Hamilton Community Schools

April 29th 2025 The Hamilton Marines earned a gritty road win Tuesday night, outlasting the Lakewood Park Panthers 11-9 in a back-and-forth contest. The victory moves the Marines above .500 to a 5-4 record on the season. Hamilton came out swinging in the first inning, putting up five runs behind a patient approach at the plate and timely hitting. The inning included two walks, a hit-by-pitch, a single by Bella Rivera, and a two-run double by Marissa Mercer. Lakewood answered with one run in the bottom half. In the second inning, Taryn Kintz ripped a double and came around to score on a Brenna Mercer RBI, extending Hamilton’s lead. However, the Panthers responded with three runs of their own to close the gap. The Marines kept the offense rolling in the fourth, pushing across three more runs thanks to a walk by Kintz, a single from Aiyanna Skees, and heads-up base running after an error allowed Sato and others to score. Lakewood chipped in another run in the sixth, but Hamilton added what turned out to be two key insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Marissa Mercer led off with a single and scored, followed by Karly Nester, who also singled and came around to cross the plate. Lakewood made a late surge with four runs in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Hamilton’s early lead. In the circle, Marissa Mercer pitched the opening two innings and tallied a strikeout, while Bella Rivera was dominant in relief, throwing five innings and striking out 11 to help seal the win. The Marines return home Thursday to host Fort Wayne Wayne High School at 5:30 PM.