Baseball Game Preview: Grape Creek Eagles vs. Merkel Badgers

For the first time this season, Grape Creek will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup on Tuesday. They will welcome the Merkel Badgers at 5:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty run totals in their previous games.

Having struggled with seven defeats in a row dating back to last season, Grape Creek turned things around against Midland Texas Leadership Charter Academy on Saturday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Midland Texas Leadership Charter Academy a 13-0 shutout.

Wyatt Smith made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowed only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched. Smith was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.

In other batting news, Lane Kluesner was incredible, scoring three runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances. Braley Woods was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3.

Grape Creek always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .593. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Midland Texas Leadership Charter Academy only posted an OBP of .294.

Meanwhile, Merkel came up short against Ballinger on Saturday and fell 16-13. The Badgers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Kaden Blubaugh made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one home run and four RBI. The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in RBI. The team also got some help courtesy of Easton Malone, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one triple, and one run.

Grape Creek might still be hurting after the 11-3 loss they got from Merkel in their previous meeting back in March of 2024. Can Grape Creek avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.