Fifth time’s the charm, or at least it was during Tuesday night’s game against the Mariners when the Birds notched four runs in the fifth inning.

From that point on, all eyes were on Orleans, as the Birds took the lead and never looked back. With its fourth-straight win, Orleans is heating up.

A week ago, the Birds sat in last place in the CCBL East Division. Now, Orleans has crawled up to fourth in the division, inching toward Harwich’s third-place position.

As of Monday, July 14th, the Birds ranked third in the power rankings behind Brewster and Yarmouth-Dennis.

“It’s a good feeling going four-straight, and we are just riding that momentum and playing good baseball,” Elijah Ickes (Hawaii) said.

With the Celtics’ Payton Pritchard throwing the first pitch, Whitehouse Field was packed. Filled with Celtics’ fans, and most importantly, Cape Cod Baseball fans, the energy was high going into the matchup.

The Birds recognized that. And ran with it.

Leadoff pitcher Anthony Potestio (UC San Diego), who recently earned All-Star honors, came out explosive for Orleans starting off the night with a double to center field.

“It’s an honor to be selected,” Potestio said about being selected for the All-Star team. “I’m grateful to be recognized amongst the best in this league, and I just take nothing for granted around here.”

After two consecutive Luke Nixon (NC State) and Robbie Lavey (George Washington) walks, Ryan Kucherak (Northwestern) then made a dent in the scoreboard for the Birds.

Off a line drive to center field, Kuckerak’s single brought Potestio home, as Orleans had the first run of the night.

Starting pitcher Logan Reddemann (San Diego) was next to take center stage for the Birds—holding Harwich to a 1–2–3 inning in the bottom of the first. Reddemann went on to deliver six strikeouts and allow two runs in his 3.1 IP.

Neither squad was able to make much happen until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Mariners punched back—harder.

Snatching the lead from the Birds off a Niko Brini (Wofford) line-drive triple, Harwich maintained a 2–1 edge.

With Edward Hart (Duke) now on the mound for the Birds, he capped off the inning with no further runs or hits, allowing only a Kyle Wolff (Boston College) walk in his 0.2 IP.

The top of the fifth can be described in three words: the Firebirds’ show.

A Javar Williams’ (Wake Forest) bunt led the charge for Orleans. Potestio then followed suit with a single of his own.

After a Harwich pitching change, bases were seemingly loaded once Nixon walked.

Ickes wasted no time. Doubling on a line drive to left field, Ickes’ hit was unable to be stopped by the Mariners. Scoring Williams on the play, the Birds took back the lead.

Up by one, Orleans couldn’t stop just yet.

Thanks to a Kuckerak single, the Birds did just that when both Nixon and Ickes ran home on the play.

Just like that, Orleans pieced together a three-run dominance over the Mariners.

It wasn’t solely the work of the offense, though, as Cole Tryba (UC Santa Barbara) took matters into his own hands during his 3 IP.

Posting a 1.17 ERA during his time on the mound, Tryba showed exactly why he was selected for the CCBL All-Star pitching staff.

In the top of the sixth, the Birds’ offense continued to showcase their offensive rhythm. This time, it started with another familiar face: Potestio, whose ground ball single brought Dawson Bryce (Charlotte) home.

Off a Harwich wild pitch, Orleans only continued to capitalize on this successful tempo, as Williams made it back to home plate with the Birds’ seventh and final run of the night.

Taking over the reins from Tryba, Ryan Oshinskie (Brown) had quite the outing in his final two innings pitched. With zero hits and zero runs, Oshinskie collected four strikeouts in the box score.

Defensively and offensively, the Birds look like a completely different team from a week ago.

“We are playing good baseball, our pitchers are lights out,” Ickes said. “I really love playing behind our pitchers, and I feel like our hitters are really locking in. We’re on a roll.”

Potestio expressed a similar sentiment.

“Vibes are high amongst the team,” Potestio said. “We just have to keep the same intensity and keep the same energy coming to the park everyday.”