The story of the Hawks is usually one of solid defence, powerful hitting, and regular wins. Last week, they suffered a knock. But this Sunday they returned to their winning ways, writes Brian Morgan, sweeping the Guildford Mavericks 11-1 and 5-3 at Grovehill.
Game one featured excellent pitching by Zack Longboy, despite him getting a black eye in practice before taking the hill. He worked through it and kept the Mavericks off the board after the first batter.
There was excellent defence across the board with a diving play in centre field by Hunter Devine, several plays by Antony Lavender in left, and solid infield play all around.
The offence was led by Jon “Yard” Lewys who smashed one over the left field fence to get the Hawks going. Darrin Ward, Andy Cornish and Greg Bochan all had big hits to put the Hawks well ahead and end the game early.
Game two featured another pitching gem by Ward. The Mavericks hitters could not keep up with the movement on his pitches and he gave up only 2 earned runs over 7 impressive innings.
The Hawks defence was led by a solid infield of Gilberto Medina, Andy Cornish, Brian Morgan and Jon Lewys, with Hunter Devine now behind the plate. The outfield featured Bochan, Longboy and newcomer Michael Long.
The offence threatened throughout, with runners getting in scoring position in most frames. A combination of heads-up base running and key hits kept the Hawks ahead the whole game.
Greg Bochan took over managerial duties this week for the injured Mike Cresswell who, in turn, took over umpiring duties where he could yell at everyone and not just the Hawks!
The Hawks have next week off and then travel to Guildford on June 2nd for two games against the Mavericks. Hawks are now 5-1 on the season and looking very strong.