Mepham in thick of playoff hunt

Heading down the stretch of the baseball season, Mepham is exactly where it wants to be: smack in the middle of the playoff race. After a win, loss and tie with Herricks last week, the Pirates were tied with the Highlanders for second place (5-5-1 in Conference AA-IV) and sat just one-half-game back of front-running Calhoun.

Herricks swung some heavy bats and also took advantage of some Pirates’ miscues on defense to win the series finale, 13-2, on April 30. Three different players slugged home runs for the Highlanders, and three players drove in three runs to help earn an even split in the series. “Our defense didn’t play as well as it had been and the Herricks bats got hot and they hit a few home runs,” Mepham coach Bill Murphy said.

The outcome couldn’t have been any different than when the teams played two days earlier. Mepham had its lineup pounding out big hits on the way to a 9-2 victory with senior Tom Muraca slugging a pair and driving in four runs, while junior TJ Rullo had a homer and three runs batted in to support the pitching of senior Chenzo Worgul. In four innings of work, Worgul allowed just three hits and a walk and struck out seven.

“When we pitch well we can compete with anyone,” Murphy said. “And in the games where we’ve scored a lot of runs the entire lineup produces.”

If Mepham needed any validation of how talented it is, it may have come in a series split with MacArthur, an annual contender for the Class AA. The Generals squeezed out a game-winning run in the fifth inning of a 2-1 decision in the finale on April 23, but it was the Pirates who may have made a bigger statement in the opener, a 15-3 win on April 21. Senior leadoff hitter John Breden banged out four hits, including a pair of doubles and scored three runs in the win.

“[Senior] Seamus Kirby and [John] Breden have been our most consistent hitters at the top and are doing a great job getting on base,” Murphy said, noting junior Zach Egland has also provided a strong bat in the No. 2 hole.

But baseball always seems to come down to pitching, and it’s here where Mepham’s strong arms have the potential to make a big difference during the team’s playoff run. In the win over MacArthur, Frenchman pitched six innings of three-hit ball, struck out five and allowed one walk. “When we pitch well we can compete with anyone,” Murphy said. “In all of our [Conference A-III/A-IV] crossover series we’ve split with the teams. We know if we play well and bring our ‘A’ game we are right there with anyone else.”

The Pirates close out their series with Long Beach on the road this Thursday at 4:30 p.m., and close out the regular season with three against district-rival Calhoun starting at home on Monday at 4:30 p.m.

“It makes it a lot more exciting,” Murphy said of playing in a tough conference. “There are no gimme games. Everyone has a chance to compete and see who the better team is.”