Bristol Brunels swept division leaders New Forest Thunder at the weekend to move to one game behind in the race to clinch the SWWBL Severn Division Five title.
In a tight first game, the Brunels held on to win 6-4 behind a strong pitching performance from Rohan Ninawe who struck out seven Thunder batters while conceding just two earned runs. Ninawe was also in form at the plate hitting a deep double to left field. Matt Klein and Charlie Ricketts also provided run support with five hits, five runs driven in and two doubles between them. Brodie Back and Ben Monnox also had multi hit games with well taken singles to support the big hitters.
Game two was dominated by the Brunels’ offense which drove the team to an 11-6 victory. Ricketts, Klein and Ninawe carried their form into the second game with doubles and were joined by club stalwart Declan Ryan who also contributed a timely double. Olivia Spooner, Tom Savory and Lewis French all hit well as the Brunels ran out comfortable winners. Klein and Ricketts kept the Thunder bats quiet and struck out nine batters during their four innings pitched.
“This was a crucial game against the division leaders and it was a major milestone for the team to come away with the two wins,” said Ryan Harris the Brunels’ manager. “We are improving in small ways every game and we will need to keep our performance up if we are to end the season on top.”
The Buccaneers proved too strong for the Weston Jets, winning their Division Four double header 13-4 and 12-9 at Somerdale Pavilion.
The Bristol team’s offense mixed up power hitting and good player discipline to provide run support to starting pitcher Will Marshall who struck out five Jets over his five innings pitched. Yarlandis Despaigne and Anthony Abel both hit doubles as the team also took advantage of wayward Jets pitching to earn 10 walks.
Although game two was tighter, the Buccaneers scored early and fought off a late run surge by Weston. Catcher James Peterson, Sam Lacey and Despaigne all hit doubles and drove in five runs between them while Patrick Mahoney and Lacey limited Weston until the last inning.
“Weston are always a tricky side to play but we were very solid and played some good heads up baseball,” said manager Will Marshall. “Two wins are vital at this point in the season as we have an eye on the playoffs.”
Also at Somerdale, the Badgers split their BBF Division Two double header against Birmingham Metalheads.
The Badgers took the first game 8-3 on the back of an excellent pitching performance from Andy Bergh who threw a complete game striking our 11 Birmingham batters. A disciplined plate approach by the Badgers saw them earn 11 walks across the game to compliment a seven run sixth which saw the Badgers hit a succession of clever singles to establish a big lead.
The second game was claimed by Birmingham who won 8-5 in a game that dominated by the starting pitchers until the fifth inning. The Metalheads scored four but the Badgers hit back with three but nine errors across the game cost the Bristol side dear by the end. John Brownlee, the designated hitter for the Badgers, had the most success at the plate with three hits while Keegan Martinjako showed his power with a double to centre field.
“Our fielding errors let us down in the second game which was a real shame and something we have to improve on,” said Rhodri Theaker, the Badgers manager. “We are still top but really need to work hard on the training field to improve and pick up more wins.”
On Deck: This coming weekend the Badgers host Birmingham again while the Bats travel to Bournemouth, the Buccaneers cross the bridge to Cardiff and the Brunels visit Yeovil.