Baseball Recap: Merkel Drops Highest Score of Season Against San Angelo Texas Leadership Charter Academy

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Merkel). They put the hurt on the San Angelo Texas Leadership Charter Academy Eagles with a sharp 21-1 victory on Friday. The Badgers have beaten the Eagles the last four times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Eagles has come to flipping the script.

Easton Malone was a major factor no matter where he played. He struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Those six strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring four runs and stealing three bases while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. He has become a key player for Merkel: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 7-9-1 otherwise.

In other batting news, Payson Prieto was a standout: he got on base in four of his five plate appearances with four RBI and two runs. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Mayson Prieto, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.

Merkel always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .595. They are a perfect 9-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Merkel now has a winning record of 10-9-1. As for San Angelo Texas Leadership Charter Academy, their loss was their fifth straight at home, which dropped their record down to 1-12.

Merkel will have a chance to go back-to-back against the Eagles: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.