The Northfield Nighthawks will square off against the Arvada West Wildcats at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Both teams are coming into the matchup red-hot, with Northfield sitting on 13 straight victories and Arvada West on six.
On Tuesday, Northfield beat Denver East 10-5.
Jackson Taylor looked comfortable as he tossed 2.1 innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit in three consecutive appearances.
Jack Phiel
| 04/22/25 @ Denver East | 3 |
| 04/11/25 @ Denver South | 2 |
| 04/13/24 @ Kennedy | 2 |
| 04/05/24 @ Westminster | 2 |
| 04/08/25 @ George Washington | 1 |
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Jack Phiel, who got on base in all four of his plate appearances with one home run, three stolen bases, and three runs. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Logan Bader, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Northfield lost a few balls and finished the game with three home runs. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Denver East didn't launched any home runs.
Meanwhile, it was a proper cat-fight when Arvada West took on Lakewood on Tuesday. The Wildcats' pitchers stepped up to hand the Tigers a 9-0 shutout. The result was nothing new for the Wildcats, who have now won seven contests by six runs or more so far this season.
Brayden Reiner was a major factor while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out eight over six innings pitched. Reiner was also solid in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.
In other batting news, Tate Deal was incredible, going 2-for-4 with one home run, two stolen bases, and four RBI. Cooper Vais was another key player, going 2-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Northfield pushed their record up to 13-1 with the win, which was their sixth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 14.0 runs over those games. As for Arvada West, their record now sits at 13-2-1.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Northfield has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Arvada West struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 11.1 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Northfield might still be hurting after the 12-0 defeat they got from Arvada West when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Can the Nighthawks avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
