The Apollo Ridge Vikings will square off against the South Allegheny Gladiators at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
South Allegheny will face off against a team with plenty of momentum: Apollo Ridge extended their winning streak to eight on Friday. The Vikings put the hurt on Brentwood with a sharp 15-1 victory.
Mikaila Ditty was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out 11 over six innings pitched. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs.
In other batting news, Apollo Ridge got a massive performance out of Cassidy Ryan, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, two runs, and one triple. That's the most RBI Ryan has posted since back in April of 2024. Another player making a difference was Olivia Saxion, who went 2-for-5 with four RBI, one stolen base, and one run.
Apollo Ridge kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 13 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in five consecutive matches.
Meanwhile, South Allegheny never let their opponents score on Friday. Everything went their way against Shady Side Academy as they made off with a 16-0 win. The victory continues a trend for the Gladiators in their matchups with the Bulldogs: they've now won five in a row.
Like Apollo Ridge, South Allegheny also got a great game from a two-way player: Ava Brown. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out nine over five innings pitched. Brown was also big at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one double and one RBI.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Cadence McBride, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with four stolen bases, two triples, and three runs. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 1.2 stolen bases per game. Angelina LaGuardia was another key player, scoring three runs and stealing four bases while going 2-for-3.
Apollo Ridge pushed their record up to 8-1 with the win, which was their fifth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 13.8 runs over those games. As for South Allegheny, their win bumped their record up to 6-1.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Apollo Ridge hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.4 home runs per game. However, it's not like South Allegheny struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more softball content.
