Normal service has been resumed
With the Ulster team having taken their first tender steps into the light of Baseball Ireland and the Razorbacks slowly whipping themselves into a frenzy for the 30th of April, the Angels and Northstars get their seasons rolling this weekend.
On Sunday afternoon, the Belfast Angels travel to North Down to take on the Buccaneers. The fixtures last season didnt see much success for the Halos (34-8 and 15-14) but new skipper Shane Hanna will be confident that his team will be more competitive in 2017; the ever-improving Amy Simpson and the rock solid play of Sinead Shackley as well as a couple of new recruits will give the Angels hope for the summer.
On Saturday, the defending B league champion Belfast Northstars will start their season on the road, travelling to the International Baseball Centre at Ashbourne to take on the Giants.
Even though the Northstars defeated the Giants in the regular season series, the Ashbourne side gave Belfast a scare in a battle of a playoff series last Autumn. Since the Giants entered Baseball Ireland, the rest of the teams have been well aware that it was only a matter of time before the fiercely talented youngsters grew into themselves; could 2017 be their time?
That being said, the champs are still the champs. Despite losing some of the team to the Ulster representative side, coach Sean Shackley still has plenty of arrows in the quiver. Sean McMahon and Josh Cuthbert will be expected to log heavier innings on the pitching mound, backed up by veterans Gord Cuthbert, Shackley himself and Mark Smith.
Regardless of pitching, the Stars will still a high powered offense, especially with a number of players from last seasons bench, including Mike McConville, Gordon Lafferty and Jason Scott all being relied on in starting roles.
Both the Angels and the Northstars will need new people to step to the fore this season to help both teams challenge for titles – let's see how this goes....
