Bristol Brunels @ Yeovil Whirlwinds

New opposition is the norm this season following Yeovil Whirlwinds’ move to South Wales & West Baseball League for 2025. This weekend’s unfamiliar foes were the visiting Bristol Brunels.

Aidan Johnson was making his league debut at pitcher for Yeovil. Game one of the double header started fairly evenly with batting dominating the first inning resulting in a 5-5 scoreline.

With Johnson struggling to consistently find the strike zone, Bristol again scored well batting in a further 3 runs. A change of pitcher mid-inning saw Chris Spurway take over on the mound but two more runs saw the Brunels notch up five runs total in inning two.

With Yeovil restricted to two runs in their second inning, the Whirlwinds’ defence then stepped up its game. A towering catch from Kris Csicso at Left Field helped secure three quick outs with no runs conceded. However, Yeovil could only manage one run in their third inning, the Brunels’ lead reduced to 10-8.

Bristol’s final inning ended quickly for their second nil run inning in a row, the outs started with a heads up play between Spurway and First Basewoman Chrisi Wilangowski, catching the runner napping off the bag.  Yeovil’s ability to get runners on base eventually produced the three runs needed to win game 1.

Game 2 began with David Cheetham pitching for the Whirlwinds. In a carbon copy of game 1, both teams scored the maximum 5 runs in their respective first innings. A couple of catches and a strike out restricted Bristol to 3 runs in their second inning. Patient at bats and good hits produced 5 further runs for the home side and a 10-8 lead.

Solid pitching by Cheetham was forcing the Bristol side’s batters to swing, adding another 3 runs to the tally but also offering the home side chances to get outs. Yeovil’s in-field obliged with a ground out and another couple of catches to end the inning.

A double from Jason Tew, his team high sixth hit of the day, helped the Whirlwinds continue their good scoring with a further four runs meaning they took a three-run lead into the final inning 14-11. With the visitors tiring after a long day, it was left to Kris Csicso to take another catch in the deep to claim both the Play of the Day vote and the final out without any more runs scored so Yeovil won their second game of the day.

Another great weekend for the Yeovil Whirlwinds extending their record to five wins from six games this season. Their next game sees them face the Bournemouth Bears at Bradford Abbas Sports club on 11th May.

By Chris Spurway