BaseballMK swept by Maple Leafs

A double header against the top of the table Maple Leafs was what awaited the BaseballMK Hurricanes as they rolled into Marston Green on Sunday 30th July. It was a challenge that the Hurricanes clearly relished, as they fired out the blocks with six runs in the first inning of the first game, clutch hits from Darrin Ward and Nick Marxsen driving in runs. Over the next couple of innings the game ebbed to and fro. In the third the MK team rallied for another four runs, Nick Marxsen again driving in runs with a well hit double. By the fourth both teams had turned to new pitchers, but the contest remained finely balanced with both teams scoring occasional runs. By the end of seven the teams had battled to a draw, so the game moved on to extra innings. Both teams left runners in scoring position in the eighth. In the ninth a couple of hits by Darrin Ward and Graham Crabb meant MK had moved runners round to second and third with only one out. However they could not find the clutch hit to bring the runners across the plate. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, the Maple Leafs found a clutch hit in the bottom of the ninth to win the contest by one, 16 to 15.

In the second game of the double header the Hurricanes again jumped out early, Graham Crabb and Darrin Ward delivering doubles in the first, but with pitching depleted by the lengthy first contest the Hurricanes eventually succumbed by a score of 17 to 3.