The Merritt Island Mustangs will face off against the Melbourne Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Merritt Island's pitching crew has only allowed 2.2 runs per game this season, so Melbourne's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Last Wednesday, Merritt Island came up short against Eau Gallie and fell 7-2.
Merritt Island got a good showing from Benjamin Hettinger, who tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Hettinger has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one hit in four consecutive appearances.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Melbourne). They walked away with a 9-5 win over Palm Bay on Thursday. The victory continues a trend for the Bulldogs in their matchups with the Pirates: they've now won five in a row.
Noah Lopez looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run over four innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Nolan Keeley was a standout: he scored two runs and stole Three bases. while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Bryson Ayala, who scored two runs and stole Three bases.
Melbourne's win bumped their record up to 5-3. As for Merritt Island, their loss dropped their record down to 7-3.
Merritt Island was able to grind out a solid victory over Melbourne in their previous meeting two weeks ago, winning 3-0. Does Merritt Island have another victory up their sleeve, or will Melbourne turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
