Baseball Recap: Merrillville Takes a Loss

Merrillville had lost six straight at home, but on Saturday they dropped their record down to 4-21 to make it seven. They lost 17-3 to the West Lafayette Red Devils. If the Pirates were looking for revenge after losing 9-8 to the Red Devils when the teams met back in May of 2024, then they'll just have to keep looking.

Merrillville saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Darien Wiggins, who went 1-for-2 with two runs.

As for West Lafayette, their win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 10-11. That looming 17-3 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for them yet this season.

On West Lafayette's side, Korbyn Keen made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he pitched five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. Keen has become a key player for West Lafayette: the team is 4-1 when he allows at most one earned run, but 6-10 otherwise. Keen was also solid in the batter's box, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with two RBI and one run.

In other batting news, West Lafayette got a massive performance out of Calvin Snyder, who went 2-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and three RBI. Snyder is becoming a predictor of the Red Devils' success: when he posts at least two runs the team is undefeated (and 7-11 when he doesn't). Colin Kastens also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.

The teams didn't have to wait long for a rematch: West Lafayette beat Merrillville by a score of 8-2 later that day.