by www.baseballeurope.com
The Mellieha Northenders Reflections Sports Bar & Grill were crowned Malta baseball champions last weekend, winning their eleventh title, and seventh in the last eight seasons. The Northenders swept the series, however a persistent Mustangs ball club didn’t make it easy for Mellieha.
Game 1 of the Championship Series brought back some fond memories to Maltese baseball fans, as both Charles Attard and Keith Bartolo were given the ball to battle out each other in yet another playoff game. The two pitchers faced each other several times during the playoffs between 2002-2007, and both won their fair amount of championships thanks to their fastballs and command. Both pitchers kept the opposing teams off balance all game long. Mustangs’ first baseman Patrick Pace gave the Mustangs the lead in the first inning, with a long two-run home run over the left field fence. The Mustangs scored another run in the second inning, extending the lead to three. Mellieha however caught up with Attard’s pitching in third, scoring in three runs to tie the ballgame at three apiece. Mellieha then took advantage of the Mustangs’ relief pitching, scoring in three more runs in the top of the seventh, taking a 6-3 lead. Mellieha pulled Bartolo off the mound in the bottom of the seventh, relying on their relief pitchers to close the game for the Northenders. The Mustangs managed to score two runs, and put the tying and winning run into scoring position with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. A wild pitch basically ended the game, as catcher Marlon Borg was quick in throwing out the tying run at the plate, for a 6-5 victory, and Game 1 in the sack.
Game 2 was played the very next day, with the Mustangs needing to win in order to force a Game 3. The Mustangs took full advantage of pitching wildness in the first, scoring in five runs to take a 5-0 lead. However, these were the only runs that the Mustangs would score on that day, as Marlon Borg came in as a relief pitcher in the top of the second, and shut down the offense completely, dominating for six innings. Mellieha slowly ate up the Mustangs’ lead, scoring timely runs off Mustangs’ starter Kevin Spiteri through the course of the game. In the fourth inning, Bartolo ignited an offensive spark for the Northenders, as he drove in three runs with one swing, hitting a home run in left-center field. The Northenders scored in another run to tie the game 5-5. In the bottom of the sixth, Mellieha managed some timely hits to score in two runs to give them the lead. With the tying run in scoring position, Borg managed to battle out the Mustangs’ offense, to give Mellieha the championship.
After the 7-5 victory in Game 2, the Malta Baseball & Softball Association’s president, Mario Debono, presented the trophy to the Mellieha Northenders.