Baseball Game Preview: Hawthorne Hornets vs. Branford Buccaneers

Hawthorne is 0-5 against Branford since April of 2017 but things could change on Monday. The Hornets will face off against the Buccaneers at 7:00 p.m. Hawthorne is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.3 runs per game this season.

Hawthorne is coming in off a wild two-game stretch: after soaring to 17 runs last Thursday, they were much more limited against Williston last Friday. They lost 10-0 to the Red Devils. Considering the last time the Hornets couldn't score was back in February, the team can't take the result too hard.

Meanwhile, Branford came tearing into Friday's matchup with seven straight wins (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.4 runs), and they left with even more momentum. Their pitchers stepped up to hand the Saints a 7-0 shutout. Considering the Buccaneers have won 13 games by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Branford saw six different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Troy Roberts, who went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases.

Branford's victory was their fifth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-6. The road wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.4 runs over those games. As for Hawthorne, their loss dropped their record down to 10-9.

The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Hawthorne has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.3 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Branford struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 8.7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.

Hawthorne might still be hurting after the 15-1 defeat they got from Branford in their previous meeting back in April of 2022. Can the Hornets avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.