vs
| 04/04/19 - Home | 8-4 W |
| 05/01/18 - Away | 12-2 W |
| 04/11/18 - Home | 14-7 W |
| 05/02/17 - Home | 18-3 W |
| 04/11/17 - Away | 15-9 W |
Apollo Ridge is a perfect 5-0 against Northgate since April of 2017 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Vikings will square off against the Flames at 6:00 p.m. Both teams are coming into the game red-hot, with Apollo Ridge sitting on six straight wins and Northgate on five.
Apollo Ridge's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Monday. They put the hurt on Shady Side Academy with a sharp 19-0 victory. Considering the Vikings have won five contests by more than eight runs this season, Monday's blowout was nothing new.
Jocelyn Snyder and Mikaila Ditty were a major factor while hitting and pitching. Throwing, Snyder pitched one inning while giving up no earned runs or hits. Meanwhile, Ditty tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off two hits. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one walk in six consecutive appearances. At the plate, Snyder scored two runs while going 1-for-3, while Ditty scored three runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3. That stolen base was Ditty's first of the season.
In other batting news, Apollo Ridge let Olivia Saxion and Kourtney Levesque run wild. Saxion scored two runs while getting on base in all four of her plate appearances, while Levesque scored three runs while going 1-for-4. Levesque also put up three RBI, which were her first of the season. Madison Butler was another key player, scoring two runs while going 1-for-4.
Apollo Ridge always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .556. The last time their OBP was this high was back in April of 2024.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Northgate). They blew past Shady Side Academy 17-7 on Friday. While the Flames didn't have the best season last year (they finished 7-11), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Johna Abramowicz made a splash no matter where she played. She struck out seven batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned (and six unearned) runs off three hits. Abramowicz was also big at the plate, scoring two runs while going 2-for-5.
In other batting news, Gracie Auth was a standout: she scored four runs and stole two bases while going 2-for-5. Those four runs gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Kayleigh Hooper, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-5.
Apollo Ridge's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 0.3 runs on average over those games. As for Northgate, their record now sits at 6-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Apollo Ridge has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.4 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Northgate struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 10.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Apollo Ridge was able to grind out a solid win over Northgate in their previous matchup back in April of 2019, winning 8-4. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Vikings since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
