by Namur Angels, www.namur-angels.be
Stars top Angels in Slugfest
The Namur Angels once again had a big offensive game Saturday (7.5.11), but came up short to the Mortsel Stars 10-9 in10 innings.
Young Gun Thomas Vandenabeele had a career day with 5 hits, and only came up a homerun shy of hitting for the cycle.
“I feel really comfortable at the plate, right now,” noted Vandenabeele after the game. “I’ve been seeing a lot of pitches and am able to take pitchers deep in the count until I get something I can hit.”
Vincent King and Mike Perkins added to the staggering hit total by each contributing 3 for 5 days at the plate. The first three hitters in the lineup for the Angels combined for 11 hits Saturday, going a combined 11 for 16 in the game.
Still, the Angels were not able to top the Mortsel Stars, who scored in nearly every inning in the game to accumulate double-digit runs. Veteran pitcher Boulet Diaz Nguyen showed incredible stamina, throwing all 10 innings of the game for a complete game win.
Nguyen ousted the Angels counterpart, Justin Latta, who went 7 innings and allowed 9 runs on 8 hits while striking out 6. Defense once again plagued Latta’s outing, as most runs he allowed were unearned.
The Angels had an opportunity to seal the victory in the bottom of the ninth inning, but a squeeze bunt attempt by shortstop Theo De Bellefroid with the bases loaded proved unsuccessful and forced the game to continue into extra innings.
Nicolas Migeot suffered the loss but threw three strong innings in relief while striking out 3 and not allowing a hit. The unearned run in the 10th that proved to be the deciding factor in the game was scored on a groundball to first after a string of consecutive infield errors by Namur.
The Angels look to bounce back Sunday when they take on the Stars in Antwerp. A win for Namur would put them back at .500 on the season, along with giving them their third consecutive split weekend series.
Angels win another nail-biter to even series against Mortsel
Right from the start, the Angels offense much more agressive than 24 hours earlier, was getting things going with a leadoff hit from Thomas Vandenabeele followed by a double by Vincent King.
A groundout by catcher Mike Perkins then plated Vandenabeele for the 1st run.
A batter later, a good play by Stars’ pitcher Christophe Van Braeken prevented King to score the second run of the game for the 2nd out of the inning. Angel Williams Rosario who reached base on a fielder’s choice took advantage of a miscue from Mortsel’s left fielder to score after a solid contact by shortstop Théodore de Bellefroid.
The Angels would never look back as pitcher Cedric Desmedt delivered once again. (9 IP, 7 hits, 3 BB, 6 K).
In the 3rd inning, things started to look even better for the Southern squad as Vandenabeele reached once again on a lead-off hit. Two outs later, Rosario was ripping a liner in left-centerfield allowing the 17 year old lead-off hitter to add a run on the board (0-3)
But after 3 perfect innings by Desmedt, Mortsel started to put more pressure, loading the bases on 2 hits and a walk. Stars’ lead-off man Sabastiaan Van Desompele scored on a single by his brother Cedric van Desompele and it took a great diving effort by 3rd baseman Jérôme Sana to catch a fly ball in foul territory and timely strikeout by Desmedt to limit the damage (1-3)
Vandenabeele responded right away with his 3rd hit of the game. Back to back singles by King and Perkins were bringing Vandenabeele in for the Angels’ 4th run.
In the 6th frame however, Mortsel really made a statement about their intentions of not surrendering. Boulet Diaz Nguyen, the hero of game 1, was reaching base on an error before the thunder struck in the shape of an inside the park homerun by clean-up hitter Cedric Vandesompele who scored on a bang-bang play, bringing the score at 3-4 as well as the home dugout and fans back to life.
In the top of the ninth, Perkins gave little cushion to his battery-mate. A leadoff hit and 2 swiped bags opened the door for Rosario to pick up a second RBI single of the day.
But again, Mortsel wasn’t giving up. Kevin Vandeperre hit a ball down the left field corner good for a leadoff triple. After a ground ball for the 1st out, veteran catcher Alain Meseure was reaching base on a walk. With runners at the corners and the top 2 hitters up , Desmedt was putting an exclamation point to his performance with a strike-out and a final ground out.
For the Stars, 3rd baseman Cedric Vandesompele led the charge with a homerun, 3 RBIs and 1 runs scored.
Four Angel hitters enjoyed a multi-hit game. Vandenabeele (4/5, 3R, 1 SB), Perkins (3/5, 1 R, 1 RBI, 3 SB), Rosario (2/5, 2 RBI) and King (2/5).
Namur (5-5) remains in 4th place and will face their nemesis, the last place Merchtem Cats (2-8) next weekend to try to climb over the 0.500 mark.
{mrb-result:2011-05-07|2011-05-08|BE}
{mrb-standing:belgium-2011}