The Ridgeline Riverhawks will challenge the Fremont Silverwolves at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. The timing is sure in Ridgeline's favor as the team sits on nine straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Fremont has been banged up by three consecutive losses on the road.
Ridgeline is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Utah's top teams: Sky View, who was ranked 14th at the time (Ridgeline was ranked 19th). Ridgeline's pitcher stepped up to hand Sky View a 9-0 shutout on Tuesday. The win was some much needed relief for the Riverhawks as it spelled an end to their three-game losing streak.
Brielle Gardiner
| 03/11/25 vs Sky View | 3 |
| 03/08/25 vs Central Catholic | 1 |
| 03/08/25 vs Murrieta Mesa | 1 |
| 03/07/25 vs Agoura | 0 |
| 03/07/25 vs Torrance | 1 |
| + 7 more games |
Brielle Gardiner made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only one hit while striking out seven over seven innings pitched. Gardiner was also stellar in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with one triple, two RBI, and one double. That's the most hits she has posted since back in May of 2024.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Ava Buttars, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-3. The dominant performance gave her a new career-high in hits. The team also got some help courtesy of Olivia Nielsen, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Ridgeline was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .429. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Fremont). Everything went their way against Uintah on Tuesday as Fremont made off with a 14-5 victory. The high-flying hitting performance was a huge turnaround for the Silverwolves considering their two-run performance the contest before.
Savannah Palmatier was incredible, going 3-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three RBI. She has been hot recently, having posted at least one stolen base the last four times she's played. Olivia Broadbent was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 2-for-3.
Ridgeline's win bumped their record up to 3-4. As for Fremont, their victory (their first of the season) made their record 1-6.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Thursday. Ridgeline hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 0.7 home runs per game. However, it's not like Fremont struggles in that department as they've been averaging 0.6 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Ridgeline took their win against Fremont when the teams last played back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 19-5. Will Ridgeline repeat their success, or does Fremont have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
