Bristol Brunels’ trip to take on the Cornish Claycutters in Truro ended in two losses in the BBF/SWWBL A clash on Sunday. In the first game the Brunels could not come to terms with a strong pitching performance from the Claycutters’ Dan Kitts.
Bristol’s development team scored just three runs despite getting runners on base throughout the game. The Brunels fielding was perfect with Alex Lane-Kieltyka shining in his first stint at third base.
Ryan Harris was another player making his debut in an unfamiliar position but his performance at catcher indicated there is more to come from him in this crucial role. Alex Kaiser made his debut at left field and produced the catch of the day to ensure an error free game for the Brunels.
The second game followed a similar pattern – the Brunels failed to produce any offense as the Claycutters ran out 15-2 winners behind another strong pitching performance by Peter Carlin.
The Brunels were again good in the field, with Jordan Nichols – debuting at second base – completing a double play to put an end to the Claycutters scoring in the third inning.
Lane-Kieltyka made his pitching debut and struck out five Claycutters in a very solid performance from the mound.
“Whilst we were missing a few key players, I was delighted with our overall performance particularly in the field where we have vastly improved our ability to cut down our errors,” said Richard Evans, the Brunels player/manager. “We had players playing in new positions for the first time who did an excellent job and Ed Smith deserves particular praise for the way he took charge of our rookie outfield.”
The Bats, Bobcats and Buccaneers all had their games washed out, with the fixtures to be rescheduled.
Up next:
This coming weekend the Buccaneers travel to Cardiff to take on Merlins 2, whilst a team of Bats and Brunels players take part in the British Baseball Federation Summer Cup at Farnham Park near Slough over two days.