The Melrose-Mindoro Mustangs will head out to challenge the Whitehall Vikings at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, these teams will really light up the scoreboard.
Melrose-Mindoro blew Eleva-Strum out of the water the last time the pair played, but on Thursday Eleva-Strum got their revenge. The Mustangs fell just short of the Cardinals by a score of 14-12. The Mustangs' loss signaled the end of their three-game winning streak.
Isaiah Kleinsmith was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. He pitched five innings while giving up three earned runs off only two hits. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in April. He was even better at the plate, getting on base in five of his seven plate appearances with three runs and one RBI.
In other batting news, Brady Blaken and Eric Herzberg did some serious damage despite the final result: Blaken went 1-for-2 with one home run, four RBI, and one stolen base, while Herzberg got on base in five of his seven plate appearances with two RBI, one run, and one double. That home run was Blaken's first of the season. Colton Koss was another key player, going 2-for-6 with two stolen bases and two runs.
Whitehall had taken Augusta down for five straight games at home, but that winning streak came to an end on Thursday. The Vikings fell just short of the Beavers by a score of 12-10. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest defeat the Vikings have suffered since April 24th.
Riley Herman made the most of his time in the batter's box despite the final result and went 3-for-5 with three runs and one double. He is becoming a predictor of Whitehall's success: when he posts at least two runs the team is 3-1 (and 5-6 when he doesn't). Another player making a difference was Grayson Pronschinski, who went 1-for-4 with one stolen base and one run.
Melrose-Mindoro's record now sits at 12-3. As for Whitehall, they suffered their first home loss, dropping their record down to 8-7.
Melrose-Mindoro got the 'W' in their previous matchup on Monday against Whitehall by a conclusive 6-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Mustangs since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
