Photo credit: Sophia Soropoulos

The Firebirds are playing their best ball at the right time, handing out their first run-rule of the summer, and seemingly throwing the underwhelming first month of their season out the window.

Hudson Shupe (Gonzaga), isn't worried about the Firebirds of old and knows what his team is capable of heading into their biggest stretch of the season.

"We can go to the roof," Shupe said. "At the end of the day, it's not the best team, it's the team that's hottest, and I think you're seeing our potential. You get the right amount of pitching and hitting at the same time, you can go super far."

Shupe likely had many arms on mind when referencing the Birds' elite pitching of late, but in the 12-1 win, Callan Fang (Harvard) and Joe Allen (Clemson) were in the spotlight.

Fang, who was selected as an All-Star for the Cape Cod Baseball League's East Division just hours before the matchup with Brewster, proved why he was a worthy selection.

All season long, Fang has had a unique ability to quickly put bad pitches behind him, as five of his seven runs allowed on the summer have come from solo shots.

That ability didn't waver in the matchup with Brewster, with the Harvard standout responding to a first-inning Ryder Helfrick (Arkansas) solo homer with four scoreless innings, in which he added four strikeouts to his league-high total.

To the delight of Fang, the Birds provided plenty of run support, highlighted by back-to-back five-run innings, which weren't your average big-run innings. In the two-inning span, the Birds executed to perfection, precisely putting the ball in play to move runners, or as Ben Zeigler (Hawaii) describes it, 'just grit.'

"That five-spot we put up in the second and third was all infield singles, it was just bunts and teeny B's. That's grit," Zeigler said. "But we're doing it for each other, and we're going to continue playing team baseball."

Zeigler himself, however, put a little more firepower behind his bat, knocking a three-run homer over the left field wall to expand the Birds' third-inning lead to 10-1.

Chirs Barr (Army), who continued his early dominance in the Cape League, just wants to keep the good times rolling.

"Vibes are great right now, and we just want to keep playing," Barr said. "The longer we get to play, the more fun we'll have. We love playing together, so it's going to be a great end to the season."

The Firebirds will look to increase the vibes tenfold Sunday night, as they travel to Harwich for a chance to sneak into the playoff picture.

First pitch from Whitehouse Field is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.