Ballinger was the 8-7 winner over Merkel when they last played one another last Tuesday, but their luck changed this time around. The Ballinger Bearcats took a 5-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Merkel Badgers on Thursday.
For Merkel's part, Bryant Jones spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on three hits and racked up eight Ks. Jones has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Aiden Jackson, who scored a run and stole two bases while getting on base in two of his three plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Elijah Olivarez, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a double.
Ballinger's loss dropped their record down to 8-7. As for Merkel, their win bumped their record up to 7-11.
Ballinger will head out on the road to challenge Wall at 12:00 p.m. on Monday. Wall will roll in looking for their tenth straight victory, something Ballinger surely won't give up without a fight. As for Merkel, they will look to defend their home field on Monday against Coahoma at 4:30 p.m. Merkel is facing Coahoma at the right time seeing as Coahoma is stuck on a three-game losing streak.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
