Highland had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 13.5 runs), and they went ahead and made it three in their second game on Saturday. They were the clear victor by a 19-1 margin over the Merrillville Pirates. That result was just more of the same for these two, as Highland also won the last time the pair played back in April of 2023.
Alyssa Niemann made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits (and not a single walk). Niemann was also big at the plate, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-4.
In other batting news, Highland let Jordan Steele and Jazmine DeJesus loose on the outfield. Steele scored two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while DeJesus scored three runs while going 3-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Jill Kinley, who scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
On Merrillville's side, Jennifer Reyes was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Highland's win bumped their record up to 4-2. As for Merrillville, their defeat was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 0-5.
Highland will head out on the road to challenge Hammond Morton at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Highland is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 8.6 runs per game this season. As for Merrillville, they will look to defend their home field on Monday against Michigan City at 4:30 p.m. Michigan City is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 7 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
