Palmer Ridge entered their tilt with Lutheran with two consecutive wins but they'll enter their next game with three. They had just enough and edged the Lutheran Lions out 9-8. That's more bragging rights for Palmer Ridge, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.
Sergio Melendez was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Melendez was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Luke Weaver, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3. Jake Ankrum was another key contributor, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
On Lutheran's side, Asher Clark was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed six innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off three hits. Clark has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Drew McNear was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with a home run, a stolen base, and two RBI. Another player making a difference was Eli Morgan, who went 2-for-4 with a triple, two RBI, and a run.
Even though they lost, Lutheran was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .406. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Palmer Ridge only posted a batting average of .185.
Palmer Ridge's win ended a four-game drought on the road and puts them at 8-9. As for Lutheran, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 11-7-1.
Palmer Ridge will be playing at home against Cherry Creek at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Cherry Creek is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season. As for Lutheran, they will head out on the road to take on Air Academy at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
