Merrillville and Lake Central squared off in some playoff action on Saturday, but Merrillville had to settle for second. They lost 10-0 to the Lake Central Indians. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Merrillville of the 21-1 loss they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in April.
For Lake Central's part, Grant Mercer looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out six over four innings pitched. Mercer has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
At the plate, Ryder Fernandez and Nick Robinson did most of the damage at the plate: Fernandez scored three runs and stole two bases while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances, while Robinson scored two runs and stole three bases while going 1-for-2. Robinson has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times he's played. Another player making a difference was Michael Szatkowski, who scored a run while getting on base in all three of his plate appearances.
Merrillville's defeat dropped their record down to 5-19. As for Lake Central, they have been performing well recently as they've won ten of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 20-9 record this season.
Merrillville does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Lake Central, they are on the road again on Monday to play Hobart at 11:00 a.m. Both teams will come into the matchup having just posted big wins, so someone is set to suffer a big change in fortunes.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
