Merrillville is 2-8 against Portage since May of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Merrillville Pirates will be playing in front of their home fans against the Portage Indians at 4:30 p.m. Portage took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Merrillville, who comes in off a win.
After low-scoring totals in their previous four contests, Merrillville brought some dynamite into their most recent contest. They blew past Whiting 11-1. Merrillville's hitters stepped up their game for this one, as that was the most runs they've scored all season.
Kaleb Henry tossed a big game, not allowing a single hit, only one earned run while striking out seven over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Trevor Goodwin was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances. The team also got some help courtesy of Darien Wiggins, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, after some red-hot attacks at the plate in their last three games, Portage finally came back down to earth on Saturday. They fell just short of Lowell by a score of 4-2.
Portage also got a good showing from Montgomery Cunningham, who tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit (he also only allowed one walk). Cunningham has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up a single hit in four consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Portage saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kyle Ketchum, who went 1-for-3 with a stolen base.
Merrillville made their fans wait, but they earned their first win of the season to make their record 1-6. As for Portage, their defeat dropped their record down to 5-4.
Merrillville might still be hurting after the 27-2 loss they got from Portage in their previous matchup back in April of 2023. Can Merrillville avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
