If Merrillville was feeling good off their 11-1 takedown of Whiting last Saturday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Merrillville Pirates' rough 16-10 defeat to the Portage Indians on Tuesday might stick with them for a while. Merrillville has struggled against Portage recently, as their game on Tuesday was their third consecutive lost matchup.
Joshua Magallon was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring two runs while going 3-for-4. Darien Wiggins was another key contributor, going 2-for-4 with a triple and a stolen base.
On Portage's side, Matthew Krostag was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed 1.1 innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. Krostag has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two hits in three consecutive pitching appearances. Krostag was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Devon Ortiz was a standout: he scored two runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-5. Another player making a difference was Mark Calmbacher, who got on base in three of his five plate appearances with three runs and a triple.
Merrillville's loss dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Portage, they are on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a massive bump to their 6-4 record this season.
The teams didn't have to wait long for a rematch: they beat Merrillville by a score of 5-2.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps