Muskets third in final weekend
Taunton Muskets came back from a nine run deficit to beat the Kent Buccaneers 18-17 and claim third place in the British Baseball Federation (BBF) single A national tournament at the weekend.
The Muskets scored 12 runs in the final two innings to claim an unlikely victory after an early blitz by the Kent side had left the south west team reeling.
“Once we were able to get our offense going and tightened up our fielding, we were able to compete and the nine runs in the final inning meant we were two runs up going into the last Kent at bat,” said Muskets player manager Kevin Snow. “Alastair Hutton pitched the final inning under great pressure to help us over the line.
“We had a fantastic weekend of baseball at Somerdale Pavilion and were able to pit our skills against some of the best teams in the country. We also want to thank Bristol Baseball Club for doing such a great job in hosting the finals and making us feel so welcome.”
The Kent Archers claimed the BBF single A championship in a thriller against the Brighton Jets.
The Jets pulled back a three run deficit to tie the scores at 8-8 at the bottom of the seventh inning before the Archers scored three in extra innings to claim the title.
“We couldn’t have wished for a better weekend to bring the finals of the 2020 open tournament to an end with two fabulous games of baseball,” said Gerry Perez, President of the BBF. “The teams and officials deserve a special thank you for the way they performed and Bristol Baseball Club did a fantastic job in hosting the two championship weekends and showing what baseball in the south west has to offer.”
On Saturday the four teams played the semi-finals. Brighton Jets beat Kent Buccaneers 10-5 while eventual champions Essex Archers beat Taunton Muskets 12-0.
“We have seen two wonderful weekends of top quality baseball here in the south west,” said Bristol Baseball Club chairman Richard Evans. “There were some fantastic matches and the weather was perfect.
“Thanks go to the BBF for letting us showcase what the club has to offer, to our members who turned out in droves to help prepare the field and also to the visiting teams who travelled long distances to compete for the trophies.”
Next Sunday Bristol Baseball Club are staging a charity day in honour of former player, Greg Roscow, who passed away earlier this year. Proceeds from the day will go to Mental Health UK.