Bristol Bats kept up hopes of a playoff spot with two wins in the local derby against Bristol Brunels on Sunday.
Pitchers Josh Boulton and Ty Porter proved too strong for the Brunels as the Bats won 15-1 and 18-7 in their SWWBL/BBF A clash at Somerdale Pavilion.
Boulton was totally dominant in the first game striking out nine Brunels and giving up no walks in his five innings pitched. He rounded off his performance with two hits and a run batted in.
Ayo-Oluwa Salawu, Alex Brown and Jamie Godwin also had multi hit games for the Bats with Brown and Salawu hitting triples in the heat in Keynsham.
The Brunels responded well in the second game but couldn’t put enough pressure on Porter to catch up with the Bats offense which registered 14 hits.
Brown, Porter, Godwin and outfielder Paul Gardiner all produced with the bat in hand, driving in 11 runs between them.
For the Brunels, Charlie Turner had a good game at the plate with two hits and two stolen bases while outfielder Matt Dunkley-Roberts added a double to go with his solid performance in left field.
“We had good performances on both sides of the plate from the whole team and it sets us up well for next Sunday’s crucial game in Bournemouth,” said Bats’ player manager Neptali Ortega-Gutiérrez. “We need to keep up our concentration and intensity if we are to make the post-season.”
“It was always going to be a tough afternoon against the Bats’ pitchers but we kept playing, showed a real commitment to each other throughout the afternoon and pulled off our first double play of the season,” said Richard Evans, the Brunels player manager. “
The Buccaneers travelled to Weston to take on the Jets and went down in both games.
It was heartbreak in the first game as the Buccaneers lost 13-12 in the last innings after the lead had changed hands several times.
Five Buccaneers had multiple hit games, with Eric Hiller and Henry Mcnamara leading the way with three hits each. Pitcher Alex Bright had two hits including a double.
The second game also went the way of the Jets who ran out 17-12 winners despite the Buccaneers mounting a late comeback with four runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Bright and Hiller again had good games at the plate and were joined by Jen Bramhall and Josh Williams-Trim who both got three hits and scored five runs between them.
“It was a good performance against the Wessex Division leaders and a real shame we lost the first game at right at the end,” said Williams-Trim. “Our offense is working well and if we can be sharper in the field, I am confident we can pull off some wins in our last regular season games.”
This coming Sunday at Somerdale Pavilion, the Buccaneers take on the Cornish Claycutters and the Brunels host Cardiff Merlins II in their Severn Division clash.