Bristol Bobcats are unbeaten after their first two games of the 2021 British Baseball Federation (BBF) and WB-UK Women’s Baseball League.
The Bobcats proved too strong for the Telford 26ers winning 13-6 in the first game before holding tournament favourites The Belles, to a 10-10 draw in the second game.
Starting pitchers Denise Grant and Becky Cottrell produced strong performances in their debuts on the mound in the two games which were held in Cambridge.
Jo Lenton made some great defensive plays at shortstop and second base while both Emma Dunleavy-Harris and Nat Berry had a successful afternoons with the bat.
“We are absolutely delighted with our performances on the day and we played some intelligent baseball as a team getting on base and advancing runners,” said Bobcats co-manager Molly Willcox. “It was such a great day to meet up with all the teams and our thanks go to Nicole Rainer and Cambridge Baseball Club for being such fantastic hosts.”
The Bobcats will be hosting the other five teams in the next round of the Women’s League on Saturday 12th June at Somerdale Pavilion.
The Badgers completed two games on Sunday in treacherous conditions but went down 5-15 and 12-15 to local rivals BC Vetra.
Shortstop Mattia Papini, outfielder Seyi Awofadeju, pitcher Mike Osbourn and catcher Sam Yuen all had multiple hit days on an afternoon when six batters lost control of their bat due to the rain.
“The weather played a very big part in the game which was a real shame,” said Badgers manager Rhodri Theaker. “We did well to fight back in the second game but couldn’t quite pull off the win.”
Two miles away in Keynsham, the derby game between the Bristol Bats and Bristol Brunels was abandoned after the first inning with the Brunels 4-3 up.
The Buccaneers match against the Cornish Claycutters was called off the night before but both games in the South West and Wales League have been rescheduled for Sunday 15th August.
Next weekend, the Brunels play host to the Cardiff Merlins at Somerdale Pavilion. First pitch is at 12 noon.