Bristol Buccaneers booked their place in the BBF A national semi-finals after a late walk off comeback win to beat London Mercury 18-17. After grabbing an early 7-4 lead by the end of the second inning, the Buccaneers found themselves five runs behind in the middle of the fifth.
Discipline at the plate then put runners on base and scored one run before pinch hitter Paul Blackburn stepped up and hit a single to deep centre right field which scored two more runs. A walk by MVP Jean-Pierre Bernard scored Blackburn to put the Buccaneers one run behind heading into the sixth.
The Mercury scored two but the Buccaneers hit back to score five to take a two run lead. More plate discipline and aggressive base running put three runs on the board before infielder Fu Lam singled, scoring Blackburn, and Rod McCurdy scored on a passed ball by the London catcher.
with the bat and in the field.
In the top of the seventh and final inning, the Mercury added two runs to bring the scores level. Bernard and Harley Jones were both hit by pitches and a walk by Noah McCurdy loaded the bases with no outs to put the Buccaneers on the verge of victory.
Two Buccaneers struck out to put the game on the edge before Rod McCurdy secured a walk to score Bernard and clinch the win. Bernard put in an all round MVP performance driving in three runs and putting on masterclass at first base including a double play and several diving stops.
Third baseman Luca McCurdy hit a three run home run way over the left field fence in the first inning, his fifth of the season.
The Mercury hitters made the Buccaneers pitching staff work hard but Will Marshall and Noah and Rod McCurdy combined to strikeout seven batters over seven innings.
“The was a remarkable game of baseball which swung back and forth and could have gone either way at the end,” said Rod McCurdy, the Buccaneers’ manager. “It was a real test for us as the Mercury batters were excellent all game and I am so proud of every player and the commitment and effort they put in on difficult field conditions to secure a place in the national semi-final next weekend.”
Up next: The Bristol Buccaneers will face either Exeter Spitfires or the Hurricanes Baseball Club on Saturday 20th September at Farnham Park, near Slough, for a place in the final the following day.
The Badgers BBF AAA semi final against London Metros was rained out, and will be rescheduled for next weekend.