Softball Game Preview: Royal Knights vs. Naches Valley Rangers

vs

Previous Games

05/18/24 - Home	12-2 W
05/20/23 - Away	18-1 W
03/18/23 - Neutral	17-1 W
05/19/22 - Home	17-0 W
04/22/22 - Home	16-2 W
+ 4 more games

Royal has gone 7-2 against Naches Valley recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Knights will be playing in front of their home fans against the Rangers at 3:00 p.m. Royal knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past five games -- so hopefully Naches Valley likes a good challenge.

Royal came out on top against Connell on Tuesday thanks in part to the team's impressive 11-run fourth inning. The Knights were the clear victors by a 19-2 margin over the Eagles. The victory continues a trend for the Knights in their matchups with the Eagles: they've now won nine in a row.

Jill Allred made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She struck out six batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off five hits. Allred was also big at the plate, going 1-for-5 with three runs and one stolen base.

In other batting news, Royal let Lily Delarosa and Emerson Eilers run wild. Delarosa went a perfect 4-for-4 with three stolen bases, four runs, and four RBI, while Eilers went 4-for-5 with four runs, four RBI, and one triple. That's the most RBI Delarosa has posted since back in March. Paige Christensen was another key player, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one RBI.

Royal was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .471. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .357 or higher in five consecutive contests.

Meanwhile, Naches Valley didn't have quite enough to beat Kiona-Benton on Tuesday and fell 6-5. The Rangers have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Royal's win was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 15-3. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 15.7 runs over those games. As for Naches Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 7-10.

Royal took their win against Naches Valley in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 12-2 score. Do the Knights have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Rangers turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.