The DeQuincy Tigers will face off against the DeRidder Dragons at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
DeQuincy is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They blew past Many 13-3 on Friday. Considering DeQuincy has won three matches by more than nine runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Maddie Vinatieri made a big impact no matter where she played. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up just two earned (and one unearned) runs off six hits. Vinatieri was also big at the plate, scoring a run while getting on base in two of her four plate appearances.
In other batting news, DeQuincy let Emily Cooley and Olivia Oden run wild. Cooley scored two runs while going 4-for-4, while Oden scored two runs while going 3-for-3. Cooley also put up two RBI, which were her first of the season. Another player making a difference was Audi Flower, who scored a run while getting on base in three of her four plate appearances.
DeQuincy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .629. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Many only posted an OBP of .304.
Meanwhile, DeRidder hadn't done well against Vinton recently (they were 0-3 in their previous three matchups), but they didn't let the past get in their way on Tuesday. DeRidder was the clear victors by a 16-10 margin over Vinton. With that win, the Dragons brought their scoring average up to 7 runs per game.
The team relied heavily on Alyssa Hall, who got on base in all five of her plate appearances with two triples, five RBI, and two runs. Those five RBI gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Demi Burks, who scored four runs while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
The victory got DeRidder back to even at 2-2. As for DeQuincy, their win bumped their record up to 3-1.
DeRidder's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: DeQuincy has been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 10.8 hits per game. It's a different story for DeRidder, though, as they've been averaging 10.2 hits. Given DeQuincy's sizable advantage in that area, DeRidder will need to find a way to close that gap.
DeQuincy took their victory against DeRidder in their previous meeting back in March of 2023 by a conclusive 19-4. Will DeQuincy repeat their success, or does DeRidder have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
