The Heritage Patriots will face off against the Bluffton Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.
The scorekeeper got an easy start on Monday as neither Heritage nor Churubusco made it on the board until the seventh inning. The Patriots sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 5-3 victory over the Eagles. The win continues a trend for the Patriots in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won four in a row.
Max Mirelez made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been consistent: he hasn't given up more than one hit in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one double.
Elijah Rauner
| 05/12/25 @ Churubusco | 2 |
| 05/10/25 vs Columbia City | 1 |
| 05/05/25 @ Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian | 1 |
| 05/01/25 @ Southern Wells | 1 |
| 04/24/25 vs Lakewood Park Christian | 1 |
In other batting news, Heritage let Elijah Rauner and Lucas Taylor run wild. Rauner earned one RBI, two runs, and one stolen base, while Taylor went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, one run, and one RBI. Those two runs gave Rauner a new career-high.
Meanwhile, Bluffton waltzed into their matchup on Thursday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They came within a single run of losing the streak, but they secured a 7-6 W against the Patriots.
Bluffton saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Abram Gehrett, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two RBI and one run. Trevor Smith was another, going 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run.
Heritage's victory was their sixth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 13-3. Those road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.0 runs over those games. As for Bluffton, their victory bumped their record up to 14-6.
Everything went Heritage's way against Bluffton when the teams last played back in May of 2024, as Heritage made off with a 14-1 win. Will the Patriots repeat their success, or do the Tigers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
