Bristol Buccaneers suffered the heartbreak of two walk off losses in their BBF/SWWBL double header against the Taunton Muskets. The Bristol side put up a strong fight against their divisional rivals before going down 9-8 and 8-7 in two battles where the lead changed hands several times.
Catcher Fu Wai Lam and outfielder Simon Schwarz had good days with the bat with seven hits between them. They were well supported by infielders Charlie Deeks and Paul Blackburn who also had multi-hit days.
“It was really tough to lose both games like that against a very good Muskets team,” said player manager Michael Buser. “Our fighting spirit was excellent and if a couple of bounces had gone our way, the results could have been different.”
At Somerdale, the Brunels went down 7-3 and 10-4 in their double header against Weston Jets. Despite matching the Jets at the plate, the Brunels were unable convert their hits into runs and seven errors on the day cost the Bristol side dear.
Sam Stainsby had his best performance for the Brunels with an excellent display as catcher which included throwing out a runner at third base. He also stepped up to pitch in both games shutting out the Jets with two strikeouts. Stainsby also had a multi-hit day with the bat and kept up his excellent base running performance, bringing his season stolen base total to 14.
“Despite some good individual performances, it was frustrating that we couldn’t get runners home to score once they had got on base,” said Richard Evans, the Brunels player/manager. “The fielding errors proved costly at important stages in both games but we will be working hard on these things on the training field this week.”
The Bristol Bats finally got their season underway in the BBF AA division against Bracknell Inferno at Somerdale. Despite coming back from an early 6-0 deficit to be just one run behind, the Bats gave up another six runs in the fifth and sixth innings to eventually lose 16-8.
Ten fielding errors highlighted the rust in the Bats defense and proved to be their undoing against a strong Bracknell team. Michael Comport and Paul Gardiner led the Bats offense with five hits and three runs between them.
“It definitely showed that it was our first game and the number of fielding errors was just too high if we want to compete at the higher level,” said Neptali Ortega-Guitierrez, the Bats player/manager. “I am confident we can iron them out as we have too many good players who I know will work hard to improve their fielding.”
Up Next:
Next weekend, the Badgers return to action with a home BBF AAA fixture against the Croydon Pirates while the Bats travel to Guildford to take on the Mavericks. The Buccaneers and the Brunels also hit the road next weekend taking on Weston Jets and Cardiff Merlins II respectively.
