The Cocoa Tigers will take on the Astronaut War Eagles at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. The two teams are sauntering into the matchup backed by comfortable wins in their prior games.
Cocoa is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Tuesday. Everything went their way against Atlantic as they made off with a 7-1 win. The victory made it back-to-back wins for the Tigers.
Payton Hoffman
| 04/29/25 vs Atlantic | 8 |
| 04/23/25 @ Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy | 5 |
| 04/21/25 vs Titusville | 10 |
Payton Hoffman was a major factor no matter where she played. On the mound, she didn't allow a single earned run while striking out eight over seven innings pitched. She has been consistent recently: she hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in three consecutive appearances. She was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one stolen base.
In other batting news, Kindle Gold was a standout: she went 2-for-3 with two triples, two runs, and two RBI. Those two triples gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Auvionna Carlyle, who went 2-for-3 with one home run and two runs.
Cocoa lost a few balls and finished the game with two home runs. That's the most home runs they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, Astronaut got themselves on the board against Titusville on Tuesday, but Titusville never followed suit. They were the clear victors by an 8-0 margin over the Terriers. The War Eagles might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won six matches by six runs or more this season.
Like Cocoa, Astronaut also got a great game from a two-way player: Riley Miller. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Miller was also big at the plate, going 1-for-3 with two RBI and one double.
In other batting news, Ciara Vansky was excellent, going 3-for-4 with two runs and one RBI. Daisy Mixson was another key player, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with one stolen base and one run.
Astronaut's victory bumped their record up to 13-6. As for Cocoa, their win bumped their record up to 5-11.
Astronaut's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Cocoa hasn't had any issues making contact this season, having earned a batting average of .338. It's a different story for Astronaut, though, as they've only averaged .257. Will they be able to contain Cocoa's hitters?
Cocoa might still be hurting after the 16-1 loss they got from Astronaut when the teams last played back in March. Can the Tigers avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
