Geelong Baycats at Preston Pirates, 3.30pm October 19th 2014
Interview with Stuart Chinn. Direct link here.
Interview with Sean Arnott. Direct Link Here.
Baycats starters: CF Durston, SS Zablan, RF Thompson, 3B Snarey, 1B Gibbons, 2B Fraim, LF Evins, CF Huisman, Pitcher Wood.
Pirates starters: 2B Evans, 3B Bass, 1B Deeble, LF Hood, RF Smiley, SS Ley, CF Farrell, Pitcher Godbold, CF Legge.
Baycats in the top of 1st- It looked like it might be a day for the hitters when Zablan singled to shortstop then Thompson walked but Godbold was good enough to get out of it and left the 2 runners on base.
Pirates in the bottom of the 1st – After Evans walked, Bass and Deeble singled to put a lot of pressure on Wood, the 17 year old pitcher from Geelong. Evans scored and there were a couple of more hits but Wood went into the dugout wondering what might have been after 4 of the 5 runs scored were unearned.
Bottom 2nd – The Baycats were far from intimidated when they came out in attack. Fraim doubled, Evins singled to the infield and Huisman hit as well. Wood continued his form when he bunted safely to the pitcher. They say that hitting is contagious and so it was when Durston singled and Huisman scored on a double play ball to make it 2 out. Thompson of Geelong got into the act when he too singled and scored Wood. The Baycats went back into the field with confidence after 6 hits and 4 runs on the board trailing by 1.
Bottom 2nd – Wood had settled on the mound for the Baycats and improved his accuracy in this dig. He sat the batters down in order.
Top 3rd – Godbold found something at this stage of the game for the Pirates as he sent Geelong back into the field without scoring.
Bottom 3rd – It was at about this time that the temperature dropped about 10 degrees; we went from a bright sunny day to a cold blowy, winter afternoon in Bundoora. However, the sudden change in conditions didn’t seem to affect the batting as Hood lead off with a double to centrefield. Smiley and Ley also singled to score another for Preston. It was beyond doubt that the hitters were controlling this game when Farrell doubled and scored Smiley. Wood managed to squeeze them out of it and leave 2 on base, again responding to great pressure on the hill. Preston were looking too good with the bats though, after 3 complete. With 4 hits in the innings they scored 2 runs to lead 7-4.
Top 4th - Wood continued with his gritty performance when he singled to left field but that is where he stayed as Godbold had steadied and left him on base.
Bottom 4th – Webb gave way on the mound for Evins. But the Pirates responded when Bass singled to left field then scored after 2 errors. The Pirates were leading 8-4.
Top 5th - Godbold gave way on the mound to Bass. The bats were still swinging in the Geelong camp when Gibbons welcomed the new pitcher with a single to right field. However he was left on base as Preston started to close in on the game.
Bottom 5th - Bass got on with an infield single after an error, Preston scored another run.
Top 6th – The pitching was shaping up in this game but so were the batters when Wood singled to left field. Preston were too good again, Bass sturck out another to end the innings and left another runner on base.
Bottom 6th. Hood continued his form with the bat when he singled, but Evins had settled in, throwing strikes and the score didn’t change.
The Baycats created a chance in the top of the 7th when Gibbons singled and Fraim got on after an error. When Evins walked Geelong looked like they might get some of those unearned runs back. However Travis Bass steadied and grounded out the innings with bases loaded.
After that the pitchers took control of the game until the top of the 9th. The crowd woke up a bit when Baycats pinch hitter Barnes singled and Snarey walked. Geelong was still flying the flag after a frustrating outing, however it wasn’t to be. Preston finished the game with a 3-6-3 double play.
Without the errors this would have been a much different game, Geelong were gallant and swung true all day. They outhit the winners 12 to 11. The critical stat was that Geelong left 11 on base whilst Preston stranded only 7. Although the Pirates got a head start when 4 of the first 5 runs were unearned, they hit the ball hard and threw accurately all day. Full credit to Preston for applying pressure the way they did. The standout players for both teams were Wood for Geelong and Bass for Preston who pitched facing 18 and 19 batters respectively and collected 3 hits each.
This report was brought to you with the help of the automated scorebook, courtesy of Preston Pirates Baseball Club. Full report is attached to this page.
Cam Gleeson
@valiantcam