The matchup between Wheeler and Merrillville on Thursday hardly resembled the 2-0 effort from their previous meeting. Everything went the Wheeler Bearcats' way against the Merrillville Pirates as the Wheeler Bearcats made off with a 15-5 win. The victory was familiar territory for Wheeler who now have three in a row.
Caleb McLaughlin looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits.
At the plate, Nick Bravo was a standout: he scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. Lucas McNamara was another key contributor, scoring two runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances.
On Merrillville's side, Joshua Magallon was cooking despite his team's loss, scoring a run while going 2-for-3.
Wheeler is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 6-3 record this season. As for Merrillville, they are on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-9.
Wheeler will head out on the road to square off against North Newton at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. North Newton is coming into the contest with four straight wins at home, so Wheeler will have to stop a squad with plenty of momentum. As for Merrillville, they will be staying on the road on Monday to face off against Hammond Central at 4:45 p.m. Hammond Central is strutting in with some hitting muscle, as they've averaged 9.3 runs per game this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
