Irish Baseball League result
Hurricanes 7 Northstars 5
Hurricanes move into the win column with victory in Belfast

The Dublin Hurricanes and Belfast Northstars met yesterday morning in an Irish League 'A' level encounter in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Game summary (click for larger version)

The Hurricanes have been going on Belfast road trips for a decade now and it seems like every time they travel the game is tight, exciting and come downs to the final few outs. This game was absolutely no different as the Northstars pushed the 'Canes all the way.

The Hurricanes travelled short handed with Steve Divito, Andy Martin, Tommy Hernandez, Woody Woodburn amongst several others in absence for the Dublin side. They did, however, welcome back veteran star Chris Foy, who returned from a long vacation for bring his own brand of energy to the game. Gordon Cuthbert started for the Northstars with Cormac Eklof taking the mound for the 'Canes, both pitchers kept the opposition off balance while the defences on both sides did their jobs. Rafael Diaz and Rich Meade made nice catches in the outfield for the 'Canes who had the Big Cat, Carlos Mellesecca back in their side manning first base.

The Hurricanes took a 4-2 lead before the Northstars fought back furiously to go in front 5-4. In the sixth inning Tom Kelley came to the plate and launched an absolute missile to left field for a solo shot home run to tie the game at 5. The Hurricanes would then take the lead in the seventh with some nice base running from Japanese import Shota Yoshida and Eric Valkys scored his third run of the game to give the canes a 7-5 lead they would not relinquish.

Another road trip to Belfast, another exciting, tight game and the Hurricanes will be happy to get their season kick started with the win.