Raiders
| 04/09/25 @ Millville | 11 |
| 04/06/25 vs Delaware Military Academy | 1 |
| 04/05/25 vs William Penn Charter | 7 |
| 04/05/25 vs Camden Catholic | 13 |
| 04/04/25 vs Egg Harbor Township | 3 |
| + 2 more games |
The Ocean City Raiders will head out to face off against the St. Joseph Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Ocean City is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.
Ocean City is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of New Jersey's top teams: Millville, who was ranked 19th at the time (Ocean City was ranked fifth). The Raiders walked away with an 11-7 victory over the Thunderbolts on Wednesday. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Raiders considering their one-run performance the match before.
Brooke Douglas made a splash while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, tossing four innings while giving up just one earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Ocean City let Leah Catto and Taylor Vaugh run wild. Catto scored two runs while going 4-for-5, while Vaugh scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-5. That's the most hits Vaugh has posted since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Annabelle Shumski, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Ocean City was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .432. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Millville only posted a batting average of .303.
For some reason, the away team has come away with the win the last three times St. Joseph and Egg Harbor Township have met, but the home crowd finally got their W on Wednesday. The Wildcats took an 8-4 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Eagles.
Elaina Portalatin was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she struck out 12 batters over 5.2 innings while giving up just one earned (and six unearned) runs off five hits. Those hits were her first of the season.
On the hitting side, St. Joseph saw three different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Riley Hunter, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Alaina Dorsey also deserves some recognition as she hit her first double of the season.
St. Joseph's defeat ended a seven-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 4-2. As for Ocean City, their record now sits at 6-1.
St. Joseph's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Ocean City hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .343. It's a different story for St. Joseph, though, as they've only averaged .137. Will they be able to contain Ocean City's hitters?
Ocean City suffered a grim 14-1 defeat to St. Joseph when the teams last played back in April of 2024. Can the Raiders avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
