Baseball Recap: Payton College Prep Picks Up Fifth Consecutive Win

Grizzlies

Previous 5 Games

04/10/25 @ Northside	16-7
04/08/25 @ Taft	12-1
04/05/25 @ North Shore Country Day	12-0
04/04/25 vs Kennedy	10-3
04/03/25 @ Clemente	24-8

Payton College Prep entered their tilt with Northside on Thursday with four consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with five. They put the hurt on the Mustangs with a sharp 16-7 win. That result was just more of the same for these two, as the Grizzlies also won the last time the pair played back in May of 2024.

Sam Merrill made a splash while hitting and pitching. He pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 2-for-5.

In other batting news, Max MacKenzie was a standout: he scored four runs and stole three bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances. He is becoming a predictor of Payton College Prep's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 2-6 when he doesn't). Derek Patton was another key player, scoring four runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all five of his plate appearances.

Payton College Prep kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That's a new trend for them: they were averaging 4.9 hits per game earlier this season, but in their last 15 games they've averaged 13.

Payton College Prep pushed their record up to 5-7 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those road wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 4.0 runs on average over those games. As for Northside, the defeat snapped their winning streak at three games and leaves them with a 5-5 record.

Coming up, Payton College Prep will head out to challenge Amundsen at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Vikings have struggled to contain batters this season (they've allowed 10.42 runs per game on average), something the Grizzlies will no doubt try to take advantage of. As for Northside, they will be playing at home against Mather at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Mustangs' pitchers better be ready for this one: the Rangers have averaged an impressive 10 runs per game this season.