The Bristol Bats’ pitching staff led the team to an opening day sweep of the Wellington Khaki Sox in the British Baseball Federation (BBF) AA league at Somerdale Pavilion on Sunday.
The first game was won 7-4 by the city team and featured a strong starting pitching performance from Jake Boyer who struck out nine Wellington players over his four innings pitched. Darius Tamosiunas came in as relief and got an important out before handing over to Sam Stainsby to close out the game with two outs including a double play by infielders Sam Kaiser and Drew Mayhew.
In the second game, Kwan Cheung went the distance from the mound with seven strikeouts as the Bats eased to a 10-5 win to secure the sweep. Cheung also starred with the bat in both games, continuing his form from last season with four hits, driving in three runs from his five at bats while outfielder Man Hoi Kwan was perfect at the plate, going four for four including a double. Debutant Michael Doar and GB player Kat Golik were also in form with four hits and four runs driven in between them.
“It was really good to get off to a winning start against a team boasting several ex-NBL stars,” said Bats manager Richard Evans. “Both games were well fought with Wellington putting us under pressure at times and despite making a few errors, we produced important plays and hits at crucial moments.”
The Brunels travelled to Weston to take on the Jets in their first fixture of the BBF Single A League.
Despite a strong performance in the second game, Bristol’s development team went down 20-9 and 17-16 in the double header.
Wayward pitching, which resulted in 12 walks, cost the Brunels dearly in game one as the Jets scored five runs in each of the four innings. Rookies Charlie Ricketts and Grant Mathieson got their baseball careers off to good starts with three hits and four runs driven in, as the Brunels fought hard at Hutton Moor Leisure Centre.
The second game ended in disappointment for the Brunels who pulled back in the final inning to level the scores at the top of the fifth through good base running by third baseman Mathieson. It was not enough though, as the Jets walked off the Brunels on a wild pitch.
“Despite the result, the team played really well particularly in the second game as we got used to our first competitive baseball,” said Alex Lane-Kieltyka, the Brunels manager. “This year we have a lot of rookies who in the short amount of time they have had on a baseball field showed great improvement with every pitch.”
(picture courtesy of Laura Wehner Photography).
Up Next: Next weekend, the Badgers get their BBF AAA campaign underway with a trip to Bracknell Inferno while the Bats make the trip to Cornwall to take on the Claycutters.
At home, the Brunels host the Bournemouth Bears at Somerdale Pavilion in Keynsham.
All games start at 12 noon.