A complete game shutout by Badgers’ pitcher Luke Claflin helped the Bristol team complete a sweep of the Cardiff Merlins on Sunday. Claflin struck out 12 Merlin batters in Cardiff as the Badgers ran out 8-0 winners in game two of the BBF AAA double header.
The Badgers were also in solid form with the bat, with Doug Scriver, Seyi Awofadeju, John Brownlee and Rhodri Theaker getting the upper hand on the Cardiff pitchers. Matt Bray and Michael Comport also hit a double each.
The first game was tighter, with the Badgers wrapping up the 8-3 win with four runs in the last two innings. Santiago Palmas hit an early double and scored three runs, and also struck out four batters in his four innings pitched. First baseman Tom Hollies, back after a season away from the game, scored two runs.
“It was a very satisfying win built on very solid performances from all the team at the plate and on the mound,” said manager Rhodri Theaker. “Luke was outstanding and deserves the plaudits for his afternoon’s work.”
At Somerdale, the Buccaneers swept the Cornish Pioneers to leap to the top of the BBF/SWWBL Severn Division.
The first game was dominated by a strong pitching performance by Aiden Wan, who, after a shaky start, dominated the Pioneers with eight strikeouts while giving up just one run. The Buccaneers offense was led by third baseman Sam Kaiser with three hits and two RBI, while Patrick Mahoney kept up his season’s form with a big double as the Bristol team secured an 11-6 victory.
The second game was dominated by Jake Boyer who struck out 10 Pioneers and shutout the Cornish batters over his four innings pitched. Kaiser continued to get the better of the visitors’ pitchers with two hits and two RBI as the home team ran out 20-5 winners.
“It was a very solid performance and I was delighted with our pitching which was too strong for the opposition,” said Michael Buser, manager of the Buccaneers. “Our fielding was improved from the previous weekend and we can look forward to travelling to Taunton for the next game.”
The Bristol Brunels had a tough afternoon in Keynsham, going down 16-4 and 11-8 to the Cornish Claycutters in their double header. The first game’s scoreline obscured the continued improvement of pitcher Michele Botta, who struggled to overcome some costly fielding errors. Justin Trory, Ed Smith and Alex Lane-Kieltyka did put their bat the to ball, but the Brunels were unable to take advantage of players on base.
Trory continued to shine at the plate in the second game, with two hits and two RBI. Outfielder Matt Dunkley-Roberts also added two hits, as the Brunels rallied late. 10-1 behind after 3 and a half inning, the Brunels produced a four-run outburst in the bottom of the third which combined with a sparkling pitching debut from Ryan Harris in relief – striking out two Claycutters with only one run allowed – saw the Brunels chasing a six run deficit in their final inning with the bat. Sadly, although they put three runs on the board and brought the tying run to the plate, the comeback fell short – a costly double-play hampering their efforts.
“After last week’s performances it was disappointing to not maintain the level against the unbeaten Claycutters, “ said Alex Lane-Kieltyka, the Brunels manager. “Despite the losses, every player has shown progress and we have a week off to work on areas we know we need to improve.”
Sadly, the Bristol Bats’ trip to Guildford to take on the Mavericks was called off due to the poor weather in the south east, where very few games were played at all this weekend. The game will now be played on July 28th.
Up Next: The Badgers welcome the New Forest Thunder to Somerdale for their BBF AAA fixture, while the Buccaneers travel to take on the Taunton Pistols. Both games start at 12 noon.
The Bats and Brunels both have bye weeks.