by Mike Perkins, www.namur-angels.be
It was a hot and humid Saturday afternoon (23.4.2011) when the Namur Angels traveled to Antwerp to take on the Deurne Spartans. The Angels were fresh off a two game sweep of the Brasschaat Braves last weekend, and were looking to continue their hot play on the road.
Things got off to a good start for the Angels when American import Michael Perkins hit a 1-1 fastball deep to right-center in the first inning. The solo shot was Perkins’ first homerun of the season. Perkins added an RBI single in his next trip to the plate, scoring outfielder Thomas Vandenabeele. The Spartans, however, answered back, plating runners off of starter Justin Latta in two of the next three innings. Defense was sloppy early for Namur, as a string of consecutive infield errors led to unearned runs in the first and third innings.
The Angel’s offense was held in check by a strong performance by Spartan starter Daivis Burguillos. Venezuelan born Burguillos dominated Namur hitters through the first six innings, relying primarily on an overpowering fastball to befuddle the Angels. He accumulated an astonishing 11 strikeouts through 6 innings of work (3 runs).
Latta matched with a strong outing of his own, going 7 innings and allowing 6 runs (4 earned) while striking out 6. The Angels managed to produce 3 runs in the top of the seventh inning when Vincent King, Nicolas Migeot, and Ludovic Geuquet all drove in runners with infield singles.
The lead wouldn’t last, though, because Spartan clean-up hitter Alexis Marquez drove in three runs in the following 2 innings. The Spartans took their newly acquired 6-5 lead into the 8th, and relief pitcher Ayker Cardenas slammed the door on the Angels, finishing in a disappointing 6-5 loss for Namur.
After a disappointing loss Saturday, the visiting Deurne Spartans traveled to Namur Sunday (24.4.11) to take on the Angels in the final game of a two-day set.
After mustering up only a handful of hits the previous day, the Angels offense exploded Sunday, putting up 13 hits in the game. Shortstop Theo De Bellefroid and first baseman Ludovic Geoquet led the effort, each collecting three hits in the game. De Bellefroid had 2RBIs, 2 runs, and a stolen base, while Ludovic Geuquet had a perfect day, going 3-3 with a run scored.
Namur flexed its muscle in the 7th when catcher Mike Perkins hit a three-run homerun to right field. The homer was his second in as many days and gave the Angels a comfortable lead in an otherwise tough pitching matchup against Spartan pitcher Sharlon Le Backs.
The biggest story of the day was the pitching performance by Angel’s Cedric Desmedt. Desmedt allowed an unearned run in the first inning, but was lights out the remainder of the game. He masterfully combined a heavy fastball, slider, changeup, and splitter to confuse Spartan hitters, resulting in frequent 1-2-3 innings throughout the game.
“I just had everything working today,” noted Desmedt after the game, “I got ahead of the hitters and used all of my pitches to get them out.”
And “Get them out” he did, as Desmedt cruised through all 9 innings for his first complete game of the year. He allowed only 4 hits in the effort, while fanning an impressive 10 batters. Desmedt’s performance was supplemented by a strong defensive game by the Angels, who only committed a single error in the game.
Other standouts that contributed to Namur’s 9-1 victory Sunday were Rosario Angel Williams (2-5, 1RBI, 2 runs), Jerome Sana (1-5, RBI double), and Adrien Geuquet (1-1, run scored).
Follow the Angels next weekend as they look to climb over .500 for the first time this season. Namur takes on rival Hoboken Pioneers at home next Saturday at 15:30.
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Photo: © Namur Angels