Crown Point has gone a perfect 10-0 against Merrillville recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are taking a road trip to take on the Pirates at 4:30 p.m. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Crown Point has three straight wins, Merrillville has six straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Crown Point had to skate by with only a two-run margin when they last took the field, which might have inspired the nine-run drubbing they dealt Valparaiso on Tuesday. The Bulldogs were the clear victors by an 11-2 margin over the Vikings. The Bulldogs might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won eight matchups by nine runs or more this season.
Paige Liezert made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out nine over four innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than two walks in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with three RBI and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in April of 2024.
Ashlyn Kita
| 04/29/25 vs Valparaiso | 2 |
| 04/21/25 @ Lake Central | 1 |
| 03/29/25 @ Munster | 1 |
| 05/15/24 @ La Porte | 1 |
| 05/04/24 @ Boone Grove | 1 |
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ashlyn Kita, who fired off two home runs, three runs, and three RBI while going 3-for-4. Those two home runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Eva Govert, who went 2-for-3 with two runs, one double, and one RBI.
Crown Point was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .481. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .321 or higher in three consecutive games.
Portage hit Merrillville with a 11-run second inning on Tuesday, which goes a long way in explaining the final result. The Pirates lost 18-1 to the Indians.
Merrillville saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Shaniya Jamerson, who went 1-for-2 with one run.
Crown Point pushed their record up to 12-2 with the victory, which was their third straight at home. Those home wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.7 runs on average over those games. As for Merrillville, their loss dropped their record down to 1-15.
Merrillville's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Wednesday. Crown Point has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 10.5 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Merrillville, though, as they've been averaging only 1.7 strikeouts. Will Crown Point keep running through batters, or will the Pirates buck the trend?
Crown Point took their victory against Merrillville in their previous meeting on April 9th by a conclusive 12-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Bulldogs since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
