Softball Game Preview: St. Mary's Ryken Knights vs. Our Lady of Good Counsel Falcons

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Previous Games

05/09/24 - Home	8-0 W
05/03/24 - Home	3-2 W
04/25/23 - Home	8-0 W
05/05/22 - Away	7-12 L
03/15/22 - Home	1-7 L
+ 5 more games

St. Mary's Ryken has gone 8-2 against Our Lady of Good Counsel recently and they'll look to pad the win column further on Friday. The Knights will face off against the Falcons at 4:30 p.m. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with three consecutive losses apiece.

St. Mary's Ryken is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: Bishop O'Connell, who was ranked first in their home state at the time (St. Mary's Ryken was ranked fifth). St. Mary's Ryken fell just short of Bishop O'Connell by a score of 3-1 on Tuesday. The contest marked St. Mary's Ryken's lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Emmaleigh Zagrodnichek spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered three earned runs on nine hits.

At the plate, St. Mary's Ryken saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Mikaela Guy, who went 1-for-3 with one double and one RBI. That double was Guy's first of the season.

Meanwhile, Our Lady of Good Counsel came up short against St. John's on Monday and fell 9-6.

St. Mary's Ryken's defeat dropped their record down to 5-3. As for Our Lady of Good Counsel, their loss was their first in the region, dropping their region record down to 2-1 and their overall record down to 4-3.

Everything went St. Mary's Ryken's way against Our Lady of Good Counsel in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, as St. Mary's Ryken made off with an 8-0 win. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Knights since the team won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.