Kwan Cheung’s aggressive base running helped the Bats to a sweep over Bournemouth Bears at Somerdale Pavilion on Sunday. During the Bats’ two walk off wins, Kwan stole home twice to help the Bristol side to the 10-9 and 11-10 victories.
The first game saw the lead change hands throughout with Bears taking a 9-7 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning despite a triple by Bats shortstop Alex Brown. Singles by Darius Tamosiunas and Gus Robertson and some Bears’ fielding errors allowed Kwan to reach third base before making the 90 foot dash to steal home, level the scores and take the game into extra innings. After keeping the Bears scoreless, the Bats managed to steal more bases before Man Hoi Kwan scored on a wild pitch for the walk off win.
The second game took a similar route with the Bears leaping to a 7-0 lead after the first inning. Bats pitcher Declan Meads recovered his form quickly to limit further damage, striking out six Bournemouth batters over his five innings pitched.
The Bats were again in fine base running form, stealing nine bases as they fought back to tie the scores at 10-10 by the middle of the fifth inning. Meads found his stroke at the plate, hitting a triple and scoring two runs while Jake Boyer also scored and hit a double to keep pressure on the Bears defense.
During a four-run fourth inning Kwan repeated his feat from the first game by stealing home and later scoring on a wild pitch to bring the Bats within striking distance. Nerius Tamosiunas added another run before Michael Buser singled to score Darius Tamosiunas to give the Bats a two run lead going into the last. The Bears tied the game at 10-10 before the Bats loaded the bases to allow Man Hoi to grab his second walk-off run on another wild pitch.
“Our base running was excellent all day and it was the difference between two wins and two losses,” said Bats manager Richard Evans. “Kwan and Man Hoi were aggressive on the base paths in both games and got their reward by scoring from third four times between them.”
The two wins mean the Bats remain in first place in the British Baseball Federation (BBF) AA D Division.
It was double celebration at Somerdale for the Bristol club as the Brunels swept their SWWBL opponents, the Taunton Pistols, 20-11 and 17-8. The Brunels scored heavily from the off with outfielder Justin Trory dominating the Pistols pitching.
Trory grabbed two hits, two runs and drove in four from his three at bats while Paul D’Amore also did damage with the bat driving in three runs. Although the second game was closer, the Brunels scored consistently with Trory again dominating with two hits and two runs driven in.
Fellow outfielder Rod McCurdy and pitcher Ryan Harris provided more offensive support with a double each and three runs driven in, with McCurdy narrowly missing out on a highlight reel catch in centre field. Harris was also solid on the mound striking out eight Pistols over his five innings whilst walking only three.
“We knew Taunton would give us a challenge but I’m delighted we executed our gameplan to secure two important wins. We were disciplined at the plate and stole bases at every opportunity. It really helped us stay ahead and earn both victories” said Ash Day, the Brunels assistant manager. “Justin had a standout day and has consistently been one of our top hitters all season.”
The Brunels sweep kept them in third place in the SWWBL Severn Division in the hunt for a play off spot behind the Buccaneers and Cardiff Merlins.
The Badgers travelled to Bracknell for a triple header in the BBF AAA South West Division. Rain washed out the latter two games after the Badgers went down 5-2 in the only game played. Despite matching the Inferno hit for hit, the Badgers were unable to take advantage of runners on base. Shortstop Alex Martinson hit a double and second baseman Michael Comport drove in a run to claw back the Bracknell lead by the end of the fourth b ut it wasn’t enough.
“It was so disappointing the weather got the better of us as we were looking to come away with a couple of wins,” said Rhodri Theaker, the Badgers’ manager. “We just couldn’t convert some good at bats into runs when we had the opportunity.”
The Buccaneers were due to take on Bournemouth Bears 3, however the south coast side were unable to fulfil the fixture, giving the Bristol team two wins to maintain their position at the top of the SWWBL Severn Division.
Next up: Next Sunday, the Badgers travel to Hampshire to take on the New Forest Thunder, while the Bats travel to Oxford to take on the Kings. In the first derby of the season, the Brunels and Buccaneers will face each other at Somerdale Pavilion for club bragging rights.
All games start at 12 noon and spectators are welcome.