The St. Mary's Ryken Knights will head out on the road to square off against the Paul VI Panthers at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. St. Mary's Ryken will be coming into the matchup with an undefeated record on the line.
St. Mary's Ryken is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another highly-ranked state team: St. John's, who was ranked first at the time (St. Mary's Ryken was ranked second). St. Mary's Ryken was the clear victor by a 13-3 margin over St. John's on Saturday. Considering St. Mary's Ryken has won six games by more than six runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.
Mikaela Guy made a splash no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits (and not a single walk). Guy was also stellar in the batter's box, scoring three runs while going 2-for-3.
In other batting news, Ava Chadwick was incredible, firing off two home runs, five RBI, and three runs while going 2-for-4. She is on a roll when it comes to home runs, as she's now launched at least one in the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Natalie Nichols, who scored two runs while going 2-for-3.
Paul VI never got on the board in their matchup on Tuesday, but that sure wasn't the case in their game against Bishop McNamara last Friday. They put the hurt on the Mustangs with a sharp 14-3 win. With that victory, Paul VI brought their scoring average up to 6.6 runs per game.
McKenna Drawbaugh and Mia Gottfried did most of the damage at the plate: Drawbaugh went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and two RBI, while Gottfried scored two runs while going 3-for-4. The team also got some help courtesy of Hailey Farrell, who scored a run while going 1-for-3.
St. Mary's Ryken pushed their record up to 9-0 with that win, which was their fourth straight on the road. As for Paul VI, they now have a winning record of 6-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Tuesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. St. Mary's Ryken has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 12.1 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Paul VI struggles in that department as they've been averaging 10.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
St. Mary's Ryken came out on top in a nail-biter against Paul VI when the teams last played back in March, sneaking past 3-2. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Paul VI's Giovanna Gottfried, who didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 11 over 6.2 innings pitched. Now that she's got a second chance to win this matchup, will St. Mary's Ryken still be able to contain Gottfried? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
