The Merino Rams will square off against the Simla Cubs at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Merino is coming into the game hot, having won their last five games.
On Tuesday, Merino needed a bit of extra time to put away Wiggins. They had just enough and edged out the Tigers 8-6.
Coen Schmidt
| 03/25/25 vs Wiggins | 2 |
| 03/22/25 vs Wray | 2 |
| 03/22/25 vs Wray | 0 |
| 03/17/25 vs Yuma | 1 |
Coen Schmidt spent all 8.2 innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered four earned runs on nine hits and racked up nine Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Jordan Rose was incredible, scoring a run while going 4-for-5.
Meanwhile, Simla came up short against Limon on Tuesday and fell 10-6. The loss continues a trend for the Cubs in their meetings with the Badgers: they've now lost three in a row.
Tatum Kocerha put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 2.2 innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in strikeouts (three). He was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Connor Maranville made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run.
Merino pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight at home. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.8 runs over those games. As for Simla, they now have a losing record of 1-2.
Simla's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Merino hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .385. It's a different story for Simla, though, as they've only averaged .233. Will they be able to contain Merino's hitters?
Everything went Merino's way against Simla in their previous matchup back in May of 2022, as Merino made off with a 17-7 win. Does Merino have another victory up their sleeve, or will Simla turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
