The Arcadia Firebirds will venture away from home to square off against the Northampton Yellowjackets at 4:00 p.m. on Monday. The teams are on pretty different trajectories at the moment (Arcadia has five straight victories, Northampton has seven straight defeats), but none of that matters once you're on the field.
Arcadia's pitching crew heads into the match hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Thursday. Everything went their way against Nandua as they made off with a 10-0 win. Considering the Firebirds have won ten contests by more than five runs this season, Thursday's blowout was nothing new.
Ryann Giddens
| 05/15/25 vs Nandua | 3 |
| 05/07/25 vs Holly Grove Christian | 2 |
| 05/06/25 @ Nandua | 2 |
| 05/12/25 vs Sts. Peter & Paul | 1 |
| 05/08/25 @ Chincoteague | 1 |
Ryann Giddens was a major factor while hitting and pitching. She looked comfortable on the mound, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out nine over six innings pitched. She has been consistent: she hasn't given up more than one earned run in seven consecutive appearances. She was also stellar in the batter's box, getting on base in three of her four plate appearances with three stolen bases, three runs, and one triple. Those three stolen bases gave her a new career-high.
In other batting news, Brinlee Kauthen was incredible, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two triples, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most triples she has posted since back in April. Another player making a difference was Payton Taylor, who got on base in three of her four plate appearances with three runs, one stolen base, and one RBI.
Arcadia always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .533. They are a perfect 6-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.
Meanwhile, Northampton came up short against Chincoteague on Thursday, falling 18-2.
Ryleigh Caison was cooking despite her team's loss, going 1-for-3 with one home run and two RBI.
Arcadia's victory was their sixth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 11-7. The home wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.7 runs over those games. As for Northampton, their loss dropped their record down to 3-13.
Northampton's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Monday. Arcadia has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 11.8 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Northampton, though, as they've been averaging only 3.2 strikeouts. Will Arcadia keep running through batters, or will the Yellowjackets buck the trend?
Everything went Arcadia's way against Northampton in their previous matchup two weeks ago, as Arcadia made off with a 16-0 victory. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Firebirds since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
