Both sides appeared to
be stronger than that initial meeting, and came into the game off
the back of victories two weeks ago; the Mavericks at Thames Valley,
and Croydon against Bracknell. Kevin Warner was back in the line up
for the Mavericks for the first time this season, and Matt Sheridan
and Sam Jones also made their seasons debut's, flanking Rob Shaw in
the outfield. A late change, saw the power hitting Andy Sheridan
forced to drop out with hockey commitments, but that allowed Ally
Carr to make one final appearance for the Mavericks, before his
departure for pastures new in Canada.
Once again, the visitors jumped out to an early lead, but this time it was Croydon scoring 3 runs in the first inning on a couple of singles and a sac fly. The Mavericks replied immediately, with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning, keyed by an RBI double by Ally Carr, before tying it up in the second at 3 a piece. Although Owen Hazelby was pinpoint with his control, the Pirates are probably the strongest hitting team in the league, and through combination of timely hits and some aggressive baserunning, they were able to add runs in both the 3rd and 4th inning. The latter looked to have broken the game open, as SS Tim Sali, who had homered in the first meeting between the clubs, dispatched a 2-2 curveball to deep centrefield for a 3 run homer.
Another run in the
top of the 5th, gave the Pirates an 9-3 lead, which up to this point
of the season, was usually the signal for the Mavericks to
capitulate and the opposition run out comfortable winners
. However
this time Guildford came back with the big inning, tying the game at
9 a piece, as they scored 6 times. Shuh Yuan Lin lead the inning off
with his second hit of the day, before Tom Sheridan and Kevin Warner
both drove in runs. The Mavericks were able to load the bases off
the back of some poor Croydon fielding and this came home to haunt
them, as a walk to Michael Burdett drove in another run, before Lin
with his second hit of the inning, drove in a couple more. By the
time the side was retired, Guildford had scored 6 runs to tie the
game at 9.
Owen
went into unchartered territroy this season, as he pitched into the 6th
inning, but unfortunately he was unable to see it out, and following
a single to right field by Pirate 2nd baseman Jan Toledo that drove
in the 3rd run of the inning. Shih Yuan Lin came into to replace
him. Agonisingly the inning
could have ended before that, as a line
drive to Mavericks 2B Dave Jones, was almost turned single handedly
into a double play, as the runner at first was caught in no mans
land between the bases, but Dave couldn't quite hold on. However a
second double play chance came Dave's way the following inning, as
he fielded and flipped a ground ball, all in one movement to Owen,
now playing shortstop, or relayed onto Tom Sheridan for the out at
first. But by that time, the Pirates were up 12-9.
Although
Guildford
pulled it back to 12-10 with an RBI from Tom Sheridan in the bottom
of the seventh following a bases loaded walk, the Pirates were able
to finish the game off in the 8th. Scoring 7 times, including the
first 5 before and out had been made, was enough to stretch their
lead to out of the reach of the Mavericks. Nonetheless, Guildford
didn't go down without a fight, and scored 5 of their own in the
bottom of the ninth, but it was too tall an order, and when Mike
Burdett grounded out to first base, the game
was sealed.
The Mavericks should take heart from this performance. Another very strong outing from starter Owen Hazelby. Solid hitting right down the order; and solid defense. It was one of those days as the Pirates seemed to find the gaps, whereas the Mavericks were finding the fielders, especially early on. That said, a lot of that has to be put down, simply to better hitting from the Croydon line up. Next week, the Mavericks will try and extract revenge for another early season defeat, this time at the hands of the Bracknell Blazers. The game as usual is a 2pm start on Sunday, at Bracknell's Westmoreland Park
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