BASEBALL: Falcons score big in win over Meridian
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Elverado hitters took advantage of twelve walks by Meridian pitching on Monday, adding in eight hits to pull away for an 18-8 six-inning win over the Bobcats in Dowell. Six different Falcons had hits, and Eli Fennell drove in four runs with his 3-for-4 (2B, 2 R) effort at the plate.
After the Bobcats roughed up Falcons' starter Troy Stewart during the second inning, Meridian held a 5-1 advantage, though it would be short-lived.
Five walks and RBI doubles by Fennell and Christian Kistner swayed the momentum towards Elverado in the bottom of the second and the Falcons took control 8-5.
Bryce Mathis came on in relief of Stewart and pitched scoreless third and fourth innings before a hiccup in the fifth where two errors, a walk, a hit batter and a pair of singles led to three Meridian runs.
By then, however, the Falcons had poured it on at the plate. Fennell, Mathis and Dalton Porter had RBI in the third, and Ethan Keller singled in a run in the fourth to help account for Elverado's 16-8 lead after five-and-a-half.
Collin Hester walked and scored on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth, then Mathis came home on a wild pitch to end the game.
Behind Fennell's big day at the dish, Mathis (1-4, 2B, BB, 3 R), Keller (1-3, BB, HBP, R, 2 RBI), Kistner (1-2, 3 BB, 3 RBI), Porter (1-3, 2B, BB, 3 R, 2 RBI) and Hester (1-2, 2 BB, 4 R) also hit safely for EHS.
The Falcons (11-13) host Eldorado on Thursday. Elverado and the rest of the schools in the state will learn their postseason seed on Tuesday before pairings are released by the IHSA on Wednesday. EHS will play in the Trico Class 1A Regional along with teams from Trico, Marissa, Steeleville, Waltonville and Woodlawn.
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