Riverside is 2-8 against Covington since April of 2022 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Thursday. The Pirates will look to defend their home field against the Buccaneers at 5:30 p.m. After the two teams made easy work of their previous opponents, one won't be so lucky on Thursday.
Riverside is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Northridge 17-1 on Tuesday. The Pirates haven't had any issues with the Polar Bears recently, as the game was their fifth consecutive win against them.
Emilee Robinson made a splash no matter where she played. She kept things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out eight over five innings pitched. Robinson was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two stolen bases, three runs, and two doubles. That's the most doubles she has posted since back in April of 2025.
Chloe Purtee
| 04/07/26 vs Northridge | 2 |
| 04/06/26 vs Bethel | 1 |
| 04/04/26 vs Triad | 3 |
In other batting news, Chloe Purtee was a standout: she got on base in all four of her plate appearances with two stolen bases, two runs, and one RBI. She is on a roll when it comes to stolen bases, as she's now snagged at least one in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Emma Pope, who went 1-for-2 with three runs and two RBI.
Riverside always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .844. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their OBP total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, while Covington put up plenty of runs on Tuesday, the same can't be said for Bethel. The Buccaneers were the clear victors by a 16-0 margin over the Bees. Considering the Buccaneers have won seven matchups by more than six runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
Emalyn Johnson was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, seven RBI, and four runs. With that strong performance, she is now averaging an impressive 2.1 runs per game. The team also got some help courtesy of Taylor Foutz, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double.
Covington's victory bumped their record up to 9-2. As for Riverside, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. 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 Covington struggles in that department as they've been averaging 2.1 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Riverside came out on top in a nail-biter against Covington in their previous matchup back in May of 2025, sneaking past 5-4. Will the Pirates repeat their success, or do the Buccaneers have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
