The East Ridge Knights will face off against the Florida Christian Patriots at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
East Ridge saw some tournament action on Friday. Everything went their way against LaBelle as East Ridge made off with a 14-3 victory. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Knights.
Simmone Hymiller tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run over five innings pitched. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than two walks any time she's pitched this season.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Bailey Page, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, four RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI she has posted since back in February of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Lilly Land, who went 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI.
Meanwhile, while Florida Christian put up plenty of runs on Thursday, the same can't be said for Palmetto. Florida Christian blew past Palmetto 15-0. The win was familiar territory for the Patriots, who have now won three matches in a row.
Samantha Otano was a major factor while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. That's the fewest hits she has allowed since back in April of 2024. She was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, Emily Ruiz was excellent, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-3. Another player making a difference was Charlee Arana, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
Florida Christian always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .517. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Palmetto only posted an OBP of .267.
East Ridge's victory bumped their record up to 9-1. As for Florida Christian, their win bumped their record up to 8-2.
Both the two teams just can't seem to miss. East Ridge has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10 hits per game. However, it's not like Florida Christian struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.1 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance. Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other softball content.
