Baseball Game Preview: Melrose-Mindoro Mustangs vs. Blair-Taylor Wildcats

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Previous Games

05/13/24 - Away	3-4 L
04/18/24 - Home	0-4 L
05/11/23 - Home	4-11 L
04/14/23 - Away	3-7 L
04/27/22 - Home	12-11 W
+ 5 more games

Melrose-Mindoro and Blair-Taylor are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2017, but likely not for long. The Mustangs will be playing at home against the Wildcats at 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

On Tuesday, Melrose-Mindoro needed a bit of extra time to put away Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 7-6 win over the Red Hawks. The victory was familiar territory for the Mustangs, who have now won six games in a row.

Jayce Stetzer made a splash while hitting and pitching. He tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off three hits. Stetzer was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.

In other batting news, Eric Herzberg was a standout: he went 3-for-5 with two runs, one double, and one RBI. Another player making a difference was Jacob Thesing, who went 3-for-5 with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Melrose-Mindoro kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 11 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least eight hits in three consecutive contests.

Blair-Taylor's found some homefield redemption this week after a overtime loss to Whitehall on Tuesday. The Wildcats had just enough and edged out Independence/Gilmanton 3-1. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Wildcats have posted since May 28, 2024.

Melrose-Mindoro's victory was their eighth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-3. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 8.8 runs over those games. As for Blair-Taylor, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 9-4-1 record this season.