report - southampton 18may

Southampton, 18th May 2003

This was the 'horse match up' Mustang's/Maverick's the first time in a league game that the two sides had met. But this was no 'donkey derby', it turned out to be a classic, a menagerie of class defence by both teams and some pure poetry on the mound.

1st inning. With pitcher Pete Hammer showing the kind of form that dreams are made from he excelled in the windy conditions and after the Mav's couldn't score in the first he held the Mustangs to one run with two K's. 1-0 Mustangs

2nd inning. Koichiro gets on base, then steals two bases, tension fills the air, but another K and end of inning. The chips are down and the Mav's are heating up. Its 'Hammer time' and the Mustangs go down in order by way of three strikeouts.

3rd inning. The Mav's leave a man on third and but can't get him home. Likewise with the Mustangs. Things were close.

4th inning. A hit for Koichiro but again he is like Man Friday, stranded ! But things are looking up for the Mav's we are starting to pick up the pace. Mustangs increase their lead by one on double and stolen bases but Hammer strikes out another two. Inspired pitching from the veteran. Mustangs 3-0

5th inning. Things go into overdrive now, the Mav's light up the scoreboard like a Christmas tree. One down and Hammer hits a double on an error (sorry Pete!), Julius Miller and Tomas Diaz earn Walks and it is evident that their pitcher, after four good inning is tiring. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife! Up come Steve 'Prime Time' Sawyer and like a Royal Mail postman he delivers on time, hitting a single up the middle ! Two runs scored, tied ballgame. Mustangs pick up one. 4-2 Mustangs

6th inning. All is quite on the Mustang's offensive front. Hammer is pitching with poise and confidence but is tiring after the strong winds take their toll. Southampton score one on a couple of wild pitches and another . The call is made to the bull pen.

Mav's pickup were they left off with a hit for Julius Miller and Pete Hammer now has more double's than Oliver Reed ! Roger Marsden gets in on the act and rises like a salmon to steer one to right field with a nonchalant flick of the wrist and Ross Pennington creams one back down the middle for a base hit. The Mav's take the lead for the first time. Maverick's 6-5.

7th inning. Steve Sawyer comes in to pitch. You know as he strides out to the mound that he means business. He also is in inspired form. Down 1-2-3. Get in there ! Castor Maduro takes over from the impressive Marsden behind the plate. Mav's cant oblige with the timber !. Still 6-5.

8th inning. A lead off single from Ben Martin-Dye and two stolen bases put the the Mav's in good shape but now comes the most controversial moment of the whole game. Tomas Diaz at the plate, he hits one....BACK......BACK....BACK....GONE !!....or is it ? Everyone on the whole field thinks it is a HR, except for Mustangs centre fielder who says that it fell short of the flag. The umpire says its gone but decides to confer. It is ruled a double. The boy Diaz is distraught but consoles himself with the fact he will score and pick up two RBI's to increase the Mav's lead by three Mav's 8-5.

9th inning. A rousing team talk from Sawyer prepares the troops for the finale. Chants of "GO MAV'S" fill the Southampton air and the troops sprint out with glory at their fingertips. A run scores for the Mustang's and another gets to third, but it is all in vain. Three K's from Sawyer and the Mustang's have been tamed. A great day, good performances all round and brilliant defence with only two errors in the field all game. MAV'S WIN 8-6 !

The Mavericks are now 2-0 and go into next week's game with Richmond full of confidence.

Player	AB	H	R	RBI	BB	SO	E	PO/A

Ben Martin-Dye, SS	4	1	1	0	0	2	0	0/0
Pete Hammer, P	5	2	2	0	0	2	0	0/0
Julius Miller, 3B	3	1	1	0	1	1	0	0/0
Tomas Diaz 2B	2	1	1	0	2	0	0	0/0
Steve Sawyer, CF	5	1	0	0	0	2	0	0/0
Koichiro Furukawa, LF	3	0	0	0	2	2	0	0/0
Nick Jolly, 1B	5	0	0	0	0	4	0	0/0
Rob Wheeler, RF	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0/0
Ross Pennington, RF	3	1	1	0	0	2	0	0/0
Roger Marsden, C	2	0	1	0	0	1	0	0/0
Castor Maduro, C	1	1	2	0	1	0	0	0/0

GUILDFORD	0	0	0	0	2	4	0	2	0	8
SOUTHAMPTON	1	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	1	6