The Carmel Greyhounds will face off against the Mooresville Pioneers at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Carmel's pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so Mooresville's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Carmel is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Crown Point, who was ranked sixth at the time (Carmel was ranked 12th). The Greyhounds came up short against the Bulldogs on Saturday, falling 10-1. The pitching woes were uncharacteristic for the Greyhounds, who until this matchup were averaging 3.74 runs allowed.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Mooresville ultimately got the result they hoped for on Wednesday. They came out on top against Plainfield by a score of 10-5. Mooresville's victory was all the more impressive since the Quakers were averaging only 3.52 runs allowed on the season.
Kiernan Herald looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two hits in four consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Tyler Denny was incredible, firing off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 3-for-5. Those two home runs gave him a new career-high. Liam Delp was another key player, going 2-for-4 with three stolen bases, one run, and one double.
Mooresville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .382. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Plainfield only posted a batting average of .148.
Mooresville is on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games. That's provided a nice bump to their 13-7 record this season. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.8 runs over those games. As for Carmel, they moved to 12-7 with that loss, which also ended their four-game winning streak.
The pitchers for both teams better look sharp on Thursday as neither team is afraid to steal. Carmel has been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 2.7 stolen bases per game. However, it's not like Mooresville struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 4.8 stolen bases. The only question left is which team can snag more.
Carmel came up short against Mooresville when the teams last played back in May of 2024, falling 6-3. Can the Greyhounds avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
