Ballinger won the last time they faced Merkel, and things went their way on Tuesday too. The Ballinger Bearcats had just enough and edged the Merkel Badgers out 8-7. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Ballinger.
For Merkel's part, Ryland Pittman was huge no matter where he played 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 big at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBI, a stolen base, and a double.
In other batting news, CJ Walcott made the most of his time at bat despite the final result and scored three runs and stole 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.
Ballinger's win bumped their record up to 8-6. As for Merkel, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 6-11.
Ballinger will have a chance to go back-to-back against Merkel: the pair's next game is a rematch scheduled at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
