The Emerald Ridge Jaguars will head out on the road to square off against the Puyallup Vikings at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Emerald Ridge's pitching crew has only allowed 3.7 runs per game this season, so Puyallup's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
Emerald Ridge will head out to face Puyallup after giving up their first home loss of the season on Thursday. The Jaguars fell 6-3 to Graham-Kapowsin. Surprisingly, this marked the Jaguars' fourth straight game in which the away team has come away the victor.
Alanna Wirtala
| 04/17/25 vs Graham-Kapowsin | 9 |
| 04/14/25 @ South Kitsap | 12 |
| 04/09/25 @ Olympia | 7 |
Alanna Wirtala spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned (and three unearned) runs on seven hits and racked up nine Ks. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, Emerald Ridge saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Kenzie Stolmeier, who got on base in all three of her plate appearances with one double and one RBI.
Meanwhile, Puyallup came tearing into Thursday's contest with five straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 6.4 runs), and they left with even more momentum. They never let the Sentinels get on the board and left with a 20-0 victory. The result was nothing new for the Vikings, who have now won four matchups by ten runs or more so far this season.
Kiera Thomas made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Thomas was also big at the plate, going a perfect 1-for-1 with one home run and two RBI.
In other batting news, Kayla Ringenbach and Mack Hardesty did most of the damage at the plate: Ringenbach got on base in all four of her plate appearances with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base, while Hardesty went 2-for-4 with four runs, three RBI, and one stolen base. Those four runs gave Hardesty a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Sym Buras, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBI.
Puyallup kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post 11 or more hits.
Puyallup's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 8-3. The home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.7 runs over those games. As for Emerald Ridge, their defeat dropped their record down to 9-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Emerald Ridge hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.6 home runs per game. However, it's not like Puyallup struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.9 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Emerald Ridge took their win against Puyallup in their previous matchup back in May of 2024 by a conclusive 10-0 score. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Jaguars since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
