With the sun shining in Croydon, 16 teams from across the continent (just) came together at the Pirates' home to participate in the London Tournament, one of the most prestigious weekends in the British Baseball calendar.
With the Brentwood Stags among the competitors, alongside fellow league rivals Richmond, Croydon, Hertfordshire, Medway and the energetic Sidewinders, the stage was set to rid the team of the its recent woes and start again. Unfortunately the Stags would lead only occasionally and, after struggling at the end against the host Pirates in their first match and losing in the last inning, showed only glimmers of brilliance, never sustained greatness.
Game One vs Croydon Pirates
Sheldon Smith and John Read combined on the 'mound' (rather, a flat bit of ground between the bases) to toss the game and, though Brentwood led for most of the game after missing a few easier outs due to the early start, they couldn't complete the game to earn the Stags a victory against a side they'd usually beat. The bats were hotter than usual, with Tyron Porter getting a big hit to right-centre to drive a run in, but Brentwood couldn't convert everything and played against a gritty Croydon side, both teams enjoying the intensity of the fixture.
Final Score: Brentwood Stags 9 Croydon Pirates 10
Game Two vs Hertfordshire (combined)
Playing against their current nemeses, the Stags struggled immediately even though the loopy-lefty, John Oliver, wasn't on the mound. They managed hits and discipline at the plate but couldn't convert anything significant and it wasn't long before the ball went over the heads of the outfielders or past a sprawling infield. In the end the score reflected the way the two teams played, though perhaps it was harsh for there to have been such a difference as by now arms were tired and concentrations dwindling having played back-to-back for the best part of five hours after a good night's drinking.
Final Score: Brentwood Stags 4 Hertforshire 21
Game Three vs Medway Mariners
With 'Tricky' thingyy Gofton encouraged to umpire in the absence of an impartial observer or registered official, the Stags came up against a tall, strong, left-handed pitcher who was throwing hard and tight. Brentwood struggled to get a handle on him and, as Medway pulled away with another few big hits and good-looking small-ball on the back of some sloppy defensive work, it seemed always out of the Stags' reach. Sean Briscomb started for the Stags, who had one of two great catches by Chris Porter in the day to thank for bringing some positive entertainment to the game. The match was played quickly, but there was time to stop and savour Porter's attempt from the mound. He threw a number of great breaking pitches that messed up the Mariners' rhythm and offered an insight into what could be to come in the remainder of the season.
Final Score: Medway Mariners 13 Brentwood Stags 2
Game Four vs Bristol Badgers
Having missed the first day's play due to availability and with some of their team still stuck in traffic during the first game of the day, Bristol, who play in the AAA Division, wanted to prove that it was all for something. And they did, though not convincingly and against a Brentwood side that showed improvement just a little too late in the weekend. Though the Badgers' starting pitcher was dominant, because they'd only got the one game of value for the weekend positions were switched around with regularity and prevented the Stags getting accustomed to any one guy. In return, Sheldon Smith returned to the mound and showed much better consistency and amazing movement on all his pitches as he limited their illustrious opponents to the 7 runs, but unfortunately the bats wouldn't heat up for him. Michael Jones threw one inning of no-run ball to save Smith's arm at the end, saved by two fantastic plays by Porter (senior) and CJ Evans, but despite rallying in the later innings it didn't amass to a comeback and the Stags ended the weekend winless, like the previous month.
Final Score: Bristol Badgers 7 Brentwood Stags 4
While Brentwood will be annoyed at themselves not to have converted a great start against Croydon into a victory, they can't really be blamed for their other defeats and will probably feel, overall, a little frustrated they weren't given a chance to shine on one of the show diamonds. From the weekend they'll have enjoyed promise on the mound from Chris Porter and Michael Jones, and Sheldon Smith continued to impress with more control and purpose than has been seen in previous outings, while the ever-improving efforts of Dave Nixon and youngster Tyron Porter are good to see. Most of the errors can be attributed to alcohol, or at least most of them will be even without justification(!), but it was a friendly tournament and the Stags didn't take it as seriously as other sides, who used the weekend not as a chance to take a break from the competitive side of league baseball but more as a chance to showcase their talents to other teams and a couple of the Great Britain sides participating.
Richmond secured its second successive tournament victory, taking the main prize at the weekend, while Medway won the Frank Brady trophy.
- By Mike
