The Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers will take on the St. Mary's Ryken Knights at 4:15 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are strolling into their contests after big wins in their previous games.
Archbishop Spalding will roll into the match after a wild two-game stretch: they only put up two runs two weeks ago, then bounced right back against Notre Dame Prep on Wednesday. Archbishop Spalding blew past Notre Dame Prep 12-5. The Cavaliers haven't had any issues with Notre Dame Prep recently, as the game was their third consecutive win against them.
Archbishop Spalding got a great performance from Cessi Prince as she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 12 over five innings pitched.
On the hitting side, Jalayah Jones was excellent, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 3-for-4. Lily Davey was another key player, going 1-for-4 with one home run.
Archbishop Spalding hit smart and finished the game with only two strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Notre Dame Prep struck out 13 times.
For whatever reason, it's the away team that's had the advantage when St. Mary's Ryken and Bishop Ireton meet (four straight games heading into this one) and that held true again on Tuesday. St. Mary's Ryken's pitcher stepped up to hand Bishop Ireton a 15-0 shutout.
Mikaela Guy made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Guy was also big at the plate, firing off two home runs, six RBI, and four runs while going 4-for-4. Those two home runs gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ava Chadwick, who scored four runs while going 4-for-4. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in hits. Another player making a difference was Lacey Jones, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4.
St. Mary's Ryken pushed their record up to 3-0 with the victory, which was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 10.3 runs. As for Archbishop Spalding, they now have a winning record of 2-1.
Archbishop Spalding couldn't quite get it done against St. Mary's Ryken in their previous meeting back in March of 2024 as they fell 6-1. Will Archbishop Spalding have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
