Softball Recap: Mandarin Comes Up Short

Mandarin fought the good fight in their extra-innings matchup against Providence School on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Providence School Stallions by a score of 8-7. The Mustangs were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Stallions apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in April of 2024.

Shelby Ricketts was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out eight over 5.2 innings pitched.

On the hitting side, Alanna DeJesus made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored three runs while going 3-for-4. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in hits. Another player making a difference was Gracianna Peck-Headley, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI.

This is the second loss in a row for Mandarin and nudges their season record down to 5-6. Their recent woes sure aren't a result of their performance when it comes to strikeouts: they averaged an imposing seven strikeouts in those games compared to only 3.78 in the others. As for Providence School, they moved to 2-5 with that win, which also ended their three-game losing streak.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming games. Mandarin will head out to face off against Bolles at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Mandarin is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 7.5 runs per game this season. Providence School will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Ponte Vedra at 6:00 p.m. on March 25th.