Meadville and Mercyhurst Prep are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2015, but likely not for long. The Meadville Bulldogs have the luxury of staying home for another game and will welcome the Mercyhurst Prep Lakers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Meadville is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.3 runs per game this season.
On Wednesday, it was a hard-fought matchup, but Meadville had to settle for a 13-12 loss against Erie.
Bradyn Miller led a balanced group of hitters, getting on base in three of his five plate appearances with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI. Adian Kliest was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all two of his plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Meadville hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That's the fewest strikeouts they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Mercyhurst Prep waltzed into their contest on Wednesday with two straight wins... but they left with three. They had just enough and edged the Yellowjackets out 2-1.
Brady Rice tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and only two hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched.
At the plate, Mercyhurst Prep's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Ishimaru, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Meadville has traveled a rocky road recently having lost five of their last six games, which put a noticeable dent in their 9-5-1 record this season. As for Mercyhurst Prep, their win bumped their record up to 11-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Meadville has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Mercyhurst Prep struggles in that department as they've been averaging 9.1. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Meadville came up short against Mercyhurst Prep when the teams last played back in March of 2023, falling 3-0. Thankfully for Meadville, Jake Manendo (who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over four innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
