Bristol Buccaneers completed a sweep of the Bristol Brunels on Sunday in the first derby of the season in two hard fought games at Somerdale. The Buccaneers won the double header 15-11 and 13-10 and remain at the top of the BBF/SWWBL A Severn Division.
Despite a fightback by the Brunels, the Buccaneers scored freely from the start of the first game with the the McCurdy brothers, Noah and Luca, both hitting doubles and the whole lineup providing good run support for pitcher Will Marshall who notched up another win.
The Brunels were 15-10 down in the final inning, but only Sam Lacey was able to cross the plate after a Buccaneers fielding error.
The second game was almost a repeat of the first with the Brunels launching a late comeback after finding themselves down by eight runs at the top of the final inning. A single by Brodie Back got the ball rolling and he and Alex Lane-Kieltyka scored on wild pitches to narrow the gap. A single by Ryan Harris scored Charlie Ricketts, while Callum Todd reached home plate on another wild pitch. Harris then scored when Dongwoo Jang was hit by a pitch, but a groundout left the Brunels three runs short.
For the Buccaneers, shortstop Jordan Nichols had his best game of the season with three hits and three runs driven in, while Justin Trory, Rob Horne and Noah McCurdy all had multi-hit games.
Rod McCurdy, manager of the Buccaneers said, “They were two hard fought games and the Brunels were one of the best hitting teams we have faced this season so far. We had to fight hard to hold on to the win and once again our pitching was excellent and made sure of the two wins.”
“It was the most enjoyable day of baseball this season and our improvement with the bat in hand was plain to see,” said Alex Lane-Kieltyka, the Brunels’ manager. “Brodie and Dongwoo both deserve praise for their performances and it been great to see them develop.”
The Bats travelled to Taunton to take on the Muskets in their BBF AA clash and came away empty handed, going down 8-7 on an extra inning walk-off, and then 16-6 in the second game.
The Bristol team were leading 6-3 going into the bottom of the sixth but strong hitting and a couple of errors brought the Muskets level to take the game into extras. A sacrifice fly by Jake Boyer scored Lachie Ng to give the Bats a slender lead, but a double by the Muskets’ Jose Bobadilla drove in the two runs needed for the win.
The Muskets offense was dominant in the second game and the five errors at crucial times meant the Bats were always up against it.
“It was really disappointing to lose in the same fashion for the second weekend,” said Richard Evans, the manager of the Bats. “We have a weekend off now and it will give us time to regroup on the training field and make that push for a play off spot.”
Up next: Next weekend Bristol Badgers travel to Birmingham to take on the Metalheads again and will be looking to maintain their place at the top of their BBF AAA division.
At Somerdale on Saturday the club is hosting a BBF Girls in Baseball Festival, and the opening round of the BBF Women’s Baseball League which will see the South West Serpents taking on Belles Baseball and Manchester Jetts. The Girls in Baseball Festival, which is free, runs from 12noon until 2pm and is open to those aged between 5 and 14. Anyone interested in attending can email info@bristolbaseball.co.uk for registration details.