by Nico Van Bedaf, Mortsel Stars, www.mortselstars.be
On Saturday the Stars were in pursuit early, as the Spartans took a 0-1 lead. This situation took a turn in the 3rd inning, with some help of the Spartans’ center fielder. Rafael Duran Garcia got on base with a hit, and the fly ball of next batter Kevin Vandeperre was nonchalantly missed. Nguyen ‘Papi’ Boulet pitched for the Stars and never really had any trouble due to a decent defensive field. A hit by Christophe Van Braecken, an error on Alain Meseure plus base-on-balls for Lieven Buerms loaded the bases in the 4th. The first “balk” by the Spartans pitcher put a 2-1 lead on the board. Sebas Vandesompele hit a standup triple to a 4-1, and a second “balk” brought in the 5th run for Mortsel.
In the 5th another run was added due to 2 base-on-balls, a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly by Nguyen Boulet. The Deurne defense got into trouble even more, and a combination of several base-on-balls, an error, and a hit by Sebas Vandesompele made a 9-1 score. A triple by Rafael Duran Garcia brought in the 10th run for the Stars, and a crushed ball by Papi in center field was enough to make the loaded bases turn and score the game ending run after 7 innings. Final score 11-1.
The Spartans clearly weren’t getting their act together yet on Sunday, because they were looking at a 0-5 trail already in the 1st inning. Weak pitching with lots of walks, an error and one hit by Christophe Van Braecken was enough to create this lead for the Stars. Steve De Saedeleer pitched a good game for Mortsel, and kept the 0 on the board during the first 5 innings. A double by Papi in the 3rd was the start of the next series of runs. Again a number of base-on-balls, and this time a hit by Kenny D’Hondt made Mortsel jump ahead to 0-9. Same story in the 4th.This time Cedric Vandesompele opened with a double, followed by more walks. In this inning Alain Meseure punished with a hit and the score went 0-11.
In the 5th, pitcher Steve De Saedeleer was relieved by Christophe Van Braecken, who had to allow a run. Once warmed up, Christophe de Spartanen kept the Spartans quiet, but also Mortsel fainted at bat. At a 1-11 score in the 7th, the Stars failed to finish the game early by allowing another run. A home run took the score to 4-11 which meant the end for Christophe Van Braecken. Mathias De Clipeleir came on and managed to hold the Spartans for a while. The pressure in the 9th allowed the home team to close in with a 7-11 score. Mortsel had to make a last call, by putting Kevin Vandeperre on the mound. With bases loaded he made the last out himself, and so helping the Stars to their first double victory of the season. Final score 7-11.