MABS YOUTH BASEBALL MAJOR LEAGUE 2013/14
Sunday, May 25, 2014 Venue: Mellieha Ground Umpire: Chuck Micallef
SCORING |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Ghajnsielem Redcoats | 2 | 5 | 4 | – | – | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| Blue Jays | 3 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 7 | 5 | 8 |
BOX SCORE |
AB | R | H | RBI | HR | RE | SO | PO | A | E | DP |
| REFALO, Ian LF | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SCICLUNA, Estelle P | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| GRIMA, Kacey 1B | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| REFALO, Malcolm 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| BONNICI, Kirsty C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| BONNICI, Jasmine SS | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SAID, Annabel RF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| XUEREB, Denise CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SAID, Alicia 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| TOTALS | 22 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 2 |
RECAP
The Ghajnsielem Redcoats youth teams played thirteen times at the Mellieha ground against the Mellieha teams and they only registered two wins. However, in their most recent encounter they managed to comfortably beat the highly rated Grand Slammers 14-10. On that occasion the Redcoats hit three out-of-the-park home runs, two were hit by Malcolm Refalo and the other was hit by Jasmine Bonnici.
So going into today’s game the Ghajnsielem Redcoats were confident of being able to obtain that all important victory that they required to become National Champions for the first time ever in their short history. Clinching the MABS Youths Baseball Major League has been the holy grail for this group of players for some time. They worked very hard putting in several extra practice sessions. Their determination and hard work did pay off as they were head and shoulders better than their opponents throughout the campaign. In just over eighteen months, the young Redcoats, who had never played the game before managed to become the best team in the land! Who would have thought back in October 2012 when they travelled to Mellieha to play their first ever game?
Despite their inner self confidence in their ability to pull off yet another win to make them four straight victories on the road, having two of their outstanding performers missing for this crucial encounter must have impacted them somehow. Gerrard Xuereb, who played at centre field for the Redcoats and regarded as the best outfielder in the league, was unavailable due to the Holy Communion of his sister that coincided with the game. Giulia Lateo, who was playing solid defence at short stop and smashing the ball on a consistent basis, broke a finger while playing netball at school the previous week was also unavailable. Any other team playing without either one of these two outstanding players would have been decimated. However, the strength of the Ghajnsielem Redcoats is in the quality of their back-up players. Twin sisters Alicia Said and Annabel Said were called up to start this very crucial game in Mellieha against the Blue Jays.
The changes in the line-up forced the Redcoats to make further adjustments in the positions of the fielders as well. Jasmine Bonnici who was playing at 2nd base was shifted to short stop instead of Giulia Lateo. Alicia Said in turn replaced Jasmine Bonnici at 2nd base. Denise Xuereb who played at left field replaced Gerrard Xuereb at centre field. The improving Ian Refalo was shifted from right field to left field and Annabel Said was asked to replace him at right field. The batting line-up was also changed as two of the top three hitters in the line-up were missing. Ian Refalo, who normally batted last, was put at lead-off as he impressed during batting practice. The ever consistent Estelle Scicluna, who normally batted fifth was moved to the number two slot. As it turned out these changes made all the difference in the game.
The first inning started well for the Ghajnsielem Redcoats. However, what was promising to be a big inning turned out to produce just two runs due to a costly base running mistake. This somehow rocked the confidence of the Redcoats as the Blue Jays responded with three runs in the bottom half to take a 2-3 lead after one inning. The Redcoats realised that if they were to win this game they had to do it with their bats by outscoring their opponents just as they did when winning the other games on the road against the Grand Slammers 14-10 and against the Mustangs 14-11.
The number nine hitter Alicia Said led off the top of the second inning with a well hit double. Ian Refalo followed with a single. Then with two runners on Estelle Scicluna hit a line drive down the right field line all the way to the corner. Estelle didn’t bother to look what the outfielders were doing she just ran as fast as she could while being urged on by her coaches to head for home. Both Alicia Said and Ian Refalo scored and so did Estelle as she slid home to score as well. A 3-run inside-the-park home run to give the Redcoats a 5-3 lead. That was the boost the other hitters needed. Kacey Grime followed with yet another well hit ball for a double. Malcolm Refalo hit a ground ball for an infield hit which allowed Kacey Grima to score following a throwing error. Malcolm Refalo then scored following the third double of the inning hit by Jasmine Bonnici. The Redcoats were now leading 7-3 going into the bottom of the 2nd inning.
Unfortunately, the fielding of the Redcoats let them down and they committed seven errors in the bottom of the second inning to allow the Blue Jays to score four runs to tie the game at 7-7! Unbelievable! All the hard work over the previous weeks and the previous months was going to be undone unless the Redcoats were able to regain their composure and score enough runs in the top of the third and final inning of the game to build a lead that they would be able to hang on to.
Annabel Said led off with a ground ball hit hard to third base and managed to make it safely to first thanks to a fielding error on the part of the Blue Jays. Then up came Denise Xuereb, who was feeling the full weight of the importance of the game. She struck out for the first out of the inning. It was the turn of Alicia Said who also reached base following another fielding error by the pitcher of the Blue Jays that allowed her twin sister to move to 3rd base. A ground ball would be enough to bring Annabel home. With the top of the order coming up the odds were in the favour of the Redcoats. Ian Refalo responded to the call and he did just that. A hard hit ground ball to 2nd base bringing Annabel home to score the go-ahead run for the Redcoats. Alicia Said was forced out at 2nd base. Two outs!
Considering how the Redcoats fielded during the previous inning everyone knew that a single run lead would not be enough to win the game and clinch the Youth Baseball National League. The pressure now was all on Estelle Scicluna. She was determined to get on base and keep the inning going, giving an opportunity to sluggers Kacey Grima and Malcolm Refalo to pad the slim advantage that her team had. Estelle promptly lined to right field with the ball going all the way to the wall. She ran as fast as she could almost catching up with her cousin, Ian Refalo, who started from 1st base. Ian scored and Estelle scored right behind him for her second inside-the-park home run of the game and her 5th run-batted-in. 10-7 for the Redcoats.
Now Kacey Grima was at the plate. Judging by her own high standards that she set, Kacey was having a relatively quiet season until this game. In the first inning she had a base hit and scored. In the second inning she hit a double and scored as well. In her last appearance at the Mellieha Ground, while playing for the Ghajnsielem Redcoats ladies team, Kacey managed to hit the only home run that was hit by any of the players participating in that league. She was brimming with confidence and feeling very comfortable at bat. With the first delivery she smacked the ball deep to left field well beyond the home run boundary. HOME RUN! Redcoats now lead 11-7. Kacey was met with great enthusiasm by her team-mates who were waiting for her beyond home plate. Malcom Refalo then grounded out to end the inning.
The Redcoats felt that they had done enough to win this game. Now they needed three outs. First batter for the Blue Jays popped up to the left of pitcher Estelle Scicluna. She took a couple of steps and made the play. One out! The next batter tipped a foul ball high beyond the reach of catcher Kirsty Bonnici, or so everyone thought until she jumped up to make a most remarkable catch. Two down! The next batter hit a high fly ball in the gap between left fielder Ian Refalo and centre fielder Denise Xuereb. That normally meant trouble, as it did earlier in the game when the two outfielders did not communicate well ending up disturbing each other with the ball agonisingly dropping on the Mellieha turf. This time Ian Refalo was quick to run to his left to make what can be considered as the catch of the season for the final out of the game. A one, two, three inning for the Ghajnsielem Redcoats to claim the MABS Youths Baseball Major League and become the first ever youth team based in Gozo to be crowned NATIONAL CHAMPIONS.
THE FINAL THREE OUTS OF THE SEASON
The girls and boys from Gozo did it! They went to Malta three times and came back to Gozo with three remarkable victories outscoring their worthy opponents a cumulative 39 – 28. Their superiority would have translated into more comfortable victories, however, their lack of experience in challenging for the national championship meant that they had to cope with the self imposed pressure and tension.
The Ghajnsielem Redcoats are now National Champions. The hard work paid off. The long hours fighting the elements in the trainings grounds, the cold, the wind, the heat and sometimes even the rain as well, was all worth it.
CONGRATULATIONS to all the members of the youth squad of the Ghajnsielem Redcoats for this great achievement. Well done to all for the great improvement shown during the course of this season. Keep it up!
