Bristol Brunels will take on the London Mastodons in the British Baseball Federation (BBF) Division Five semi final next weekend after a dramatic 10-9 victory over the Bracknell Pyros on Saturday.
Trailing 9-8 at the bottom of the seventh and final inning, the Brunels showed great discipline at the plate to claim a dramatic victory at Somerdale Pavilion. Right fielder Matt Klein started the comeback with a single followed by a steal of second base. Walks and wild pitches scored Klein to level the scores.
More walks loaded the bases with shortstop Lewis French at the plate. He walked and scored Tom Savory, who had come in as a pinch runner, to claim victory for the Brunels. Brunels starting pitcher, Rohan Ninawe, struck out 12 Bracknell batters over his five innings pitched before Klein came in as reliever and struck out five batters.
The Bristol side had surged to an early 7-3 lead before the Pyros began a fightback to grab the late lead. Ninawe was also in good form with the bat with three hits, including a double, and a run driven in.
Klein also had a multi hit game while Olivia Spooner got a crucial hit late on and drove in one run.
Saturday’s semi final will be held at Farnham Park near Slough with the final scheduled at Hemel Hempstead the following day.
“It was an amazing team performance from the team and our success reflects and hard work everyone has put in on the training field,” said Ryan Harris, the Brunels manager. “We have one more weekend of baseball and will be hoping to bring some silverware back to the club to cap a remarkable season.”
Also at Somerdale, the club hosted the BBF National Baseball League (NBL) and Division Two finals for the first time in its history.
The London Mets claimed their 10th NBL title beating Essex Arrows 11-3 and 5-2 in the best of three series.
In the Division Two final, Brighton Brewers took the title after taking two of the three games against London Metros.
“It was a fantastic weekend of baseball and an honour for the club to host these prestigious events,” said club Chairman Rhodri Theaker. “As well as spectators being able to watch the top British teams in action, they were also there to witness the outstanding performance by the Brunels, the club’s development team.”