Bristol Buccaneers have been crowned champions of the BBF/SWWBL A Severn Division after sweeping Cardiff Merlins on Sunday 17-5 and 13-2 in the Welsh capital.
It is the second successive year for the Buccaneers topping the division and they will now face Exeter Spitfires in the regional championship game on Sunday 10th August at Somerdale Pavilion, before progressing to the national playoffs.
Noah McCurdy shone on both sides of the plate in the opener, going four-for-four at the plate and striking out nine Merlins from the mound. His brother Luca maintained his season’s form offensively, with three hits, including a double, and six runs driven in. Infielders Fu Lam and Jean-Pierre Bernard also had multi-hit games as the Buccaneers’ offense dominated.
The second game followed the same pattern with the Buccaneers scoring freely in every inning. Once again Luca McCurdy and Bernard were in good form with the bat, and and were joined by outfielder Justin Trory who went two-for-three at the plate and pulled off some great defensive plays to help keep Cardiff runs off the board.
“Our first target has always been to win the regional A championship before moving into the national playoffs. The team has worked hard to improve every week and now we are just one step from that first trophy,” said Buccaneers manager Rod McCurdy. “Every roster member has been amazing but each knows what it will take to reach our main target of national champions.”
The Bats traveled to Wellington to take on the Khaki Sox, and despite only splitting the BBF/SWWBL AA double header, hit four home runs, including a first grand slam for the club by outfielder Man Hoi Kwan.
The Bristol team struggled against good pitching in game one and went down 14-3, despite Nerius Tamosiunas’ first home run of the season.
The second game was a complete turnaround as the Bats feasted on the Wellington pitchers and took the game 24-8. The Bats recorded 26 hits, including the home runs by Man Hoi, Kwan Cheung and Darius Tamosiunas who went six-for-six in the game. Ayo-Oluwa Salawu, Sam Stainsby joined the home run hitters with multi-hit games, while Josh Boulton made short work of the Wellington batters striking out nine Khaki Sox over his three innings pitched.
Stainsby also produced the defensive play of the day following a hot day as catcher in game one. Coming in at third base for game two, Stainsby moved to his left to field a ground ball and in one movement spun to throw the runner out at first.
“The first game was very disappointing with some crucial fielding errors which gave the opposition free bases instead of outs,” said Rich Evans, the Bats manager. “Despite the loss in the first game, we turned it around to totally dominate the second game and show our power with the bat in hand”.
The Bats remain in contention for the regional final with just games against Bournemouth Bears and Cardiff Merlins AA to come.
The Badgers maintained their position at the top of the BBF AAA ‘B’ division after a split with Richmond Roebucks.
Jake Boyer put in his best pitching performance since his call-up to the Badgers, striking out four Roebucks over his seven innings pitched as the Badgers ran out 12-2 winners.
The second game went Richmond’s way as they fought back from a two run deficit to claim a 12-5 win behind some excellent pitching.
“Despite the result in the first game, we played hard on a hot afternoon with great defense to stay at the top of the table,” said Rhodri Theaker, manager of the Badgers. “Vil Katinas robbed another home run in left field, highlighting how good our defense was on the day, while Mattia Papini was excellent with the bat in hand, and Deivydas Trinklunas stole home, a rare feat at this level.”
Next up: Next weekend the Badgers travel to Bracknell to take on the Inferno, while the Bats and Brunels welcome Bournemouth Bears AA and Cardiff Merlins A, respectively, to Somerdale Pavilion.