Brunels pitchers Callum Todd and Cesar Torres held their nerve on Sunday to secure a 9-8 victory over Bournemouth Bears A on the south coast. The win in the second game followed an impressive 22-12 victory for the Bristol side in the first.
Going into the final inning of the second game, the Brunels found themselves 8-7 down before a single from first baseman Charlie Ricketts got the ball rolling. Ricketts, who went three for three at the plate, then scored on a wild pitch before a single from catcher Andre Shlimon scored Todd to give the Brunels a one run lead heading into the bottom of the final inning.
Photo: Ash Day at fourfivefoto
Following a solid pitching performance from Todd, Cesar Torres entered to close out the game, securing the three outs needed with a scoreless inning for his first career Save.
The first game was dominated by the Brunels offense, which scored heavily from the first pitch. Grant Mathieson continued his good form with three hits and three runs driven in. Charlie Ricketts again chipped in with a triple, Todd hit a double and an inside-the-park home run, while Alex Lane-Kieltyka, Ryan Harris and Torres drove in 10 runs between them.
“The two wins show how far the team has come this season and I am delighted that everyone contributed over the two games,” said Alex Lane-Kieltyka, the Brunels manager. “I want to pay tribute to all the pitchers who held their nerve at the end to get the win. After so many one run losses, the team was delighted to reverse the result and get the sweep.”
The Bristol Buccaneers rolled on with two solid victories over Yeovil Whirlwinds, taking the double header 18-4 and 22-6 to remain top of the BBF/SWWBL A Severn Division and move to within one win of the title.
Third baseman Luca McCurdy continued his dominance with the bat, hitting a triple as he drove in four runs, while Harley Jones also weighed in with two hits and two runs driven in.
It was McCurdy again who led the run feast in game two as the Buccaneers went on the rampage, registering 23 hits. He was joined by Jordan Nichols who went four for four at the plate and hit a double.
Jones took to the mound for game two and struck out six Whirlwinds over his four innings pitched giving up just three walks.
“It was another good performance on both sides of the ball by the team,” said Buccaneers manager Rod McCurdy. “We are on course to make the playoffs but we need to maintain our level until the very last pitch.”
The Badgers maintained their two game lead at the top of their BBF AAA division with a 13-3 victory over second placed Richmond Roebucks.
Outfielder Vil Katinas was the star of the victory hitting a grand slam and pulling off a remarkable catch in right field to rob Richmond of a home run. Katinas’ massive hit came in the top of the second inning after the Badgers had loaded the bases through two walks and two singles. Infielder Alex Martinson also hit a home run in the top of third as the Badgers moved into an unassailable lead.
Pitchers Doug Scriver and Jake Boyer limited the Richmond offense to three runs and struck out four batters between them.
The second game of the double header was rained out.
“It was a good win for us against the second place team and keeps us in the race for the post-season,” said Rhodri Theaker, manager of the Badgers.
The Bats had a disappointing day at Somerdale losing 9-2 and 22-10 to Cardiff Merlins in their BBF AA top off the table fixture. In the first game, the Bats were not able to make an impact on Cardiff starting pitcher Daniel Agafitei, who struck out 10 Bristol players over his seven innings.
The Bristol side only managed one hit in the first game, a laser to centre field from the bat of Darius Tamosiunas bringing home Declan Meads, who had earlier reached base on a fielding error. Sam Kaiser provided the other run, with a groundout to third base enough to score Kwan Cheung for the only other Bristol run of the game, both in the 4th inning.
The second game was a tale of 11 Bats fielding errors, all of which came at crucial times in the game as the Bristol team went down meekly despite what in other circumstances would’ve been a strong offensive performance. The Bats tallied 13 hits, along with three walks, but were unable to overcome the fielding errors after a strong start from Josh Boulton, striking out six Merlins and walking just one over his three innings pitched.
“It was a disappointing weekend and we weren’t at our best despite a much improved batting performance in the second game,” said Bats manager Richard Evans. “The errors cost us dearly at the end of the game and we can’t afford to give the opposition free bases.”
Next up: Next weekend, the Badgers return to Richmond to finish what they started this week, while the Bats travel to Wellington to take on Wellington Khaki Sox and the Buccaneers travel to Cardiff where one win will secure the division title.