by Michael Perkins, Namur Angels, www.namur-angels.be
Game 1: Rosario homers: Offense Powers Namur to First Win of Season
The Namur Angels got their first win of the season Saturday afternoon (16.4.2011), beating the Brasschaat Braves 10-2 in Antwerp. The Angels had been struggling offensively entering the game, and had only managed to score 6 runs combined during their 2 game series with Borgerhout last weekend.
The Angels’ offensive woes continued into Saturday’s game; Braves pitcher Henry Ulysses Roque held Namur scoreless through the first 5 innings. Lightning struck in the sixth when slugger Rosario Angel Williams singled home Thomas Vandenabeele for the Angel’s first run of the game. Namur plated the next three runners with a bases-loaded walk drawn by Nicolas Migeot and a clutch 2-run single by Vincent King. King was 3-5 on the day, with 2 RBIs and 1 run scored.
Rosario struck again in the seventh when he clobbered a fastball from Braves pitcher Jordy Van Den Heuvel into the trees in right-center field. The 3-run blast was Namur’s first homerun of the year, and it plated shortstop Theo De Bellefroid and catcher Michael Perkins. Perkins was 1-3 with three runs scored in the game.
On the pitching side, Justin Latta dominated the Braves for 7 innings, combining an overpowering fastball with a sharp slider. The only runs the Braves could muster were produced in the second inning, when Sim Ruts and Alberto Valerio passed home due to Namur errors and a passed ball. Latta settled down afterwards, posting scoreless frames through the next 5 innings while striking out 10.
Nicolas Migeot supplemented his 2-hit performance at the plate with 2 scoreless innings in relief of Latta. Migeot threw the eigth and ninth innings, allowing only 2 hits. The game concluded when Migeot struck out Braves’ leadoff man Rafael Garcia Duran, solidifying the Angels with their first win of the season.
Game 2: Desmedt Shuts Down Braves
Namur Angel’s Cedric Desmedt was brilliant on the mound Sunday (4.17.11), going seven strong innings against the visiting Brasschaat Braves. Desmedt carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, while striking out 5 and allowing no runs. Desmedt’s effort was enough to earn him his first win of the year, as the Angels outlasted the Braves 7-4.
Cedric Desmedt relied mainly on a strong fastball to overpower the Braves hitters. His outing was supplemented by relief efforts from Thomas Vandenabeele and Cedric Nauts, who combined to throw the remaining two innings. Nauts received his first save of the season in the game.
Offensively, the Angels were held in check by a strong outing by Braves pitcher Wesley Verelst. Verelst had a shutout into the fifth before Vandenabeele lined a bases-loaded fastball to right, scoring Jerome Sana and Nauts for the first runs of the game. The Angels added another run in the following inning when Sana hit a sacrifice fly ball to center, scoring catcher Michael Perkins.
Namur tacked on even more runs in the seventh when shortstop Theo De Bellefroid doubled in three more runners. The Angels carried the 7-0 score into the 8th inning, and managed to outlast a Brasschaat offensive surge to sweep the Braves and even their record at 2-2.
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Photo: (c) Oliver Rickwell, Namur Angels