Seniors > Summer > GBL A Grade
Surfers Streak Stops at Seven
The Surfers Bluewave, currently in first place on the Greater Brisbane League Major A ladder, faced off against the Windsor Royals Friday night riding the crest of a seven game winning streak. The game was an epic pitcher’s duel, with plenty of strikeouts being notched up by both Surfers pitcher Aaron Thompson (10 K’s) and Windsor’s Justin Staatz (12 K’s). There weren’t too many runners reaching base, but the Royals took advantage of two hits strung together in the fourth inning and were able to scratch out the only run of the night and win the game 1-Nil.
In the second game of the series on Sunday, the two teams were once again very evenly matched. Rhys Niit put in a good 6 innings on the mound, notching up 8 K’s and only 5 hits, but the 3 runs allowed were equal to the runs scored by the Bluewave. In the seventh the Royals pulled out the big gun of Ryan Searle (CHC) and he held the guys scoreless for 4 innings. In the bottom of the 10 the Royals put runners on base, and it was left to newcomer Daniel Mraz to keep them there, but big-hitting Ryan “Boof” Battaglia launched a bomb over the left field fence and it was all over.
The news was better for the B grade side, having held off the Royals’ late innings rally to secure the win 8-6 and reverse the recent run of two straight losses. A win next Sunday would take the guys to second on the ladder, and give the team some momentum to finish the year out with another win and a 66.6% Win ratio.
The Bluewave A grade are shaping up to be real contenders this season, with a team batting average of .270 against a .198 opponent’s batting average, and 119 runs scored against opponent’s 68. This is no mean feat when one considers the make-up of the team, having lost Surfers stalwarts Adam Wardrop and Ben Foster, and sporting a large number of players still in the junior ranks (Chappell, Wesener, Hillier, Lyon, Ueda, Egan, Meagher, and others). The signs are promising for many successful seasons to come.
The team will head up to Redcliffe this week to meet the Padres for their next 2-game series, and with the friars sitting low on the ladder, it could be a good chance to consolidate the top spot – weather permitting, of course!
Link to A-grade results & stats