Guildford Mavericks 24
Milton Keynes Bucks 13

The Mavericks kicked off the season with 24-13 win over the Bucks, in a game that was closer than the final score suggested. Steve Sawyer took the win, coming in after starter Pete Hammer had taken a line drive off the knee during the 4th inning.

The pitchers had dominated early on, with the Bucks taking an early lead from a combination of good base running, and some fielding errors. The Mavericks first hit of the season came in the second inning from the bat of Brian Kendal, as he squeezed one down the third base line.

The lead changed hands several times, but with the score tied at 11 in the bottom of the sixth, the Mavericks finally broke the game open with a 3 run shot from Castor Maduro, that cleared the fences in dead centre. This was the beginning of the end for Bucks, as Guildford eased away in the 7th inning, to open up an 11 run lead, no doubt helped by the fact that the Milton Keynes starter was beginning to tire.

Making their debuts for the Mavericks were Ben Mullard, Castor Maduro and Koichiro Furukawa, all of whom contributed greatly to a good team effort. However man of the match must go to Castor not only for his launch pad home run, but also for some great play with the glove at 3rd, although he was run very close by Pete Hammer, who had shut the Bucks down for most of the first 4 innings, and then preceded to put on a display in the outfield, despite his injured knee.

Player