Both the Bristol Bats and Bristol Buccaneers completed sweeps on Sunday as the club’s four teams won five out of their eight games.
The Bats returned to action at Somerdale Pavilion and pulled off comfortable wins against Taunton Muskets in their BBF AA clash.
In the first game, the Bristol side produced their best display of the season winning 14-1 behind a strong pitching performance from Jake Boyer, who struck out nine Muskets over his five innings. Third baseman Michael Doar was the star with the bat, hitting a double and a triple as well as driving in three runs. Infielders Kwan Cheung and Drew Mayhew both had multi hit games, with every Bat player registering a hit against James Carter, the Muskets starting pitcher.
Although game two was a closer affair, the Bats ran out 14-8 winners as their offense exploded late on with 11 runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Declan Meads, Sam Kaiser, Kwan and Doar were in devastating form with 11 hits and nine runs driven in between them. Jake Boyer, playing at shortstop, hit a big triple and then scored on the same play following a Taunton fielding error. Kwan rounded off a good day for the Bats’ pitchers with a solid complete game performance with four strikeouts.
“The first game was the best baseball we have played all season with intelligent hitting, great pitching and just one unfortunate error in the field,” said manager Rich Evans. “Despite some lapses in the field, we showed our offensive strength with great hitting at crucial points in the second game as well.”
The Buccaneers made short work of the Bournemouth Bears at Ferndown Leisure Centre on the south coast, running out 20-4 and 22-9 victors.
The games were dominated by the Buccaneers offense, with Luca McCurdy, Rod McCurdy and Wai Fu Lam impressing with the bat while Will Marshall continued with his season’s impressive pitching, limiting the Bears to just one run across his three innings.
The story of Game Two also centred around the power of the Buccaneers offense, with both Luca McCurdy and Harley Jones hitting home runs and a triple each. Rod & Noah McCurdy also hit triples, while infielder Tim Clough registered three hits including a double. Justin Trory joined in the fun with three hits and two runs driven in.
“Our hitting was very, very impressive and I am delighted for our young players who have improved so much from the first game of the season,” said Rod McCurdy, the Buccaneers manager. “Every member of the team has contributed so far and every week we are learning and improving”.
In Birmingham, the Bristol Badgers split two excellent games losing the first 2-1 but hitting back to claim the second 12-1.
The first game was a classic pitchers’ duel with the Badgers finding it difficult to get to grips with the Metalheads’ Maher Silva. The Badgers only run came courtesy of Deivydas Trinkunas who was also in outstanding form on the mound over his four innings pitched.
The second game turned into a romp for the Bristol side who had the game won by the fifth inning. John Brownlee’s first game of the season proved a success as he hit a double and drove in two runs from his three hits. First baseman Anthony Desgardin also had a multi-hit game, and Mattia Papini proved his worth again with three hits. Rhodri Theaker was accurate from the mound, throwing 45 strikes over his five innings pitched and giving up just one earned run.
“We should have won the first game but just couldn’t get our bats going against a good pitcher, but I was delighted we were able to score early and often in the second game,” said Rhodri Theaker, the Badgers manager.
The Brunels were up against the unbeaten Weston Jets at Somerdale on Sunday and lost both games of their BBF/SWWBL A double header.
The Jets proved too strong for the Bristol club’s development team and strolled to a 16-1 victory in the first game behind a solid pitching performance from Weston’s Aaron Moore.
The second game went the same way, the Jets taking it 11-1 with five Brunels errors not helping the cause as they struggled against the Jets experienced Marshall Hanney, who pitched a complete game with six strikeouts.
“Despite the losses, it was great to see the fielding improve in the first game with just one error and whilst it was always going to be a tough afternoon, we stuck to competing over every inning,” said Brunels manager Alex Lane-Kieltyka.
Up Next: Next weekend, the Buccaneers welcome Weston Jets to Somerdale in a crucial afternoon for the two unbeaten sides, while the Badgers face the Metalheads again, this time at home.
The Bats take to the road to take on New Forest Thunder, while the Brunels journey to Cardiff for their fixture against Merlins A.