As a convenient midpoint, the Westcountry Baseball League’s most Easterly and Westerly based teams faced off at a neutral venue, Exeter’s King George V playing fields, in a battle of the leagues bottom two placed teams, the Yeovil Whirlwinds and the Truro Blue Jays. The game would finish with Yeovil, the registered “home” team, claiming their first competitive win of the season, a thoroughly deserved result for the persistence shown by all involved with the club.
Yeovil went into the game only able to field the bare minimum 9 players meaning it was a long day for the Whirlwind players.
Defensively Yeovil have performed consistently well this season and this form continued against their Cornish opponents, demonstrated by the Blue Jays only managing to score five runs over the first four innings. Where the Whirlwinds have struggled this season was with the bat however, a combination of patient at bats producing walks and some solid hitting, produced fourteen early runs ensuring Yeovil took a ten run lead into inning five.
A better fifth inning for the visitors reduced their deficit to six (having outscored their hosts five runs to one). However they were shut down by their hosts over the next two innings whilst Yeovil notched up a further six runs, extended their lead to twelve. A final flurry of five runs for Truro could not bridge this gap and so the game ended with Yeovil victorious, 21 runs to 15.
Notable plays for the Whirlwinds included deep field catches by the ever dependable Dave Martin and rookie Barni Csicso plus an exceptional pick up and throw out from Simon Causer. However the standout performance was from pitcher Ed Blades. Pitching the entire game is incredibly tough but Ed ensured the opposition never gained momentum in the game, regularly striking out players whilst also offering plenty of opportunities for his fielders to show off their skills. His performance was summed up by striking out the last batter to win the game.
Yeovil’s final games of this season are a double header at home against Plymouth Mariners on Sunday 25th August at Bradford Abbas Sports Club.
If you’re interested in baseball and want to give it a go or are just looking for a new and different hobby then reach out to Yeovil Whirlwinds via Facebook or Instagram!
Comments