The Spruce Creek Hawks will face off against the Astronaut War Eagles at 7:00 p.m. on Monday. Both teams are coming into the match red-hot, with Spruce Creek sitting on four straight wins and Astronaut on six.
On Friday, Spruce Creek got the win against Melbourne by a conclusive 14-5. Considering the Hawks have won five contests by more than six runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Reese Cianciarulo made a big impact while hitting and pitching. She pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. She has been consistent : she hasn't given up more than two walks in seven consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3. The dominant performance also gave her a new career-high in RBI (two).
In other pitching news, Aubrey Yeary tossed a big game, striking out ten batters over five innings while giving up three earned (and two unearned) runs off four hits.
Taylor Ferrandino
| 03/28/25 vs Melbourne | 2 |
| 03/27/25 vs Taylor | 1 |
| 03/25/25 @ New Smyrna Beach | 1 |
| 03/05/25 vs Seminole | 1 |
| 02/20/25 @ Lake Mary | 1 |
Back at the plate, the team relied heavily on Taylor Ferrandino, who went 3-for-5 with five RBI, two doubles, and one run. Those two doubles gave her a new career-high. Alexis Minaberry was another key player, scoring three runs while going 4-for-4.
Spruce Creek always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .553. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Melbourne only posted an OBP of .400.
Meanwhile, it was close, but on Friday Astronaut sidestepped Space Coast for a 2-1 victory. The two-run effort marked the War Eagles' lowest-scoring game of the season, but in the end it didn't matter.
Riley Miller spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned run on eight hits and racked up six Ks.
Astronaut pushed their record up to 8-1 with the win, which was their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.7 runs over those games. As for Spruce Creek, their win bumped their record up to 8-3.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Spruce Creek has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Astronaut struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.6 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Spruce Creek took their victory against Astronaut in their previous meeting back in March of 2017 by a conclusive 10-1. Does Spruce Creek have another victory up their sleeve, or will Astronaut turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
