Bristol Brunels’ historic season ended in a 12-2 defeat in the British Baseball Federation’s (BBF) Division Five semi final at the hands of eventual champions, the London Mastodons. The Brunels offense struggled against some excellent pitching and fielding from the Mastodons which kept the Bristol side hitless over the six inning game.
For the Brunels, starting pitcher, Rohan Ninawe, struck out nine London batters but a series. of fielding errors gave the Mastodons free bases at crucial times.
“Despite the result against the eventual champions, the season has been the best in the team’s history and we are very proud to have reached the semi-final,” said Ryan Harris, the Brunels’ player manager. “It has been a real team effort and whilst we have had some excellent individual performances, without the commitment of every player, we wouldn’t have made the progress we have.”
The club’s youth team, the Bristol Bolts also made history by taking part in the BBF Youth National Baseball Championships. Despite losing both games to Birmingham and Bournemouth, the Bolts gave a good account of themselves.
“It was the Bolts first taste of real competitive baseball and they learnt a lot from the experience,” said Andre Shlimon, the club’s youth manager.
“I was really pleased with the way they handled themselves, their commitment and enthusiasm, and their attitude and the way they played the game. They played some good baseball too, really building on what we’ve been working on this year.”
The club will bring its successful season to a close on Saturday at its annual awards dinner when it honours members who helped each team reach the playoff for the first time in club history.
“This has been an amazing season for the club on and off the field,” said club Chairman Rhodri Theaker. “As well as the great performances on the field, hosting the national finals was a real honour for us.”