Softball Game Preview: Venture Academy Mustangs vs. River Islands Riptide

For the first time this season, Venture Academy will have a chance to prove themselves in a conference matchup. They will head out on the road to square off against the River Islands Riptide at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. Venture Academy knows how to get runs on the board -- the team has finished with ten runs or more in their past four contests -- so hopefully River Islands likes a good challenge.

Venture Academy is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. Everything went their way against Humphreys Able Charter on Monday as they made off with a 31-3 win. The Mustangs haven't had any issues with the Legacy recently, as the game was their fourth consecutive victory against them.

Gracelynn Silva

Batters Struck Out (Career)

03/31/25 @ Humphreys Able Charter	13
03/20/25 @ Delta Charter	11
03/19/24 @ McNair	4
05/02/24 vs Stone Ridge Christian	2
04/02/24 vs Millennium	1

Gracelynn Silva made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, she struck out 13 batters over five innings while giving up three earned runs off five hits (and only one walk). Those 13 strikeouts gave her a new career-high. She was also stellar in the batter's box, going 4-for-5 with one home run, six RBI, and four runs. That home run marked the first that she launched this season.

In other batting news, Natalie Padilla was a standout: she scored three runs while getting on base in all six of her plate appearances. She has been hot recently, having also posted three or more hits the last three times she's played. Arii Correa was another key player, scoring five runs while getting on base in five of her six plate appearances.

Venture Academy always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .843. That's the best OBP they've posted all season.

Meanwhile, River Islands didn't have quite enough to beat Millennium on Thursday and fell 6-5. The Riptide have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.

Venture Academy's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 5-1. Those road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 21.0 runs over those games. As for River Islands, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-3.