Baseball Game Preview: Merrillville Pirates vs. Portage Indians

Merrillville is 2-8 against Portage since April of 2021 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. The Pirates will take on the Indians at 5:00 p.m. Merrillville will be strutting in after a victory while Portage will be coming in after a defeat.

Merrillville was handed a six-run loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Monday. They skirted past Hammond Morton 7-5. The Pirates haven't had any issues with the Governors recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive win against them.

Kaleb Henry

Batters Struck Out

05/26/25 @ Hammond Morton	3
05/24/25 vs West Lafayette	2
04/28/25 vs Hammond Central	5

Trevor Goodwin and Kaleb Henry were major factors while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Goodwin pitched three innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off one hit. Meanwhile, Henry pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off four hits. What's more, he posted three strikeouts, the most he's had since back in April. At bat, Goodwin went 3-for-4 with two triples, two runs, and one stolen base, while Henry went 1-for-3 with three stolen bases and two RBI. Goodwin has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.

They weren't the only ones making solid contact as four players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was James Wood, who went 1-for-4 with one run, one double, and one RBI.

Meanwhile, Portage fell victim to La Porte and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They fell just short of the Slicers by a score of 2-0. Having soared to a lofty 16 runs in the game before, the Indians' shutout was a dramatic turnaround.

Hunter Cole spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on six hits and racked up six Ks.

Merrillville's record now sits at 5-22. As for Portage, they have been struggling recently as they've lost 12 of their last 16 matches. That's put a noticeable dent in their 11-12-2 record this season.

Merrillville might still be hurting after the 19-2 defeat they got from Portage in their previous meeting back in April. Can the Pirates avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.