The Ridgeview Panthers will head out on the road to square off against the Fleming Island Golden Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the contest bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Ridgeview barely beat Trinity Christian Academy the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. Ridgeview put the hurt on Trinity Christian Academy with a sharp 11-4 win on Tuesday. The victory continues a trend for the Panthers in their matchups with the Conquerors: they've now won three in a row.
Nichole Deschamps was a standout: she scored two runs and stole Two bases. while going 2-for-5. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in stolen bases. Another player making a difference was Hannah Smith, who scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Deschamps wasn't the only one working in the hit department: Ridgeview kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 12 hits. That's the most hits they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, it may have taken eight innings to finish the job, but Fleming Island ultimately got the result they hoped for on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out Tocoi Creek 5-3. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Golden Eagles have posted since April 18, 2024.
Mallory Blackwell made a splash while hitting and pitching. She struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just two earned runs off eight hits (and only one walk). She has been consistent recently: she hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. She was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with one triple and two RBI. That triple marked the first that she hit this season.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Olivia Sikes, who went a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.
The victory made it two in a row for Fleming Island and bumps their season record up to 4-1. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.5 runs on average over those games. As for Ridgeview, the win got them back to even at 2-2.
Ridgeview came out on top in a nail-biter against Fleming Island in their previous meeting back in March of 2024, sneaking past 3-2. The rematch might be a little tougher for Ridgeview since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
