Recap of Namur Angels against Mortsel Stars, April 12:
Adrien Stockart´s sacrifice fly in the 9th inning plated Ronny Heymans with the eventually winning run after Cedric Nauts held on with the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning to seal the win for NAMUR.
After scoring once in the first inning, NAMUR saw that eclipsed by two MORTSEL runners crossing the plate in their half of the inning. The game would be let by MORTSEL or tied the rest of the way until the ANGELS scored three times in the top of the 9th without the benefit of a hit to win.
Rain played havoc with the weekend scheduling again as the Sunday rematch was washed out and postponed until early May.
NAMUR got a second solid start from Caleb Calarco who held MORTSEL to only four hits over seven innings while recording three walks and three strikeouts.
Both teams committed their share of mistakes, and as is inevitable in baseball, these mistakes were generally the catalysts to big innings on both sides.
In the first NAMUR broke out on top after an error allowed Calarco to reach and three consecutive hit batters (Juny Gressman, Morgan Brown, and Heymans) forced a run home.
MORTSEL doubled that score with one run coming home on a chopped grounder that took a high hop into the outfield, and a second run scoring on a double-play groundout.
In the second another MORTSEL run scored with two-out when NAMUR tried to gun down a MORTSEL runner attempting to steal second but the throw sailed into center field. Another run came home in the third on a sacrifice fly that NAMUR turned into a double play when NAMUR redirecting their relay throws to cut a MORTSEL runner down at third base trying to advance.
In the fourth a lead off walk to Heymans followed by another hit batsman and a misplay by the MORTSEL pitcher of an Adrien Geuquet sacrifice bunt lead to a second NAMUR run scoring without the benefit of a hit.
In the sixth the bats finally got involved as Xavier Pierreux scored on a hard single up the middle from Ludovic Geuquet after Stockart had moved runners along with a sacrifice bunt and a walk to Philip van Woensel had loaded the bases. An error by the third baseman allowed Adrien Geuquet to come home with the fourth NAMUR run.
The STARS got back on the board in the 8th against Nauts using a hit batsman, an error, a sacrifice bunt, a balk, and a sacrifice fly to plate two more and give NAMUR a steep hill to climb in the 9th.
NAMUR responded with three runs all scored with one out. Two consecutive MORTSEL errors allowed Gressman and Brown to reach again while a walk to Heymans put him on base for the fourth time. A walk to Pierreux plated Gressman while Nauts helped his own cause by picking up an RBI when he was drilled in the back and Brown crossed the plate. Stockart executed his second sacrifice of the day by lofting a fly ball to right and Heymans slid under the MORTSEL tag to put NAMUR ahead by the final margin.
In the bottom of the last frame the STARS loaded the bases, by Nauts escaped by getting MORTSEL´s cleanup hitter to fly to left where Gressman made a great running catch over his shoulder to close the book.
NAMUR takes on the defending champion MERKSEM ROYAL GREYS of Antwerp next weekend.
Other results of the Belgian First Division of last weekend:
{mrb-result:2008-04-12|2008-04-13|BE}