Baseball Preview: Mercyhurst Prep Lakers vs. Fairview Tigers
The Mercyhurst Prep Lakers will square off against the Fairview Tigers on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Mercyhurst Prep is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. Everything went their way against Titusville as Mercyhurst Prep made off with an 8-1 win. The victory was familiar territory for Mercyhurst Prep who now have five in a row.
Noah Trojanowski looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He 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, Zack Kruszewski was incredible, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Josh Majczyk, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Meanwhile, Fairview's hitters rose to the challenge against a Huskies pitching crew that boasted an average of only 3.45 runs allowed on Friday. Fairview was the clear victor by an 11-4 margin over Harbor Creek. Winning may never get old, but Fairview sure is getting used to it with their fourth in a row.
Tyler Benford made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Benford was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Luke Rzodkiewicz and Andrew Stevens did most of the damage at the plate: Rzodkiewicz scored two runs while going 3-for-4, while Stevens scored two runs while going 1-for-4. Austin Hawley was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 2-for-4.
Mercyhurst Prep is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 18-4 record this season. As for Fairview, their win bumped their record up to 15-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mercyhurst Prep has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Fairview struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Mercyhurst Prep was able to grind out a solid victory over Fairview in their previous matchup on May 6th, winning 6-3. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Fairview's Ed Dolansky, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Mercyhurst Prep still be able to contain Dolansky? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
