in game two.

The Cardinals were held to only three hits in a 4-0 loss in game one, but they exploded for 18 hits in game two for a 14-4 five-inning win.

Mineral Area had two chances to score in the first game with both coming in the first two innings. They received no other as relief pitcher David Williams gave up an initial hit to Blake Pinnon and then mowed down 15 batters in a row, striking out nine of the 15.

Pinnon also hit a one-out double in the first inning with a free pass to third on a passed ball, but a ground ball and a strikeout stranded him there.

The Cardinals loaded the bases after the first two outs in the second inning on a pair of walks and a single by Jimmy Thompson, but a fly ball to right ended any scoring threat of the game for MAC.

Tyler Beers started on the mound for MAC, and kept the Cardinals within reasonable distance without any run-support. Beers struck out the side in the first inning, but a pair of walks to start the second and a throwing error on a steal attempt scored Meramec’s first run with Justin Wilson adding another on a RBI single.

MAC’s second error also led to a score for the Magic in the third inning with Jeffery Gumm doing the honors with a RBI single. Catcher Drew Pixley threw out his second baserunner of the game to start the sixth inning, but the Magic would score again after gave up a base on balls and singles by Wilson and Michael King.

Wilson led the Magic in hitting with three singles out of their six hits.

Game two started a little rough for the Cardinals. Lead-off hitter Gerald Roam reached second on a stolen base and then scored on a single to center by Taylor Holman, but Holman tried to go to second on the throw home only to be gunned down by catcher Nick Cox.

The Cardinals (8-17)  started their at-bats with two fly outs, but the floodgates opened as they strung six hits in a row to plate their first four runs of the afternoon.

Singles by Mike Bigogno, Beers and Richie Stanley loaded the bases. Infield singles by Isaac Armstrong and Thompson scored one run each, and Chance Cleveland’s single up the middle scored two more.

Meramec (13-15) rallied back with a pair of runs in the second. Monty Cooper hit a two-run triple, but could not make it home himself as Lawson got a fly ball and a strike-out to close the threat.

Mineral Area strung another six hits together in the third inning after Thompson drew an initial walk. Cox hit a two-run single and Pinnon added two more with a double.

Scoring five runs before two fly outs, the Cardinals continued the onslaught as Thompson doubled in a run, Cleveland singled in another and Cox hit a double to score two more for a nine-run inning.

Stanley drove in a run with a sac fly in the bottom of the fourth for an insurance run and it was needed for the game to end early.

Gumm’s two-out double started a three-hit rally in the top of the fifth, and he would score on a single by Wilson, but Lawson put a halt to the game with a strike-out of King.

Mineral Area, now 6-0 in conference play, will travel to Jefferson College on Saturday.

FIRST GAME

Meramec  021 001 0 - 4  6  0

Mineral Area  000 000 0 - 0  3  2

Pitching: WP- Williams 5i 0r 1h 9k 0bb, Nicholas 2i 0r 2h 1k 3bb. LP- Beers 6i 4r 6h 6k 4bb.

Hitting: Meramec - Wilson 3-3, Nelson 1-2, Gumm 1-2, King 1-3.

Mineral Area - Pinnon 2-3, Thompson 1-3. 2b- Pinnon.

SECOND GAME

Meramec  120 01 - 4  10  0

Mineral Area  409 1x - 14  18  2

Pitching: WP- Lawson 5i 4r 10h 3k 0bb 1hb, LP- Schrader 2i 7r 10h 0k 2bb, Tew 1i 6r 7h 0k 0bb, 0i 1r 1h 0k 1bb 1hb.

Hitting: Meramec - Wilson 3-3, Cooper 2-2, Berding 2-3, Nelson 1-1, King 1-3, Gumm 1-3.   3b- Cooper. 2b- Gumm.

Mineral Area - Cleveland 3-3, Beers 3-3, Bigogno 3-3, Thompson 2-3, Cox 2-3, Stanley 2-4, Pinnon 1-3 Tatum 1-4, Armstrong 1-4.   2b- Pinnon, Beers, Thompson, Cleveland, Cox.