The Portage Indians will head out on the road to challenge the Munster Mustangs at 5:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Portage took a loss when they played away from home on Wednesday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Friday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand Hammond Central a 12-0 shutout. The high-scoring effort was just what Portage needed considering they were shutout in their previous contest.
Montgomery Cunningham was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Cunningham has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Cunningham was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with a triple, a run, and an RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Conner Archer, who went 3-for-4 with a home run, six RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Mark Calmbacher, who scored three runs and stole a base while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Munster came tearing into Saturday's match with six straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 5.3 runs) and they left with even more momentum. They blew past the Braves 15-4.
Campagna Joey looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit.
On the hitting side, Munster let Blair Tyler and Gelarden Bryce loose on the outfield. Tyler scored two runs while going 2-for-4, while Bryce scored two runs while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Nyhan TJ, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-4.
Portage's record is now 12-13. As for Munster, they pushed their record up to 15-11 with that victory, which was their fourth straight at home.
Portage came up short against Munster in their previous matchup back in April of 2023, falling 6-1. Can Portage 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
