Guildford Mavericks 36
Richmond Dragons 29

Bank Holidays! Don't you just love 'em! Not only are sides depleted as a result of players being away, you then go and lose you're only pitcher 2 outs into the first inning, as he comes down heavily on his knee, badly twisting it in the process!

Step up Castor Maduro! Not content with being the only (?) Maverick to clear the fences this season, our slugging 3B/C, volunteers to pitch the next couple of innings as part of a bullpen by committee; not having thrown a pitch since.....? He then proceeds to last the next 8 1/3 innings, picking up his first win as a Guildford Maverick. For that fact alone  - stepping up to the mound when you have had no practice - Castor has to be the winner of our MVP this week. He didn't do too badly with the bat either!

Now a tight defensive game, this wasn't, and at just under 4 1/2 hours, there will not be too many longer this season. However, getting this type of game early in the season, at least has the advantage of giving the batters plenty of practice!

The Mavericks were the first to take a lead, scoring 4 times in the first inning. However the Dragons soon pulled back, and after two, the score was tied at seven. Richmond then proceeded to edge ahead in the 3rd and 4th innings, their 1B, Oliver picking up a couple of hits.

However, it was in the 5 inning that Guildford broke the game open, batting round a couple of times, and scoring 16 in the process. The big hits coming from Dan Wilson, making his debut, with a 3 run, double, and the veteran Nick Jolly with a 2 run triple.

The Dragons brought Harris into pitch in the 6th inning, and he was able to slow down the Mavericks scoring, although with Ben Martin-Dye, Castor and Michael Burdett, all going 5 for 7, it kept the scoreboard moving. Richmond gradually closed the gap as Castor tired, and some mental errors were made in the field, but with innings running out, it just proved too big a deficit.

Going into the ninth inning, Guildford held an 8 run lead, which they added one more to on Ross Pennington's triple than he scored on, as the throw at third got away from the fielder. Not only was this another valuable run, but it gave Ross a incredible 6 for 8 day at the plate, which on a normal day would easily have won him MVP honours.

However it was fitting that Castor was able to close out the game, surrendering a couple of runs in the process, by actually striking out the final batter. Whether he is able to walk after this performance, and indeed play next week remains to be seen!....and the opponents waiting for him next week....the other Richmond team - the Knights.

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