The matchup between Merrillville and Wheeler on Thursday hardly resembled the 2-0 effort from their previous meeting. The Merrillville Pirates suffered a tough 15-5 defeat at the hands of the Wheeler Bearcats. Merrillville was given a dose of their own medicine in this game as Wheeler apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in April of 2023.
Joshua Magallon made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 2-for-3.
On Wheeler's side, Caleb McLaughlin looked comfortable as he pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
At the plate, Wheeler got a massive performance out of Nick Bravo, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Lucas McNamara was another key contributor, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Merrillville dropped their record down to 1-9 with that defeat, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Wheeler, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 6-3.
Merrillville will head out on the road to square off against Hammond Central at 4:45 p.m. on Monday. Hammond Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 9.3 runs per game this season. As for Wheeler, they will head out on the road to face off against North Newton at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. Wheeler knows how to get runs on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy run totals in its past three matchups -- so hopefully North Newton likes a good challenge.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
