Mercyhurst Prep came tearing into Wednesday's contest with three straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 12.3 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They were the clear victor by a 13-3 margin over the North East Grape Pickers. Considering the Lakers have won six games by more than five runs this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.
Brady Rice and Zack Kruszewski were a major factor no matter where they played. On the mound, Rice struck out seven batters over 3.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off one hit. Meanwhile, Kruszewski struck out six batters over three innings while giving up just one earned run off one hit (and only one walk). The dominant performance gave him a new career- in hits. At the plate, Rice went 2-for-2 with two RBI, while Kruszewski scored two runs and stole two bases while going 1-for-3. Kruszewski has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last three times he's played.
In other batting news, Mercyhurst Prep got a big performance out of Noah Reigel, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-2. The team also got some help courtesy of Jack Stoker, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Mercyhurst Prep didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 13 strikeouts. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now tossed at least ten strikeouts in nine consecutive matches.
Mercyhurst Prep's victory bumped their record up to 11-1. As for North East, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 0-2.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Mercyhurst Prep will face off against Titusville at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Mercyhurst Prep is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.9 runs per game this season. As for North East, they will square off against Fairview at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
