Stags Split Series at League-Leading Croydon
by Darren McGuinness

The Brentwood Stags did well once again on a Sunday afternoon, with many of their noticeable traits this season coming to the boil in two hotly-contested games at the league-leading Croydon Pirates III.

Game 1

Brentwood Stags 4-11 Croydon Pirates III

Brentwood started well against the host Pirates, preventing them from doing any noticeable damage in the first inning before themselves scoring twice (Chris ‘Granddad’ Porter (1-4, 2B) and Adam ‘Bear’ Commons) to back up starting pitcher Sheldon ‘Bruiser’ Smith (11Ks, 5BBs, 4ER).

However, in the bottom of the second the defensive work was far below the standard expected from the Stags organisation as they committed three errors and allowed seven to score.

There were some highly controversial decisions from the umpire during the course of the game, few more so than a routine ground-out to first base that was apparently called safe, costing Brentwood a run and a runner in what most players from both benches called the other way to the official ruling.

A new quote for the Stags’ season should simply be: ‘Rule 9.02’ [judgment calls from the umpire cannot be contested or overruled]

Undeterred, but clearly incited, Brentwood powered on. Yet having failed to let some of the apparently poor decisions affect them, Adam ‘Bear’ Commons was caught using profane language in the direction of the match official. Coach Tom Keegan was quick to dismiss any chance of such rebellion from his fellow players and took a decision to remove Commons from the game, for which ‘Bear’ would admit was the correct move given the context.

The ball didn’t bounce favourably for much of the rest of the game, and the Brentwood bats could never seem to string together hits, but just when they were out of it, they started realising the use of the first game as batting practise for the second.

Nine runs down in the bottom of the fifth they rose to record the outs and preserve the mercy ruling, tallying runs in each of the sixth and seventh as they wore down the Pirates for as long as possible; the Brentwood bench was significantly deeper than the hosts’. Matt Jennings (2-3) scored on Arun Mandalia’s (1-3, 2SBs) hit to right field, and Rob Yuille’s (1-4) great base running brought home the Stags’ fourth.

However, there was no real chance of a substantial rally, and the Stags eventually went down 11-4, Tim Ssali (5Ks, 7BBs, 2ER) picking up his second win against Brentwood this season. Aki Okada and Paul Stevens recorded 6 of the 12 hits in the 2 and 3 slots, which will produce enough runs for most teams to win.

Game 2

Brentwood Stags 21-10 Croydon Pirates III

Brentwood came out all guns blazing in the first inning of the second game, smashing the ball to all parts as the Pirates proved they were probably a one-pitcher team [in double-headers pitchers can only throw 9 innings of the 14 scheduled, Ssali had thrown all seven of the first game for the hosts]. After Yuille (2-3) had reached first, Sean Briscomb continued the rally as his contact brought 2 home on an error. Mandalia (1-1, 2BB, 3SBs) brought him home and then was the fifth run himself on another hit from Jennings (4-4, 4RBIs).

However, regardless of their hot-hitting, John Read (8Ks, 0BBs, 7ER) seemed to serve up some juicy balls as he struggled to find any rhythm on the mound, eventually sacrificing eight runs on the inning to give the host Pirates a deserved lead.

Stunned, the Stags fell silent as no hits found the space between the fielders for a couple of innings as Brentwood couldn’t seem to hit the ball into the gaps between outfielders’ gloves or beat out infielders’ arms. But Read countered with a scoreless inning of his own, and the Stags plated another five runs in the top of the third.

Matt Jennings laced a single to right field to score Sean Briscomb (1-3, 3SBs), and Mandalia would come home on Yuille’s single to centre. However, on the same play Jennings would be tagged out at home as he got lazy with his running, with Brentwood still a run behind.

Fortunately it didn’t haunt the side, and with the bases loaded ‘Bruiser’ Smith (2-5, 5RBIs) smashed a three-run triple over centre field to put ten runs on the board for the visitors. At 10-8, surely the Stags would hold out?

Not true. Read still couldn’t quite find his stride and allowed a couple to cross the plate in the bottom of the inning, meaning the Pirates drew level once again, but it was the last time that they would have a sniff of victory in the second game as Brentwood pulled away in the top of the fourth.

Inconsistent pitching had the bases loaded for most of the inning as two Croydon boys struggled to get the three outs, and in fairness were gifted two from poor base-running. However, it still took patience from the batters to swing when required, with ‘Granddad’ Porter (3-5, 3RBIs) picking up two RBIs and Jennings getting another from solid connections.

An eight-run lead in the bottom of the fifth inning (after two more Brentwood runs) was always going to be insurmountable, but the only remaining question was over how quickly the victory would be recorded and whether everyone who’d travelled would get into the game. Only a couple of players were left out of both games as the Stags strived for the win, and the Stags would record the ‘W’ in six innings after they scored three more runs in the top of the inning (CJ Evans was the 21st of the game on Tyron Porter’s single) and then set down the side 1-2-H-3. Read was resilient and his socks will remain filthy in the bottom of his kit bag for another week at least.

The split with the league-leaders leaves the division open, although the only real difference this makes to the Stags’ season is that the Pirates haven’t pulled any further away than they were at the start of the day. Depending on other results Brentwood will remain mid-table, but they have showed that their depth of squad, if utilised properly, will be able to challenge every team put in front of them. With seven games remaining (six if the one against Thames Valley is claimed), Brentwood have a good chance of at least getting to the playoffs, but they’ll have to be perfect from here on in.

The ‘Bear’ Essentials

Stag of the Match for game one went to Sheldon ‘Bruiser’ Smith, who was barely at fault for most of the runs scored as the defence didn’t really back up his efforts; he only allowed four earned runs and that would have been good enough for a tied game. Rob Yuille’s steal of home after some sloppy fielding received Play of the Match given the amount of dust kicked up and scrapes and grazes endured as he rounded all 360 feet.

John Read picked up Stag of the Match for the second game, with his efforts on the mound picking up as he went along. ‘Bruiser’ Smith’s huge bases-clearing triple earned him the Play of the Match award, making him the first person to win the coveted accolades twice in one day.

Quirky stats: All-day notes

Arun Mandalia, Sean Briscomb, Sheldon Smith, Matt Jennings, Rob Yuille, Chris Porter and Ian Colvin combined to play almost three quarters of the total innings for the Stags today despite taking a squad of 16, but all justified their selection; of the 22 hits on the day they recorded 19 of them, all picking up walks and stealing bases with aplomb when required.

Personally, though, I thought Blake Taylor was nigh-on perfect. He picked up an RBI to go with a walk and a good hit in the first game, all while playing in his unfavoured right-field, keeping him as the assumed ‘hottest bat in the league’.

The Stags’ 10 errors overall will not be received well by this winning squad, but the pitch performed more awkwardly than Clement’s Park normally does! However, dropped fly balls are unforgivable.