Bristol Badgers’ 4-1 victory in the first game of their BBF AAA double header against Richmond Knights at Somerdale has kept them in the play off race. A strong pitching performance by Nerius Tamosiunas kept the Knights in check, as he struck out seven Richmond players over his seven innings pitched.
Bristol second baseman Charlie Turner had two hits, including a double and a run driven in as the Badgers scored early and held on to record the win. Matthew Ching also recorded two hits while Seyi Awofadeju and Anthony Desgardin also drove in crucial runs.
The Badgers went down in the second game losing 19-8 after keeping the scores close until the last inning when the Knights scored 10 runs to seal the victory. Charlie Turner had another good game with the bat with three hits including another double and two runs driven in. Darius Tamosiunas also had a multi-hit game, scoring two runs.
“Getting that win in the first game was crucial for our play off hopes. It was hard fought and despite some fielding errors we were able to make the crucial plays when needed,” said Rhodri Theaker, the Badgers player manager. “I was delighted to see Charlie Turner making his mark with us after the promise he had shown with our single A teams in previous years.”
Also at Somerdale, the Brunels took on the Taunton Muskets in their BBF/SWWBL A match up. The Wessex Division leaders proved too strong for the Bristol development side, winning two closely fought games 7-3 and 14-12.
Despite the losses, the Brunels were error free in the first game as they made the powerful Muskets fight for every run.
The strong defense was perfect support for Becky Cottrell who pitched a complete game in her last appearance for the Brunels. She also drove in one of the Brunels’ runs in an impressive all round performance.
The second game was more of a run fest with both teams scoring freely. The Brunels were 10-5 down after three innings and despite a valiant fightback finished just two runs short.
Alex Lane-Kieltyka and Cottrell were two of the five Brunels who had multi hit games as they scored seven runs in their last ditch attempt to secure the win. Catcher Sam Stainsby and infielder Sam Kaiser were both menaces on the bases stealing five between them.
“Both teams agreed the games were hard fought and excellent examples what teams can achieve through commitment and training,” said Richard Evans, the Brunels player/manager. “The team has worked hard on their fielding and was perfect in the first game. It was a real delight to see the hard work paying off.”
Next weekend the Brunels travel to Cornwall to take on the Claycutters in Truro while the Bats return to competition hosting the Oxford Kings in their BBF AA clash at Somerdale.
The Buccaneers welcome the Taunton Muskets back to Keynsham for a crucial double header.
Although the Badgers have a week off, the Bristol Bobcats travel to London on Saturday for the next round of the BBF Women’s Baseball League when they take on Belles Baseball and London Mayhem.