Merino has enjoyed a six-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will take on the Caliche Buffaloes at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Caliche took a loss in their last matchup and will be looking to turn the tables on Merino, who comes in off a win.
After only one run in their last match, Merino made sure to put some runs up on the board against Wray on Saturday. Everything went Merino's way against Wray as Merino made off with a 12-2 victory. Considering Merino has won three games by more than eight runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Coen Schmidt made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out six over five innings pitched. Schmidt has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Schmidt was also big at the plate, scoring three runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Isaac Poe, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4. He is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as he's now stolen at least one in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Jaxson Samber, who scored two runs while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Caliche suffered a rough 11-1 loss at the hands of Yuma on Saturday. Caliche has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Caliche saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Chance Mitchell, who went 1-for-1 with a stolen base.
Merino's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-2. As for Caliche, their defeat dropped their record down to 3-5.
Caliche's pitching crew has a tough task ahead of them: Merino has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.5 hits per game. It's a different story for Caliche, though, as they've been averaging 10.4. Given Merino's sizable advantage in that area, Caliche will need to find a way to close that gap.
Merino took their victory against Caliche when the teams last played back in April of 2023 by a conclusive 10-0. The rematch might be a little tougher for Merino since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
