The Nouvel Catholic Central Panthers will take on the Meridian Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
On Monday, Nouvel Catholic Central came up short against Valley Lutheran and fell 5-1. The Panthers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Cam Kaul was cooking despite his team's loss, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Meridian got the win against Harrison on Friday by a conclusive 9-1. The Mustangs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six contests by six runs or more this season.
Brady Bowen made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out 12 batters over six innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. Meridian is 6-2 when Bowen allows one or fewer earned runs, but 3-9 otherwise. Bowen was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI.
In other pitching news, Robbie Edwards looked comfortable as he pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has become a key player for Meridian: the team is 4-2 when he allows at most one earned run, but 5-9 otherwise.
Back at the plate, Eli Olmsted was incredible, getting on base in all four of his plate appearances with two stolen bases, three runs, and one double. Those three runs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Garrett Bergman, who earned two runs and two stolen bases.
Meridian's victory was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-11. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.0 runs over those games. As for Nouvel Catholic Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 11-8.
Nouvel Catholic Central skirted past Meridian 10-9 when the teams last played back in May of 2023. Will the Panthers repeat their success, or do the Mustangs have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
