Softball Game Preview: Ferndale Yellow Jackets vs. North Star Cougars

vs

Previous Games

04/10/24 - Home	10-2 W
05/11/23 - Home	14-6 W
04/23/23 - Away	11-21 L
05/10/22 - Away	19-3 W
05/11/21 - Home	13-3 W
+ 5 more games

Ferndale and North Star are an even 5-5 against one another since April of 2018, but likely not for long. The Yellow Jackets will venture away from home to square off against the Cougars at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Given that the two teams suffered a loss in their last games, they both have a little extra motivation heading into this contest.

Ferndale fell victim to Berlin Brothersvalley and their airtight pitching crew on Thursday. They came up short against the Mountaineers, falling 10-0. The loss continues a trend for the Yellow Jackets in their meetings with the Mountaineers: they've now lost three in a row.

Meanwhile, North Star was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their eighth straight defeat. They were a single run away from ending the streak, but they lost a 5-4 heartbreaker at the hands of Rockwood.

Ryleigh Grove was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, pitching 6.2 innings while giving up just two earned (and three unearned) runs off ten hits. Grove was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, one double, and one RBI.

In other batting news, Morgan Snyder was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-4 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.

Ferndale's loss dropped their record down to 9-5. As for North Star, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-9.

Everything went Ferndale's way against North Star when the teams last played back in April of 2024, as Ferndale made off with a 10-2 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Yellow Jackets since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.