Malcolm Refalo stunned everyone this afternoon at the Mellieha ground, first with a grand slam home run in the first inning , and then with a monster blast to left field in the third inning.
Malcolm Refalo stunned everyone this afternoon at the Mellieha ground during a youth baseball major league game against the Grand Slammers, first with a grand slam home run in the first inning and then with a monster blast to left field in the third inning. He finished the game with 7 runs batted in helping the Ghajnsielem Redcoats to an excellent 14-10 victory.
The Redcoats came into this weekend determined to stop the eight game losing streak they had against teams from Mellieha, in Mellieha. The afternoon did not start well as the Blue Jays beat Redcoats Baseball 9-0. This was a better showing for the young Redcoats team than their two losses in the doubleheader against their squad-mates. The return of Brandon Grech in the line-up helped to improve the team defensively. Still, hitting continues to be a concern as they only manage to get three base runners.
In the second game, Ghajnsielem Redcoats were determined to put a stop to this trend. They did just that with an emphatic 14-10 victory over the 2-and-0 Grand Slammers who had trashed the Mustangs a couple of weeks earlier. In the first inning, consecutive base hits from Gerrard Xuereb, Giulia Lateo, and Kacey Grima loaded the basis for the clean-up hitter, Malcolm Refalo. Refalo responded with a home run hit to left field in what was the first out-of-the-park grand slam home run hit by the Redcoats in their short history.
The Ghajnsielem Redcoats continued to make fine contact with the ball and added a further 4 runs in the second inning. Then in the top of the third Jasmine Bonnici lead-off with a home run of her own. She hit the ball hard to deep centre field for her first ever home run. A few hitters later Malcolm Refalo came to bat with a runner on first and smashed the ball to left field that cleared the home run boundary by at least 15 meters. These were the sixth and seventh RBIs of the game and the third home run in so many games this season for Malcolm Refalo.
By the end of third inning the Redcoats were up 14-2. In the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, with the game already won, the Ghajnsielem Redcoats let down their guard and made various defensive errors allowing the Grand Slammers to score 8 unanswered runs to make the score more respectable. The Ghajnsielem Redcoats are now 3-and-0 and top the standings of the MABS Youth Baseball Major League.
Up next for the two Redcoats teams competing in the Baseball Major League is a tricky trip to Marsa to face the Mustangs on Sunday, March 30.
