Dakota Ridge is 0-5 against Golden since August of 2022 but things could change on Saturday. The Eagles will welcome the Demons at 10:00 a.m. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Dakota Ridge will bounce into Saturday's contest after beating Pomona, who they had gone 2-7 against in their nine prior meetings. The Eagles put the hurt on the Panthers with a sharp 14-2 win on Friday. With that victory, the Eagles brought their scoring average up to 6.2 runs per game.
Madison Drake made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only one hit over five innings pitched. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in strikeouts (three). She was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs, three RBI, and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Dakota Ridge got a big performance out of Avery Andrews, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI, and one double. Lexi Bortscheller was another key player, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Meanwhile, Golden had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 11.7 runs) and they went ahead and made it four on Thursday. Their pitcher stepped up to hand the Panthers a 12-0 shutout. The Demons might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 13 matchups by six runs or more this season.
Lucca Merz was incredible, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Another player making a difference was Daely Peterson, who went 1-for-2 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI.
Dakota Ridge's win bumped their record up to 7-11. As for Golden, their victory bumped their record up to 14-5.
Saturday's game will be a test for both teams' pitchers. Dakota Ridge hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .342. However, it's not like Golden struggles in that department as they've averaged .411. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Dakota Ridge might still be hurting after the 10-0 defeat they got from Golden in their previous matchup back in September. Will the Eagles have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
