Softball Recap: Kennard-Dale comes up short despite Maddie Argiro's strong performance

By Team Reports Jun 4, 2024, 7:35pm

Softball Recap: Kennard-Dale Rams vs. Pope John Paul II

Despite a phenomenal run in the regular season, Kennard-Dale couldn't carry that success into this playoff game. They fell just short of Pope John Paul II by a score of 3-2 on Monday. That's two games in a row now that Kennard-Dale has lost by just one run.

Maddie Argiro was cooking despite her team's loss, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and an RBI. Taylor Rinaudo was another key contributor, going 2-for-3 with a double.

Even though they lost, Kennard-Dale didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with eight strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pope John Paul II only tossed four.

On Pope John Paul II's side, Lexi DiBricida spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered just two earned runs on nine hits. DiBricida has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in nine consecutive pitching appearances.

At the plate, Rylee Derecola was excellent, going 1-for-3 with a triple, a run, and an RBI. Another player making a difference was Molly Houchins, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and an RBI.

This is the second loss in a row for Kennard-Dale and nudges their season record down to 17-7. As for Pope John Paul II, they are on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matchups, which provided a nice bump to their 15-8 record this season.

Kennard-Dale does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Pope John Paul II, they will face off against Blue Mountain at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Blue Mountain sitting on 18 straight victories and Pope John Paul II on three.

Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps