Weekend Irish League roundup
May 19th and 20th
A busy, exciting weekend in the Irish League with the Spartans taking on the Greystones Mariners and the Dublin Hurricanes taking on the Blacksox.
A level game
Dublin Hurricanes 6 Blacksox 13
With four games gone the Hurricanes have now managed to dig themselves a hole, one they can get out of but one they are going to have to work their socks off to do so. On the bright side, the Hurricanes are definitely a late-season team, often rounding into shape in June/July. Sunday, in part one of a two part 'A' and 'B' level split double header, the Hurricanes went back and forth with the Blacksox until the 5th inning when the Blacksox went ahead for good.
After a solid opening couple of innings, the game turned into yet another shaky start by starter Cormac Eklof. The Blacksox built up a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth on the back of a few bloops combined with some good situational hitting however the Hurricanes fought back ferociously in the bottom of the frame to tie the score up at 5-5. With the bases loaded and two away Tom Kelley launched a stinging drive to left field that looked like trouble, however hung up just long enough for the left fielder to make the catch and end the inning. If that had found the fence, and it was only a few feet away, the game might have been completely different.
Instead Eklof committed the cardinal sin of allowing the Blacksox to take the momentum back in the top of the fifth allowing 3 runs to score putting the Hurricanes in a hole they could not drag themselves out of this time. Niall Rowen pitched the entire game for the Blacksox and finished very strong after that shaky fourth inning, shutting any further Hurricanes rallys down without further damage. The Blacksox also did what was needed in the infield with Russ Manning in particular playing a very solid game with the glove.
For the Hurricanes, Daisuke Inoue played well in the outfield and Rich Meade and Raphael Diaz had great at bats in the midst of the four run outburst in the fifth inning. The 'Canes now need to buckle down and ring up a string of victories to get their season back on track. Plus they need Chris Foy, Gordon Ireland and Garrett Pearse back to bring some of that good Mojo back to their game.
A level game
Greystones 4 Dublin Spartans 10
Match report by Darran O'Connor (Dublin Spartans)
''The Spartans returned to action this weekend after a break for the Corkagh Park Annual Youth Tournament and travelled to Shankill to face the Greystones' Mariners. This is the second meeting this season of these two clubs. In their previous encounter, the Spartans took the A game but failed in the B game. The Spartans were fired up for this rematch and showed it by scoring 10 runs off 17 hits. Defensively, the Spartans were not at full strength and the Mariners took advantage of this whenever they could. Fortunately, they left too many runners on base and amassed only 4 runs. The Spartans A stretch their unbeaten streak to 4.''
B level game
Dublin Hurricanes v Blacksox
Dublin Hurricanes 'B' 10 Blacksox 'B' 6
The Hurricanes 'B' got their season kick started with a good win over a Blacksox 'B' side littered with 'A' level players in the heart of its order. The Hurricanes countered this by sending Japanese rookie Daisuke Inoue to the mound. After a somewhat shaky start Daisuke shut the game down with a hard fastball and dazzling changeup. Even with so many 'A' level players in their lineup the Blacksox 'B' had no answer for the young stars power pitching as Daisuke notched up several strikeouts in a complete game victory.
Daisuke, Kaxuma Ogata and Shota Yoshida all had big hits for the Hurricanes and caused havoc on the basepaths. They stole so many bases that it eventually got into Irish League veteran Glen Poor's head. At one stage, with Daisuke on first base after a beautiful bunt single, Glen threw over to first base a mind boggling eight times in the course of one at bat.
So the Hurricanes 'B' kick start their 2007 season over the Blacksox with a 10-6 win paced by the excellent pitching of young Japanese star Daisuke Matsuzaka, I mean, Inoue!
'B' level game
Greystones B v Spartans B
Greystones 11 Spartans 6
Match report by Darran O'Connor (Dublin Spartans)
''In the B fixture, even with a number of A team players taking the field, the Spartans failed to mount a decent attack and scored 6 runs off just 2 hits. The Mariners once again took advantage of errors in the field and drove in 11. The Spartans can take some positives from the game, notably the performance of Irish National team veteran Noel Mitchell who pitched and entire game and a solid performance behind the dish by Canadian Kevin Sisel.''
Links:
If you would like to get involved with Baseball Ireland at any level, Adult or Youth, or would like to support the game in Ireland, please refer to this link.
May 19th and 20th
A busy, exciting weekend in the Irish League with the Spartans taking on the Greystones Mariners and the Dublin Hurricanes taking on the Blacksox.
A level game
Dublin Hurricanes 6 Blacksox 13
With four games gone the Hurricanes have now managed to dig themselves a hole, one they can get out of but one they are going to have to work their socks off to do so. On the bright side, the Hurricanes are definitely a late-season team, often rounding into shape in June/July. Sunday, in part one of a two part 'A' and 'B' level split double header, the Hurricanes went back and forth with the Blacksox until the 5th inning when the Blacksox went ahead for good.
After a solid opening couple of innings, the game turned into yet another shaky start by starter Cormac Eklof. The Blacksox built up a 5-1 lead in the top of the fourth on the back of a few bloops combined with some good situational hitting however the Hurricanes fought back ferociously in the bottom of the frame to tie the score up at 5-5. With the bases loaded and two away Tom Kelley launched a stinging drive to left field that looked like trouble, however hung up just long enough for the left fielder to make the catch and end the inning. If that had found the fence, and it was only a few feet away, the game might have been completely different.
Instead Eklof committed the cardinal sin of allowing the Blacksox to take the momentum back in the top of the fifth allowing 3 runs to score putting the Hurricanes in a hole they could not drag themselves out of this time. Niall Rowen pitched the entire game for the Blacksox and finished very strong after that shaky fourth inning, shutting any further Hurricanes rallys down without further damage. The Blacksox also did what was needed in the infield with Russ Manning in particular playing a very solid game with the glove.
For the Hurricanes, Daisuke Inoue played well in the outfield and Rich Meade and Raphael Diaz had great at bats in the midst of the four run outburst in the fifth inning. The 'Canes now need to buckle down and ring up a string of victories to get their season back on track. Plus they need Chris Foy, Gordon Ireland and Garrett Pearse back to bring some of that good Mojo back to their game.
A level game
Greystones 4 Dublin Spartans 10
Match report by Darran O'Connor (Dublin Spartans)
''The Spartans returned to action this weekend after a break for the Corkagh Park Annual Youth Tournament and travelled to Shankill to face the Greystones' Mariners. This is the second meeting this season of these two clubs. In their previous encounter, the Spartans took the A game but failed in the B game. The Spartans were fired up for this rematch and showed it by scoring 10 runs off 17 hits. Defensively, the Spartans were not at full strength and the Mariners took advantage of this whenever they could. Fortunately, they left too many runners on base and amassed only 4 runs. The Spartans A stretch their unbeaten streak to 4.''
2007 Irish League 'A' Level standings correct to 21st May
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | W/O | Points |
| A League | |||||
| Black Sox | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 17 |
| Spartans | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Northstars | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Mariners | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Hurricanes | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| Twins | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
B level game
Dublin Hurricanes v Blacksox
Dublin Hurricanes 'B' 10 Blacksox 'B' 6
The Hurricanes 'B' got their season kick started with a good win over a Blacksox 'B' side littered with 'A' level players in the heart of its order. The Hurricanes countered this by sending Japanese rookie Daisuke Inoue to the mound. After a somewhat shaky start Daisuke shut the game down with a hard fastball and dazzling changeup. Even with so many 'A' level players in their lineup the Blacksox 'B' had no answer for the young stars power pitching as Daisuke notched up several strikeouts in a complete game victory.
Daisuke, Kaxuma Ogata and Shota Yoshida all had big hits for the Hurricanes and caused havoc on the basepaths. They stole so many bases that it eventually got into Irish League veteran Glen Poor's head. At one stage, with Daisuke on first base after a beautiful bunt single, Glen threw over to first base a mind boggling eight times in the course of one at bat.
So the Hurricanes 'B' kick start their 2007 season over the Blacksox with a 10-6 win paced by the excellent pitching of young Japanese star Daisuke Matsuzaka, I mean, Inoue!
'B' level game
Greystones B v Spartans B
Greystones 11 Spartans 6
Match report by Darran O'Connor (Dublin Spartans)
''In the B fixture, even with a number of A team players taking the field, the Spartans failed to mount a decent attack and scored 6 runs off just 2 hits. The Mariners once again took advantage of errors in the field and drove in 11. The Spartans can take some positives from the game, notably the performance of Irish National team veteran Noel Mitchell who pitched and entire game and a solid performance behind the dish by Canadian Kevin Sisel.''
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | W/O | Points |
| B League | |||||
| Mariners | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Spartans | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Hurricanes | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Black Sox | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Links:
- Everything you needed to know about Baseball Ireland
- The 2007 Irish League preview
- The opening weekend review
If you would like to get involved with Baseball Ireland at any level, Adult or Youth, or would like to support the game in Ireland, please refer to this link.
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