The Merkel Badgers will venture away from home to square off against the Lamesa Tornadoes at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Merkel will be looking to extend their current four-game winning streak.
Merkel's pitching crew heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. They blew past Grape Creek 19-0. The Badgers might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 15 contests by six runs or more this season.
| 03/12/26 @ Grape Creek | 5 |
| 03/06/26 vs Sweetwater | 12 |
| 03/03/26 vs Grape Creek | 8 |
| 02/28/26 vs Windthorst | 10 |
| 02/28/26 vs Caprock | 7 |
| + 6 more games |
McKinley Crouch was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She pitched three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been consistent for a while: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 11 consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and one double. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in February.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Brooklyn Homen, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That's the most runs she has posted since back in February. The team also got some help courtesy of Paisley Penney, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, two runs, and one double.
Merkel hit smart and finished the game with only one strikeout. The team has now struck out at least five batters in five consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Lamesa entered their matchup against Coahoma on Friday without any home losses, but there's a first time for everything. The Tornadoes lost 25-4 to the Bulldogs. For those keeping track at home, that's the biggest defeat the Tornadoes have suffered since February 21st.
Merkel's record is now 18-1-1. As for Lamesa, their loss was their first in the district, dropping their district record down to 3-1 and their overall record down to 7-6.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps