Richmond Riverdogs 23
Guildford Mavericks 25

Guildford, August 1st, 2004. This game was the return fixture of a friendly earlier in the season which had given the Mavericks their first win of the year, albeit not in the actual season! Since then the Mavs have tasted victory again with two wins in the London tournament. Despite not yet winning in the league this yea the team seems much improved from the beginning of the season, and hopes were high for this game.

Karl was on the mound for Guildford and got off to a good start, only facing four batters in the first inning. This contrasted with the Mavs' first inning at the plate, as they batted around and scored 8 runs with everyone bar Nick coming in to score. Nick made sure he wasn't left out by scoring in the third having worked his way around the bases aggressively, and then stealing home as the catcher dropped the ball while attempting to block the plate.

Karl continued strongly despite one run scoring in the second, only facing five batters in that and the following inning. The Mavs were quietened in the second as they failed to score, but as mentioned Nick scored in the third, along with Ally and Pete Cruddas.

Karl was not throwing his hardest on the mound as his arm still shows a few signs of rust from his long lay off. The Riverdogs took advantage in the fifth to score three runs, although only six batters came to the plate. This was to be Karl's last inning of the day, to be replaced on short notice by the day's official scorer/bullpen. Ben came in to pitch from the sixth inning (one earlier than planned so without properly warming up!) and took his time to settle in, allowing two runs to score in the sixth, although only 5 batters came up to bat. The seventh was kept short, in part
thanks to a bizarre double play. A put out at first, followed by the runner who had been on first, returning from second and effectively giving himself up.

This was a basic base running error, as the runner or base coach mistook the play for one requiring the runner to tag up. This is thankfully the sort of error which the Mavs have been able to cut down on recently as the newer players
gain a deeper understanding of the game.

These relatively short innings contrasted hideously with the eighth, a mammoth inning which at times seemed it may never end! A combination of a pitcher still learning (and rapidly tiring!) and a number of missed plays in the field both contributed, and once the dust settled the game was significantly closer than it had been! Guildford showed good spirit to score six runs in the bottom of the eighth to increase their lead going in to the final inning.

As this was a friendly game it had been agreed to play to a time limit of 5.30pm, so no slaughter rule was in operation, and the bottom of the ninth would be played out as well. Ben recovered from the nightmare eighth to
allow only one walk and two hits but a number of errors in the field allowed the Riverdogs to score 4 runs in the top of the ninth. This was not enough, and the Mavs claimed their second friendly victory of the year. The bottom
of the ninth was then played out for practice. The Mavs were able to bat around again and score 4 runs also. This was however against the Riverdogs' fourth pitcher of the game

Maverick MVP: Alastair Carr

Player