Riverside is 1-6 against Miami East since April of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Pirates will head out to take on the Vikings at 5:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Riverside sitting on four straight wins and Miami East on six.
Riverside's usually-dominant pitching crew will be looking to make up for Thursday's struggle, when Lehman Catholic hitters got past them. The Pirates were the clear victors by a 17-10 margin over the Cavaliers on Thursday. While the Pirates didn't have the best season last year (they finished 10-14), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Keira Manahan made a splash no matter where she played. On the mound, she pitched four innings while giving up just one earned run off two hits. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Jayden Hoffer
| 04/10/25 vs Lehman Catholic | 2 |
| 04/01/25 @ Bethel | 1 |
| 05/01/24 @ Troy Christian | 1 |
| 04/20/24 vs Tri-Village | 1 |
| 03/28/24 vs Northridge | 1 |
In other batting news, Riverside let Jayden Hoffer and Aubree Huston run wild. Hoffer went 2-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI, while Huston went 3-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, and one double. Those two stolen bases gave Hoffer a new career-high. Jaidyn Jackson was another key player, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.
Riverside kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 15 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least 12 hits in four consecutive contests.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Miami East). Their pitcher stepped up to hand Troy Christian a 22-0 shutout on Thursday. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the team's high-flying offense, the game also marked the team's biggest victory of the season.
Jacqueline Kadel made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 13 over five innings pitched. Kadel was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-4 with two runs, one triple, and one RBI. That triple was her first of the season.
In other batting news, Jaila Thurman and Jaylen Carter did most of the damage at the plate: Thurman went a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, three runs, and three RBI, while Carter scored two runs while going 2-for-2. Carter also put up two doubles, which were her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Alli Rose, who went 2-for-4 with four RBI and one run.
Miami East pushed their record up to 6-2 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. Those home victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 16.8 runs over those games. As for Riverside, their record is now 8-2.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Friday. Riverside hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Miami East struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 0.5 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Riverside suffered a grim 13-0 defeat to Miami East in their previous meeting back in April of 2024. Can the Pirates avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
