Wildcats take win over Knights

By By Marty Stamper/EMG sports assistant
March 27, 2004
The way he handcuffed the West Lauderdale Knights Friday night at Q.V. Sykes Ballpark, Meridian's Kedrick Martin might want to consider a job in law enforcement one of these days.
Martin struck out 13 and allowed only three hits as 12th-ranked Meridian knocked off third-ranked West Lauderdale 4-1.
West dropped to 17-2.
Martin (5-2) entered the game with a 1.69 ERA and a team-high 51 strikeouts to go with 10 walks. In addition to 13 strikeouts Friday, he walked only three in a complete-game outing.
Meridian didn't exactly wear out the scoreboard as the Wildcats got single runs in the first and second frames and added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to improve to 11-6.
West threatened in the top of the first as pitcher Bo Davis walked and advanced to third. He was thrown out at the plate to end the inning when Dave Woods struck out and was thrown out trying to reach first base. The twin killing to end the inning seemed to damper the Knights' offense as Martin retired the next six batters he faced.
Meridian took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Tyler McMullen walked and scored on a triple to the fence in left field by Ken Mitts.
The Wildcats took a 2-0 lead in the second as Cordera Eason led off with an infield hit and scored on Justin Scott's sacrifice fly.
Meridian doubled its lead in the fourth. Eason led off with an inside-the-park homer to left-center, the first ever at Sykes. Eason had previously hit Meridian's first homer out of the park.
Fernando Atterberry beat out an infield hit and scored when Martin's fly ball to shallow left-center fell untouched for a double.
The Knights got their run in the top of the sixth as Dane Skinner walked and scored on Drew Snider's triple to the fence in right field.
Meridian finished with 10 hits with Mitts and Eason both having two.
The win snapped Meridian's three-game losing streak.
Neither team committed an error.