The River Ridge Hawks will look to defend their home field on Monday against the Central Kitsap Cougars at 3:30 p.m. The pair are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
In what's become a running theme this season, River Ridge gave their fans yet another huge victory on Thursday. They put the hurt on North Thurston with a sharp 13-1 win. The victory was some much needed relief for River Ridge as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Jaylah Sok Vandergriff made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over five innings pitched. Sok Vandergriff has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than seven strikeouts in three consecutive pitching appearances. Sok Vandergriff was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances.
In other batting news, Khloe Pickernell was incredible, going 1-for-2 with four RBI, two runs, and a triple. Jayden Kautz was another key contributor, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Central Kitsap won against North Thurston on Monday with 14 runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. Central Kitsap was the clear victor by a 14-5 margin over Peninsula. That nine run margin sets a new team best for Central Kitsap this season.
Coral Howell spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned (and one unearned) runs on nine hits.
On the hitting side, Ava Day was a standout: she went 1-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Eva Thompson, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
River Ridge's win bumped their record up to 8-6. As for Central Kitsap, the victory was the third in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 4-10.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. River 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 Central Kitsap struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.8. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
River Ridge was able to grind out a solid win over Central Kitsap when the teams last played on April 4th, winning 9-5. Will River Ridge repeat their success, or does Central Kitsap have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
