Honours even for Ulster
A breezy Sunday morning at the fantastic Peace-Link Park in Clones saw the first competitive outing for the Ulster baseball team and the subsequent return of the northern part of the country to A league competition. The formidable Dublin Spartans were looking to spoil the party for the Cavan-Belfast hybrid squad.
Unsurprisingly, it would be left hander Melvin Woods who would toe the rubber in the inaugural outing for the home side and, after racking up awards aplenty for the B league champion Belfast Northstars last season, Woods would pick up pretty much exactly where he left off.
A nervy first couple of innings for the Ulster side that included and inauspicious welcome to top tier action for reigning Northstars rookie of the year, Chris Shields, wearing a 2-2 pitch to get a free pass to first. He would repeat the act in the third inning. But that would be after Mark Smith lit the fuse on the offense.
A home run for the shortstop set Smith's marker down early and, with Melvin Woods up behind him, followed by brother Colin, captain Randy Cornwell and newcomer Casper Coffie, Ulster plated four runs in the inning. It is for certain that the Ulster batting order will be a formidable task for Baseball Ireland pitchers this season.
Stars coach Sean Shackley would add an insurance run in the next which would be more than enough of a lead for Melvin Woods to protect. After 8 innings of shutout ball, as well as another four insurance runs, Woods handed the ball to Smith in the last; the shortstops' impatient pitching style quickly finished off the game.
Unfortunately the party wouldn't last long for the home side – the veteran Spartans reminding Adrian Kelly and Randy Cornwell's men of what it takes to compete in the countries' top division. Despite runs scored by Smith, Melvin Woods and, in his first start, Stephen Rogan, the Dublin side came out swinging early and often, tagging the Ulster pitchers for ten runs.
A representative of the Ulster club said: 'a 1-1 record to start the year is a solid result, especially as we have essentially two teams trying to play together as well as newcomers thrown in for good measure – the guys need game time to learn to play with each other. The Spartans are one of the most successful clubs in Baseball Ireland for a reason and they showed it this weekend. The level of competition will be exceptionally high this season but I know Adrian, Randy and the guys are excited for the challenge.'
The Ulster side will be off for a couple of weeks before travelling to Black Sox Park to take on the Greystones Mariners on the 30th April.
