Yeovil Whirlwinds v New Forest Knights

A gloomy and slightly damp Sunday brought mixed emotions for the Yeovil Whirlwinds in week two of the 2025 South Wales & West Baseball League season. Across the two games against New Forest Thunder Knights the Whirlwinds arguably won a game they should have lost and lost a game they should have won, ensuring the spoils were shared.

Playing their away fixture against the Knights, Game 1 saw Simon Causer pitch his first game of the season for Yeovil. Batting first and amassing 5 runs, the Whirlwinds took an early lead, restricting New Forest to a solitary run with some solid defence. Having beaten the same team in both games the preceding week, Yeovil would have been full of confidence.

However the Thunder Knights rallied well, conceding only 4 runs over the next two innings whilst scoring 10 themselves, their hits having started finding gaps in the field. New Forest took an 11-9 run lead into the final inning, three quick outs away from the win.

An enforced pitching change for the hosts didn’t at first affect them as two quick outs followed. Backs against the wall, but with runners on base, a hit from debutant Ossian Moise and what would become an inside the park home run from Jason Tew produced 5 runs for Yeovil and a narrow 3 run lead.

It was left to Causer to save the game for the Whirlwinds. Accurate pitching and clean fielding produced three put outs at first base and Yeovil’s third win from their first three games of the season.

Game 2 saw a return to the mound for David Cheetham. This game played out almost as a mirror of the first. After three innings Yeovil held the two run lead (7 runs to 5) with a double play from Causer, who’d moved to second base, and an awesome, over the shoulder outfield catch from Moise helping keep the New Forest’s run tally down.

The fourth inning saw both sides score 5 runs maintaining the Whirlwinds lead. Two further runs in inning 5 extended that lead and three quick outs for Cheetham (one strike out and two catches in the field) saw Yeovil enter the final inning with a 4 run lead.

In what had been a long day, this last inning proved to be a step too far for the Somerset side. New Forest returned the favour of the previous inning, gaining three quick outs to ensure the lead could not be extended. One strike out was secured but tiredness and a couple of defence errors saw the Knights score the five runs needed to win the game.

A frustrating end for the Whirlwinds but three wins and one loss from their first four games is still a great start to the season. Their next game is after the Easter weekend on 27th April at Bradford Abbas Sports Club. If you are interested in trying out baseball then please get in touch!

By Chris Spurway