Spearville is 8-0 against Southwestern Heights since April of 2018, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Thursday. The Spearville Lancers will stay at home for another game and welcome the Southwestern Heights Mustangs at 4:00 p.m. Spearville is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7.7 runs per game this season.
Last Friday, Spearville didn't have quite enough to beat Bucklin and fell 3-2.
Ian Melendez put in work no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits over four innings pitched. Melendez was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a home run.
Melendez wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Blake Werner, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base.
Even though they lost, Spearville didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with nine strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Bucklin only tossed five.
Meanwhile, Southwestern Heights has not done well against Elkhart recently (they were 2-7 in their previous nine matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Monday. Southwestern Heights won by a run and slipped past Elkhart 9-8. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Southwestern Heights.
The team relied heavily on Parker Leak, who went 2-for-5 with three stolen bases, four RBI, and a run. Julius Trejo was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing three bases while going 2-for-4.
Spearville has been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 6-6 record this season. As for Southwestern Heights, their victory bumped their record up to 4-10.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Spearville has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.2 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Southwestern Heights struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Spearville took their win against Southwestern Heights in their previous matchup back in April of 2022 by a conclusive 14-4. Does Spearville have another victory up their sleeve, or will Southwestern Heights turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
