By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
On Sunday the Merrill Junior Legion baseball team began their postseason play with a game against D.C. Everest. Merrill got the win by a big margin, 11-2.
Merrill was able to build an early lead, scoring five runs in the first three innings. Everest finally got on the board in the fourth inning, scoring their only two runs of the game. Merrill would then build on their lead with three more runs in the fifth inning, followed by two in the sixth inning.
Caleb DeJong had a nice game for Merrill with four hits and three RBI’s, as well as two runs scored. Piersen Pyan also had himself a game, coming up with two hits and two RBI’s. Peyton Becker had only one hit in the game but it was a big one as he knocked in two runs.
Merrill tops Superior
Following their win over Everest, Merrill would have a game break before going up against Superior. Merrill took care of business, beating Superior by a score of 10-2.
Two runs in the first inning gave Merrill the early advantage, but a run by Superior in the second inning made it a one run game. Four runs in the third inning gave Merrill a nice cushion as they led 6-1. Another Superior run made it a four run game, however Merrill would respond again with two runs in the fifth inning as well as two runs in the seventh inning to make it a 10-2 game.
DeJong had another nice game, driving in three runners on two hits. Cole Zimmerman and Casey Hoffman would come up with two RBI’s each on one hit a piece. Pyan had a three hit game, and would cross the plate twice.
With this win Merrill advanced to the finals where they would have to be beaten twice to be eliminated.
Finals vs. Edgar
In the first game against Edgar, it was an offensive battle with Merrill coming up on the short end, losing by a score of 16-7.
Edgar struck first, scoring one run in the inning. Merrill responded in the third inning, scoring two runs to take the lead. Edgar would retake the lead in their half of the third inning with four runs. One run in the top of the fourth kept Merrill in the game, however a nine run bottom of the fourth gave Edgar a 14-3 lead.
Merrill scored two runs in the fifth inning and two more in the sixth inning to bring the score to 14-7. Two runs in the bottom of the sixth for Edgar would complete the scoring for the game as Edgar took the win.
Merrill came into the first game undefeated, so Edgar would have to beat Merrill a second time for a trip to state.
Edgar controlled the second game from the start and would take a 10-0 lead into the final inning, with Merrill nearly made a comeback. Edgar would take the win by a score of 10-6 and earn a trip to the state tournament.
Edgar would get the scoring started right away, scoring on run in the first inning, followed by another one in the second inning. In the fourth inning Edgar would put up five runs to take a 7-0 lead. The top of the seventh inning saw Edgar score three more runs to make it a 10-0 game. With their season on the line, Merrill’s bats finally got hot as they scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, however it was not enough.
The Merrill Junior Legion baseball team finishes their season with a record of 14-12, coming up one win short of a state tournament appearance.