Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, DAVE HAMILTON
The Herts Eagles extended their winning streak to three games with another sensational victory at Grovehill against the Sidewinders. Fresh from two victories against Burgess Hill the previous week, and buoyed by memories of their extra-innings win over the same opponents earlier in the season, the Eagles were confident of further success.
With runs hard to come by in another pitching duel, there was little between the two sides but the visiting Sidewinders eventually edged ahead.
Many of the team felt it was a case of deja-vu as for the second week in a row they entered the final inning trailing by a run after another hard fought encounter. However, after two quick outs it seemed like this time there was to be no 'great escape'. Outfielder Jon Lewys, a late call-up from the Raptors squad, refused to go down without a fight though, slapping another base hit up the middle, setting the scene for Carlos Casal to come up with the game's big hit – an RBI triple to the fence in left field that scored Lewys all the way from first base and tied the game.
With the Sidewinders a little deflated and victory just 90 feet away, pitcher Louis Hare sealed victory for himself and the team with an RBI single, restoring the Eagles to a .500 record, with 7 wins and 7 losses on the season – an amazing performance given their step up from AA last year.
Unfortunately the Eagles weren't able to build on their momentum and fell to a comprehensive defeat in the second game. The main point of note in the game was a collision at home plate between Eagles player-manager Dave Westfallen and the Sidewinders catcher that left the visiting catcher concussed. All agreed it was a fair play (simply a result of tough, no-holds barred baseball) but everyone at the ballpark wish the injured player a speedy recovery.
The Eagles now have a week off, before their re-arranged visit to the Bournemouth Sharks, a game which was rained out earlier in the season.