Merkel is 0-10 against Ballinger since April of 2016 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Merkel Badgers will be playing at home against the Ballinger Bearcats at 2:00 p.m.
Merkel was not able to break out of their rough patch on Tuesday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They fell just short of Ballinger by a score of 8-7.
Ryland Pittman was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. On the mound, he struck out eight batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and four unearned) runs off three hits. Pittman was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, a stolen base, and a double.
In other batting news, CJ Walcott was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring three runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3. Aiden Jackson was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
Merkel's defeat dropped their record down to 6-11. As for Ballinger, the win made it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 8-6.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
