The Branford Buccaneers will challenge the Williston Red Devils at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Branford is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 8 runs per game this season.
Branford's pitching crew heads into the contest hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Tuesday. They blew past Lafayette 12-0. The Buccaneers have beaten the Hornets the last seven times they've met, but they better watch out: this was the closest the Hornets has come to flipping the script.
The result came thanks to Laila Arnold's shutout, as she gave up just six hits and racked up six Ks. She has been nothing but reliable on the mound: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Jesse Frierson, who scored four runs and stole three bases while going 4-for-4. That's the most stolen bases she has posted since back in May of 2024. Another player making a difference was Victoria Swain, who went 2-for-4 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs.
Branford always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .526. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lafayette only posted an OBP of .370.
Meanwhile, Williston lost 8-1 to Crystal River on Thursday. The Red Devils have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Williston saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Baylee Cribbs, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Branford pushed their record up to 15-5 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.9 runs on average over those games. As for Williston, their loss dropped their record down to 10-7.
Both Branford and Williston just can't seem to miss. The Buccaneers have been making plenty of contact this season, having averaged 9.2 hits per game. However, it's not like Williston struggles in that department as they've been averaging only 5.2 hits. With both teams so capable at the plate, fans should be ready for an impressive hitting performance.
Branford was able to grind out a solid win over Williston in their previous meeting back in March, winning 8-4. Will the Buccaneers repeat their success, or do the Red Devils have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
