Mister Baseball

by www.namur-angels.be

A week that began with a LFBBS Cup Title for Namur ended with the Angels on a four game slide after being swept for the second time this week. Namur dropped to fourth in the standings and is currently on a six-game losing streak within the league.

On Saturday at Namur, Mortsel whipped the Angels 13-2, while a pitcher’s duel on Sunday yielded a tight 3-2 Stars victory.

Saturday’s game began with Mortsel scoring two in the first on an RBI single and a groundout. In the second Namur managed to get on the board following a Ludovic Geuquet double. A groundout moved him to third and a wild pitch brought him home. In the fourth a home run put Mortsel up 3-1.

That was only a prelude to a disastrous fifth inning for Namur and their starter Adrien Stockart. Six Mortsel runners crossed the plate before an out was recorded. Eventually that number would reach ten, capped by a grand slam down the left field line. In the fifth inning the Stars used eight hits, a walk, and three Namur errors to put the game out of reach. Namur managed to get one back in the seventh on a Philip Van Woensel double and Juny Gressman single, but that only made the final score slightly better at 13-2.

Namur again continued their recent struggles at the plate, managing only five hits via Van Woensel, Morgan Brown, Gressman, and a pair by Geuquet. Van Woensel and Caleb Calarco also walked twice each.

Sunday was a better baseball game with Namur’s Erik Hufnagel locking up with Mortsel’s Michael Hamerlink in a duel of Americans. Both pitchers worked complete games and recorded 14 strikeouts each as only one batter for each team avoided striking out.

Mortsel got out early to a 2-0 lead in the second inning starting with a strikeout of the first batter that turned sour when the ball got away on the third strike and allowed the runner to reach. After a strikeout, a walk moved runners to first and second before the third strikeout of the inning (but only the second out). A single loaded the bases before another single drove home two.

In the top of the next inning the Angels countered with a single run of their own. Van Woensel kicked it off with a single to center and then stole second. Brown lined a single to center that Van Woensel had to hold up on leaving runners on the corners. Gressman then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field.

The K’s kept coming on both sides, knocking down batters in bunches. In the fifth, the Stars plated the eventual winning run with two outs. Following a pair of strikeouts by Hufnagel, Mortsel managed three consecutive hits to plate the third run. In the seventh they threatened again, but the 14th and final strikeout by Hufnagel left the bases loaded.

In the ninth, the Angels showed some life again. Geuquet led off with a walk and Florian Lekeu laced a single down the line and off the third baseman’s glove. A foul popup brought Stockart to the plate. He grounded into a fielder’s choice that forced Lekeu, but brought Geuquet home. That was it for Namur however and the comeback was finished.

Namur again was anemic at the plate, finishing with just four hits while striking out 14 times. Van Woensel had a pair of hits and a walk while Brown and Lekeu added the other two.

Namur tries to right the ship next weekend against the Brasschaat Braves.

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