Mercyhurst Prep and Meadville are an even 5-5 against one another since May of 2015, but likely not for long. The Mercyhurst Prep Lakers will head out on the road to take on the Meadville Bulldogs at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday. Mercyhurst Prep is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road.
On Wednesday, Mercyhurst Prep had just enough and edged Girard out 2-1.
Mercyhurst Prep got a great performance from Brady Rice as he didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out nine over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Mercyhurst Prep's victory was truly a team effort as five different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Ishimaru, who went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI.
Meanwhile, it was a hard-fought match, but Meadville had to settle for a 13-12 defeat against Erie on Wednesday. Meadville has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Bradyn Miller stepped up to lead a balanced group of hitters: he got on base in three of his five plate appearances with a stolen base, a double, and an RBI. Adian Kliest was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while getting on base in all two of his plate appearances.
Even though they lost, Meadville hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. That's the fewest strikeouts they've managed all season.
Mercyhurst Prep's win bumped their record up to 11-2. As for Meadville, their loss dropped their record down to 9-5-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Thursday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Mercyhurst Prep has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Meadville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Mercyhurst Prep beat Meadville 3-0 in their previous matchup back in March of 2023. The rematch might be a little tougher for Mercyhurst Prep since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
