Both the Bristol Badgers and Buccaneers went down in their BBF semi final playoffs at the weekend and brought the club’s season to an end.
In Croydon, the Badgers faced London Metros in their AAA match up and succumbed to the London team 10-4 over the seven inning game despite a fourth inning home run by Seyi Awofadeju and late doubles by Keegan Martinjko and Carlson Charles.
The Metros were able to move into a strong 8-2 lead by the end of the fifth behind tight pitching by Yuki Okuma. Some fielding errors by the Badgers put pressure on starting pitcher Jake Boyer who struck out three Metros over his five innings pitched.
Despite a mini comeback in the bottom of the sixth, the Badgers were unable to hold on against a strong Metros team.
At Farnham Park near Slough, the Buccaneers went down 22-14 to the eventual BBF A national champions.
The high scoring match was close until the Hurricanes moved into a 21-10 led by the end of the fourth inning taking advantage of fielding errors by the Buccaneers which let their rivals off the hook when just one out was needed.
The Buccaneers offense started well with 10 runs in the first two innings but then went scoreless in the next two against experienced Hurricanes pitching. Noah McCurdy and Fu Lam had multi hit games while outfielder Jordan Nichols drove in two runs. The team also showed great plate discipline to record eight walks while being struck out just three times.
Pitchers Will Marshall and Rod McCurdy did their best against a strong batting line up but the eight unearned runs proved the difference by the end of the game.
“The end of a great season is upon us. We battled hard in the semi-final against the Hurricanes, who went on to claim the national championship. A few errors cost us on the day – a reminder that, in baseball as in life, the little things matter most,” said Buccaneers manager Rod McCurdy. “I’m incredibly proud of our team’s resilience and growth this year. Bristol Baseball Club is a fantastic community, and we look forward to building on this experience and coming back even stronger next season. Watch this space – its only the beginning for us.”
“Overall the club had a very successful year.” said Rhodri Theaker, Badgers’ player manager and club chairman. “The Badgers and Buccaneers did well and got into deep play off runs, but ultimately both fell in the semi finals losing to the overall winners. The Bats, although disappointed with not making playoffs, did finish with an over 600 win %, which goes to show the level of competition they had in their division. The Brunels did fantastically well for a team of players new to the game and I have no doubt they will push for better results next year.”
as a member of the Great Britain women’s team
The club will be holding its annual dinner and awards night on Saturday 25th October and as well as celebrating a successful season for its four adult teams and its growing youth section, it will also honour Kat Golik and Nathan Goodhew who both represented Great Britain in the European Championships this season.
Anyone interested, no matter the experience, in joining the club should email info@bristolbaseball.co.uk
represented Great Britain Under 12s in Europe.