Baseball Preview: Mississinewa Indians vs. Blackford Bruins
Mississinewa is 7-1 against Blackford since May of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Tuesday. The Mississinewa Indians will head out on the road to square off against the Blackford Bruins at 5:30 p.m. Mississinewa is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.4 runs per game this season.
Mississinewa stacked a sixth blowout win onto their ever-increasing hoard on Monday. They were the clear victor by a 9-1 margin over Marion.
Kohen Bailey made a splash while hitting and pitching. He didn't allow a single earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched. Bailey was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Nolan Quaderer, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Deakon Dilts, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-4.
Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, Blackford's good fortune finally ran out on Friday. They fell just short of Lewis Cass by a score of 9-8.
Like Mississinewa, Blackford also got a great game from a two-way player: Ethan Morris. On the mound, Morris pitched 1.2 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Trey McIntire pitched 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. Morris has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. At the plate, Morris scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4, while McIntire went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI.
In other batting news, Brayden Teer was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing four bases while going 3-for-4. Gage Baker was another key contributor, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
Even though they lost, Blackford kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 18 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Mississinewa's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-4. As for Blackford, their loss ended a four-game streak of away wins and brought them to 13-5.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Tuesday as neither team is afraid to steal. Mississinewa has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.2 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Blackford struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.8. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Everything went Mississinewa's way against Blackford when the teams last played back in May of 2023 as Mississinewa made off with a 12-2 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mississinewa since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
