Harpeth had lost three straight at home, but on Friday they dropped down to 10-12 to make it four. They took an 11-7 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Portland Panthers. The Indians were not able to make up for their defeat to the Panthers from their previous meeting back in March of 2022.
Preston Merritt
| 04/10/26 vs Portland | 3 |
| 04/02/26 @ Lawson | 3 |
| 03/17/26 @ Hickman County | 3 |
| 03/10/26 vs East Hickman County | 3 |
| 04/09/26 @ Kenwood | 2 |
| + 11 more games |
Preston Merritt and Hudson Ealy stepped up to the plate in a big way. Merritt went 3-for-5 with two stolen bases and one run, while Ealy got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three RBI. Merritt is becoming a predictor of Harpeth's success: when he posts at least three hits the team is 3-1 (and 7-11 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was George Sparkman, who went 1-for-4 with two runs and one RBI.
As for Portland, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four contests. That's provided a massive bump to their 10-15 record this season. The victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 6.5 runs over those games.
On Portland's side, Fisher Berry looked comfortable as he tossed four innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits. The dominant performance also gave Berry a new career-high in strikeouts (five).
On the hitting side, Tristan Calvert and Austin Holmes did most of the damage at the plate: Calvert went 3-for-4 with two stolen bases and three runs, while Holmes got on base in three of his four plate appearances with three runs and one RBI. Those three runs gave Holmes a new career-high. Jace Wright also deserves some recognition as he hit his first double of the season.
Looking ahead, Harpeth will venture away from home to square off against Stewart County at 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The Rebels' pitching crew has only allowed four runs per game this season, so the Indians' hitters will have their work cut out for them. As for Portland, they will welcome Montgomery Central at 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
