You win some.....
The dust has settled in a busy weekend for the BASA; there's been victories, losses (and draws) with plenty to reflect on for the upcoming season. There's a lot here, so deep breath.....
The Northstars would lead off on Saturday, making the trip south to The Peace Link in Clones to match up against the Cavan Comets and some of their Ulster baseball compatriots. With Sean Shackley taking the ball himself, the undermanned Stars knew that nothing could be taken for granted. Cavan righthander Forrest Pierce started strong, striking out two of the first four hitters including debutant Nate Heater. The first inning also included first baseman Stephen Rogan being hit by a pitch.
That, today, would not be an isolated incident.
With the home side failing to score, the Northstars would break the game open in the second, drawing walks from the Cavan pitcher, Rogan wearing his second pitch of the day (not done yet) and some savvy hitting, the Stars were able to score eight times in the second and four more times in the third. That was enough for Cavan who would swap their batterymates, with young catcher Devin Carrihill toeing the rubber. He held the Northstar runners in check for a couple of innings but in the sixth four more runners scored (another Rogan run, another bruise) which pulled the game out of range. The home side managed to fight back in the last few innings but simply left themselves to much to do on this occasion. The Stars travelled north with a 17-6 victory, a 2-1 record for the year and momentum for another road trip this Saturday in a single header versus the Black Sox in Shanganagh.
A quick turnaround for some of the team for another trip to Dublin to take on the Greystones Mariners the day after, saw a couple of hard losses for a team still trying to find their footing. In his first start for the Ulster team, Mark Smith got roughed up by the Ms in the first for six runs but managed to settle in for the rest of the game, trusting his breaking ball to good effect and only surrendering one more run the rest of the nine innings. Unfortunately for Smith, the Ulster offence couldnt get fired up in the outing, only offering up one run in support; a 7-1 loss was the final.
Unfortunately the cold bats took their time warming up in the second game, Ulster having to wait until the sixth before Carrihill's walk kickstarted the team. Four runs were then produced from Carrihill himself, Shackley, Casper Coffie and Chris Shields. The Mariners however came into the game swinging and the thirteen runs were more than enough to close out the game.
Dropping the club record to 1-3, the Ulster side will look to rebound against the Black Sox in Shanganagh on the 14th.
While the Ulster team were travelling south, the Razorbacks were warming up at Newforge as they awaited the arrival of the Antrim Jets for the opening game of their own 2017 campaign.
After a successful rookie day provided the south Belfast team with squad depth and a friendly game against those same Jets saw a victory for the Hogs, hopes were high at a breezy Newforge.
With the windy conditions all but eliminating the pass for both sides, Sunday's outing was very much a ground and pound affair. The Jets would strike first, driving their runner in for the touchdown in the first quarter– the extra point wasn't converted and the Razorbacks were down early.
The home side continued to press however and with the two minute warning, Shannon punted deep into Jets territory and with a subsequent fumble recovery, the Razorbacks found themselves with the ball on the Antrim 6 yard line.
Always looking for a gap, Best took the handoff from Parkes and through typical determination found himself over the line in the corner. Unfortunately the extra point wasn't completed but the game found itself tied going into the second half.
In a second half driven by good defence by both sides, the Razorbacks utilised their running game, highlighted by the strong runs of Roy and Mckee to drive into the Antrim half. Pinning the Jets back with an interception by Finnegan and time running out, a hooked field goal attempt saw the game finish 6-6. The Razorbacks will look to take as many lessons from the game as possible before the Tyrone Titans descend on Newforge on the 14th.
On Monday, Newforge was the site of one more fixture on the BASA schedule. The Angels, coming off a solid opening win against the Buccaneers in Bangor the previous week, looked to continue their winning form against the reigning champion Sliders.
The Angels failed to replicate their first inning outburst from the previous game with Jonny Craven's pitching keeping the top of the Halos order in check. The Sliders quickly got on the board in the bottom of the inning, scoring four including a home run.
Wary of letting such a high powered offence getting too far away, Sean Shackley's 2 run double got the Angels ticking over, and Chris Stange's RBI took the score to 4-3. In the bottom of the second the Sliders got their four run cushion back and held the Angels scoreless in the top of the third. More runs followed in the fourth and fifth for the home side before a double play by Justin Young sparked the Angels to rally back. An opposite field home run for Young in the top of the sixth gave the visitors hope but the lead was too great and the final score of 15-7 dropped the Angels to 1-1. The road remains no easier for the Halos, with a trip to Henry Jones and another powerful offence in the form of the Belfast Brawlers on the horizon.
