vs
| 04/29/25 - Away | 18-1 W |
| 04/08/25 - Home | 21-0 W |
| 04/23/24 - Home | 16-0 W |
| 04/18/24 - Away | 15-2 W |
| 05/16/23 - Home | 10-0 W |
| + 5 more games |
Portage is a perfect 10-0 against Merrillville since April of 2021 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Tuesday. The Indians will challenge the Pirates at 5:00 p.m. Portage is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 6.4 runs per game this season.
Portage is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 19 runs on Thursday, they were much more limited against New Prairie on Friday. They lost 11-1 to the Cougars.
Portage saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Cora Kingrey, who went 1-for-2 with one stolen base and one RBI.
Merrillville never got on the board in their matchup on Thursday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Lake Station Edison on Friday. They put the hurt on the Fighting Eagles with a sharp 24-12 win.
Elani Alvarez was a standout: she fired off five runs, two triples, and five RBI while going 6-for-6. She is also on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last seven games she's played. Another player making a difference was Aliveah Triveno, who went a perfect 6-for-6 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI.
Merrillville was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .660. The last time their batting average was this high was was before the start of last season.
Merrillville's victory bumped their record up to 4-22. As for Portage, they have traveled a rocky road recently, having lost 11 of their last 13 games. That's put a noticeable dent in their 9-18 record this season.
Merrillville's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Portage has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 8.9 hits per game. It's a different story for Merrillville, though, as they've been averaging 16.1 hits. Given Portage's sizable advantage in that area, the Pirates will need to find a way to close that gap.
Portage took their win against Merrillville when the teams last played back in April by a conclusive 18-1 score. Will the Indians repeat their success, or do the Pirates have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
