The Jena Giants are taking a road trip to face off against the Pineville Rebels at 5:30 p.m. on Monday. Jena is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8.1 runs per game this season.
Jena is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Louisiana's top teams: North DeSoto, who was ranked fourth at the time (Jena was ranked sixth). The Giants fell just short of the Griffins by a score of 4-3 on Friday. The Giants haven't had much luck with the Griffins recently, as the team has come up short the last five times they've met.
Kiette Cooper
| 04/11/25 vs North DeSoto | 7 |
| 04/10/25 @ Grant | 14 |
| 04/08/25 vs Tioga | 14 |
| 04/01/25 vs Sterlington | 11 |
| 03/29/25 vs Oak Grove | 17 |
| + 18 more games |
Kiette Cooper spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered four earned runs on seven hits and racked up seven Ks. She has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in 23 consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Sydney Williams made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored a run while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Haylee Dangerfield, who went 1-for-3 with one home run.
Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Pineville, who bounced back after a loss on the road on Thursday. Everything went their way against Florien on Friday as they made off with a 15-0 victory. The Rebels might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 23 matches by six runs or more this season.
Addalyn Burch made a big impact no matter where she played. She didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. Burch was also big at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Jadin Basco was incredible, going a perfect 2-for-2 with one home run, two stolen bases, and three runs. That's the most hits she has posted over her last ten contests. Briley Byrnes was another key player, scoring two runs and stealing a base while going 3-for-4.
Pineville's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 28-5. Those home victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 1.3 runs on average over those games. As for Jena, their defeat dropped their record down to 23-5.
Fans could be in store for some top-tier slugging on Monday. Jena hasn't had any problems when it comes to power this season, having averaged 1.1 home runs per game. However, it's not like Pineville struggles in that department as they've been averaging 1.2 home runs. With so much power on both teams, it'll be down to the pitchers to keep the mound locked down.
Jena couldn't quite get it done against Pineville in their previous matchup back in February of 2023 as they fell 5-1. Can the Giants avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
