Mercer hasn't had much luck against Sharpsville recently, but that could start to change on Monday. The Mustangs will host the Blue Devils at 4:00 p.m. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Mercer comes in on four and Sharpsville on three.
Mercer will bounce into Monday's contest after beating Greenville, who they had gone 1-8 against in their nine prior meetings. The Mustangs were the clear victors by a 13-6 margin over the Trojans on Thursday. Considering the Mustangs have won three games by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
The team relied heavily on Jayden Amos, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Kameron Woods, who got on base in three of his four plate appearances with two stolen bases and two runs.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Sharpsville). They blew past Cambridge Springs 20-2 on Thursday. With that victory, the Blue Devils brought their scoring average up to 6.5 runs per game.
Lincoln Breit and Gabe Titus were major factors no matter where they played. On the mound, Breit struck out eight batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off four hits. Meanwhile, Titus pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Those eight strikeouts gave Breit a new career-high. At bat, Breit went 2-for-5 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run, while Titus went 2-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and one stolen base. That stolen base marked the first that Breit has snagged this season.
In other batting news, Travis Wilding was incredible, getting on base in all five of his plate appearances with three runs, four RBI, and one stolen base. Those four RBI gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Dominik Cataldi, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, two runs, and two RBI.
Sharpsville kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 14 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.2 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 matches they've averaged 8.8.
Sharpsville's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 4-7. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.7 runs over those games. As for Mercer, their win bumped their record up to 7-3.
Mercer beat Sharpsville 14-9 in their previous matchup two weeks ago. Will the Mustangs repeat their success, or do the Blue Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
