Meridian had lost seven straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped down to 7-14 to make it eight. They fell just short of the Shelbyville Rams by a score of 13-12. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Rams this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 17-0 back in April.
Brody Britton was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched. Britton was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
In other batting news, Meridian got a massive performance out of Ted Jones, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Jayden Doty was another key player, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and one double.
As for Shelbyville, the win (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 11-9. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games.
On Shelbyville's side, Rylan Murphy and Austin Ulmer did most of the damage at the plate: Murphy went 3-for-5 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI, while Ulmer went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI. Ulmer has become a key player for the Rams: the team is 4-1 when he posts at least two runs, but 7-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Brady Brinkoetter, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, two RBI, and one double.
Looking ahead, Meridian will host North Mac at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Shelbyville, they will head out to square off against Pana at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
