Baseball Preview: Harrison Panthers vs. Mesa Ridge Grizzlies
Harrison is 0-8 against Mesa Ridge since April of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Harrison Panthers will head out on the road to take on the Mesa Ridge Grizzlies at 4:00 p.m. Harrison is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 10 runs per game this season.
Harrison's hitters might be in the hot seat on Tuesday considering what happened against Widefield on Thursday. They fell just short of the Gladiators by a score of 2-0. Harrison just can't catch a break and has now endured five losses in a row.
Harrison saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was David Gomez, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases. Gomez has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive pitching appearances.
Even though they lost, Harrison didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 14 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Widefield only tossed five.
Meanwhile, Mesa Ridge has not done well against Canon City recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Thursday. Mesa Ridge blew past Canon City 15-2. The result was nothing new for Mesa Ridge, who have now won five matchups by six runs or more so far this season.
Locklen Lemley spent all six innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on five hits and racked up nine Ks.
At the plate, Issac Mercedes was a standout: he went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Mykah Clark, who scored a run and stole a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
Harrison's defeat dropped their record down to 7-5. As for Mesa Ridge, their win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 9-7.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Harrison has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mesa Ridge struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.4. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Harrison suffered a grim 10-2 defeat to Mesa Ridge in their previous meeting back in April of 2023. Can Harrison avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
