The Mississinewa Indians will take on the Leo Lions at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Mississinewa fought the good fight in their extra-innings game against Oak Hill on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Golden Eagles by a score of 9-8.
Kenny Ayala was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he tossed 6.1 innings while giving up three earned (and four unearned) runs off four hits.
On the hitting side, Merric Mobley made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. The team also got some help courtesy of Kallen Quaderer, who went 1-for-5 with one home run and two runs.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Leo). They put the hurt on Columbia City with a sharp 19-3 win on Thursday. The result was nothing new for the Lions, who have now won 12 contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Landon Ruoff made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out seven batters over six innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. That's the most strikeouts he has posted since back in April. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one home run, five RBI, and two runs.
In other batting news, Leo let Dominic Rennecker and Alex Robison run wild. Rennecker went 2-for-3 with one home run, three runs, and two RBI, while Robison went 1-for-4 with one home run, three runs, and four RBI. That home run marked the first that Robison has launched this season. Another player making a difference was Luke MacDonald, who got on base in four of his six plate appearances with two runs.
Leo kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their hit total in three consecutive matches.
Leo's victory was their 11th straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 17-2. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.6 runs over those games. As for Mississinewa, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-9.
