by A.P. Beauregard, www.namur-angels.be
Despite falling on the short end of both games of a weekend set with the Hoboken Pioneers on May 8th and 9th, losses which extended the Angels losing streak to four games, Namur (5-5 on the season) remained in fourth position in the standings looking ahead to a bye week where the Angels hope to regroup for their next match, the 22nd of May in Antwerp against the Royal Greys.
Game one in Namur was really a game of one inning. Riding five hits and four runs in the top half of the first, Hoboken’s 4-0 start out of the gate would be all they would need in a 4-1 victory. Despite throwing a complete game for the home team, including five consecutive 1-2-3 innings from the third through the seventh frame, Namur starter Shouta Ichinoseki was unable to compensate for the rocky beginning to his afternoon. More apt of a cause for defeat, perhaps, was the home team’s inability to muster much offense at the plate to support Ichinoseki’s strong performance from the second inning onward.
The Angels’ first hit of the game didn’t come until the bottom of the sixth, when Gracjan Kraszewski tripled to right-center (he would later score on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Thomas Vandenbeele), and for the entire game only two other players were able to reach base via hit; Vandenabeele (1-3) and shortstop Theodore De Bellefroid (1-4).
Pioneers starter Tom Lorrentop went seven strong innings in picking up the victory, while Dennis Ribbens and Randy Giorgiadis spearheaded the offense with two hits apiece.
Sunday’s game would feature more offense from both teams but end in similar fashion to the day before: a Pioneers’ victory, this time by a 9-2 margin.
Amongst the 15 hits registered by the home team, Hoboken was led by the 4-4 performance of center fielder Steven Delannoy and the 3-4 turned in by shortstop Dennis DeQuint. Dennis Ribbens, Kevin Verloet, and Sammy Lauwers each posted two hit games as well. Right-hander Terrence Antonacci came out the winning pitcher in a line that read: seven innings pitched, seven strikeouts, and zero walks.
Despite being the losing pitcher of record for visiting Namur, starter Cedric Desmedt registered six strikeouts over equal innings of work. Among the nine hits collected by Angels, Theodore De Bellefroid and Gracjan Kraszewski were both 2-4 on the day. Thomas Vandenabeele, Ronny Heymans, Nicolas Migeot, Adrien Geuquet, and Matthieu Deltombe contributed one base hit apiece.
{mrb-result:2010-05-08|2010-05-09|BE}
{mrb-standing:belgium-2010}