Baseball Recap: Merrillville Comes Up Short

Merrillville extended their losing streak to six on Thursday, dropping their season record down to 3-15 in the process. They took a 12-9 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Munster Mustangs. The Pirates were not able to make up for their defeat to the Mustangs from their previous meeting back in May of 2023.

As for Munster, they have been performing well recently as they've won six of their last eight games. That's provided a nice bump to their 11-7 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games.

For Munster's part, Swinson Oliver tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run while striking out nine over 6.2 innings pitched. Oliver has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single earned run in three consecutive appearances.

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Mason Jarrett, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and two RBI. That's the most stolen bases he has posted since back in March. The team also got some help courtesy of Niko Iatrides, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two runs and one stolen base.

Coming up, Merrillville will challenge Michigan City at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Munster, they will square off against Wheeler at 5:00 p.m. on Friday.