Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

CEDAR RAPIDS – When your teammates call you ‘Big Game Bob’ you are expected to shine in the key moments.

Clear Creek Amana senior Robert Meade lived up to his nickname again on Monday.

Meade tossed a complete game shutout to lift Clear Creek Amana to a 3-0 win over Cedar Rapids Xavier (18-17) in a Class 3A, Substate 6 semifinal at Ken Charipar Field in Cedar Rapids.

“He seems to get up when the lights are brightest,” Clear Creek Amana coach Bryan McCray said of Meade. “When we need him he’s there. If he thinks you’re counting him out he’s there. He kind of likes having his back against the wall. He does a really nice job.”

It was a three-hit shutout of defending 4A state champion Cedar Rapids Kennedy in May that earned Meade his ‘Big Game Bob’ moniker.

The senior right-hander just has a knack for being at his best in the biggest moments.

“I just show out in big games I guess,” Meade said. “It helps with confidence, the nickname thing, it gives us some team morale.”

When Clear Creek Amana needed Big Game Bob most on Monday he showed up in the biggest way.

Meade scattered seven hits in seven shutout innings, striking out seven and walking just one as Clear Creek Amana (22-12) won for the 10^th time in its past 11 games.

“It started off as a joke but he really just performs every playoff game,” Clear Creek Amana seniors shortstop Ty Fuller said of Meade’s nickname. “It’s not a joke at all now it’s definitely real.”

Clear Creek Amana gave Meade all the run support he would need with a three-run second inning.

Five consecutive Clippers reached base with two outs in the second as the Clippers snapped a scoreless tie.

Luke Young singled with two outs and Wyatt Key drew a walk before nine hole hitter Luke Higdon got the Clippers on the board with an RBI single up the middle.

“Hitting in the nine hole I normally get first-pitch fastballs and he threw me a curveball but I saw it right down the middle,” Higdon said. “I just swung and I put it up the middle.”

Fuller and Maclane Morgan each followed with RBI singles to give the Clippers a 3-0 lead.

“The first at ball he had me a little silly on his curveball so I was going in fully sitting on the curve,” Fuller said. “I swung at the first pitch and just missed it and I was able to put a good swing on the next one.”

Meade worked out of a first and second jam with one out in the bottom of the second inning with back-to-back strikeouts to close the inning.

After walking Jack Casey leading off the Xavier third Meade retired the next 10 hitters he faced.

“I hadn’t been able to throw my changeup as much so that’s something I worked on, I threw a bullpen and it felt good and I was able to hammer that today,” Meade said. “It’s been mainly a two-pitch mix but today I had three pitches and it was really nice.”

Xavier had two singles in both the sixth and seventh innings but Meade escaped both jams.

He got Jack Downey to bounce out to Fuller at short to end the sixth and got Mac Driscoll to fly out to Higdon in right with two on in the seventh.

“It’s just every time with Bob,” Higdon said. “Last year at Solon he hit the home run and that set us up to win the game and this game he just shoved the entire time.”’

Clear Creek Amana will face second-ranked Pella (26-6) in the Substate 6 title game on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Pella.

Pella defeated Fairfield 6-0 in a semifinal on Monday.

“We are 10-1 in our last 11 games and we’ve beat some really good teams,” Fuller said. “The Boats are definitely hot.”

Clear Creek Amana              030  000  0  –  3  7  0             

Cedar Rapids Xavier            000  000  0  –  0  7  0

W – Robert Meade                 L – Cohen Honkomp

2B – CCA: Maclane Morgan

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