Mister Baseball

by Henry Perkins, www.namur-angels.be

Late Inning Heroics Propel Angels

On Saturday the Namur Angels faced off against their closest competitor in the league standings, the Hoboken Pioneers, in what turned out to be a very exciting and hard fought contest. With their twelve-game winning streak on the line, the Angels sent right hander Zachary Potter to battle the Pioneers’ lineup.

Both Namur and Hoboken were held scoreless for the first three frames, as starter TJ Hendricks of the Pioneers and Potter of the Angels stymied their respective opponent’s bats. In the top of the fourth the Pioneers struck first as the inning started when Zachary Potter struck out the inning’s leadoff man Geoffrey Kenis, but Kenis was able to take first on a passed ball after fanning on the third strike. The next batter, Kenny Vandenbranden, singled to left giving Hoboken runners on first and second with no outs. Kenis and Vandenbranden came around to score on three passed balls before an out was recorded, giving the Pioneers 2-0 lead when the half inning concluded.

With their two run lead still intact the Pioneers’ bats went back to work in the top of the fifth. After a lead of strike out, Pioneers’ center fielder Steven Delannoy reached on an infield single. Delannoy wasted no time on the base paths and quickly stole second and then third base. The next batter, second baseman Dennis Ribbens, reached on a bunt single that plated Delannoy and gave Hoboken a 3-0 lead. Angels’ pitcher Zachary Potter worked out of the jam after allowing just one run, which ended up being the Pioneers’ final tally on the afternoon.

Down by three, Namur finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. After the first two batters of the inning were retired shortstop Henry Perkins reached first on a fielding error by Hoboken’s short stop. Perkins then stole second, which gave the Angels a runner in scoring position with two outs. Angels’ third baseman Vincent King then lined a single into left field and Perkins came around to score from second and after six full innings of play the Angels trailed 3-1.

After a Hoboken pitching change, with the score the same in the bottom of the eighth it was King again who answered the call for Namur. Again with two outs, the Angels’ third baseman blasted a two-run homer that brought around Philip Van Woensel, who had reached base on a double, and tied the game at three. With the score locked at three extra innings were required and play continued on into the bottom of the eleventh.

Leading off the inning, Angels’ shortstop Henry Perkins faced off against Hoboken’s closer Terrence Antonacci. On the second pitch of the at bat Perkins lifted a towering home run over the left field fence, finally ending the extra inning affair. Greeted by his teammates at the plate, Perkins’ run sealed the score at 4-3.

Angels’ starting pitcher Zachary Potter went the distance; pitching eleven innings and notching 15 strikeouts on the way to the win. Pioneers’ starter TJ Hendricks pitched brilliantly as well, striking out eleven over seven innings of work.

Offensively the Angels were led by King and Perkins who each had two hits and accounted for all the RBIs on the afternoon, three of which came from King. Steven Delannoy led the Pioneers at the plate with two hits, three stolen bases and a run scored.

Angels’ Streak Snapped

After a thrilling extra innings game the day before, the Namur Angels traveled to Hoboken to take on the Pioneers in the final game of the weekend set.  After a late start due to rain and poor field conditions, game two of the series turned out to be just as down to the wire as Saturday’s affair.

The Angels scored first in Sunday’s game when first baseman Thomas Vandenabeele led the inning off with a walk.  Adrien Geuquet then moved the runner to second on a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt.  After an error by Hoboken’s right fielder, Namur’s catcher Ronny Heymans drove in Vandenabeele from third base and gave the Angel’s 1-0 lead.

This score was short-lived as the Pioneers came back to even things up in the bottom half of the same frame.  Sammy Lauwers singled to right with one out to get things started for Hoboken.  He quickly advanced to second on a wild pitch and with two outs scored on a Dennis Ribbens single to center.

The Angels reclaimed the lead in the top of the fourth when second baseman Jerome Sana scored, but again the Pioneers answered back in the very same inning.  Down 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth Dennis De Quint led the inning off with a single to center.  The next batter, Geoffrey Kenis, doubled to right center giving Hoboken runners at second and third with no outs.  Johnny Peerens drove in De Quint on a groundout to shortstop and DH Marc Janssen singled home Kenis.  When the inning ended the Pioneers had taken the lead with a score of 3-2.

The Angels quickly answered in the top of the fifth when led off man Philip Van Woensel ripped a double down the left field line.  The next Angels’ batter, Ronny Heymans, singled to left and Namur had runners at the corners with no outs.  Angels’ shortstop Henry Perkins then plated Van Woensel on a sacrifice fly to center and tied the game at three all.

The score stayed at 3-3 until the bottom of the ninth when the Pioneers were able to push across the final run of the afternoon.  With starter Harold Gerard out, the Angels sent stalwart reliever Nicolas Migeot to the mound.  The inning started with two quick outs, but turned sour after a walk to Nicky Mertens.  The next batter hit a come-backer to the mound that was misplayed and extended the inning even further.  With runners at the corners and two outs the Angels elected to walk Steven Delannoy to load the bases.  The next batter, Dennis Ribbens, stroked a two out single that scored Mertens and ended the game at 4-3 in favor of the Pioneers.

For the Angels, lefty Harold Gerard worked seven innings and surrendered three runs while striking out two.  Hoboken’s starter Kenny Vandenbranden pitched the full nine innings on the way to the win and had eleven K’s.

	Time	Home	Visitor	Result
Saturday, June 06 2009
	15:30	Port of Antwerp Greys	The Merchtem Cats	11:00
	15:30	Brasschaat Braves	K. Mortsel Stars	12:02
	15:30	Namur Angels	Hoboken Pioneers	04:03
	15:30	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	Brussels Kangaroos	03:06
Sunday, June 07 2009
	15:30	Hoboken Pioneers	Namur Angels	04:03
	15:30	The Merchtem Cats	Port of Antwerp Greys	00:14
	15:30	K. Mortsel Stars	Brasschaat Braves	05:09
	15:30	Brussels Kangaroos	K. Borgerhout Squirrels	05:15

Standings