GHAJNSIELEM REDCOATS AT SK JOUDRS PRAHA ORANGE 4 – 4

U18 XXXIV MEMORIAL CIVELLI – GAME 3

Saturday, July 6, 2019 11:10   Venue: Cervignano del Friuli, Italy

8111

REDCOATS OFFENCE COMES ALIVE TO EARN DRAW AGAINST JOUDRS

Following the disappointments of Day 1, the Redcoats opted for a different strategy for Day 2 of the XXXIV Memorial Civelli International Softball Tournament. Monique Attard was asked to start the game hoping that she would not feel as much pressure. The strategy seemed to have worked as in the first game against Joudrs Praha Orange she sat down the first three batters she faced.

Armed with the experience gained from the first two games, the Redcoats were cautiously optimistic going into Day 2. The feeling was that the worst that could have happened did the previous day. This optimism translated into a great start for pitcher Monique Attard and her defence, who combined to sit down the first three Joudrs in order. A pop-foul to 1st base player Daphne Cassar, another pop-up to short stop Estelle Scicluna, and a ground ball to 2nd base, which did not bother Rebecca Grech, who fielded it cleanly and threw to 1st base for the 3rd out of the inning. It took Monique just eight pitches to dispose of the Joudrs. This was more the Monique that we were accustomed to during the MABS National Championship Series.

During the 2nd inning the Joudrs wisened up and they were not swinging until they had two strikes on them. This threw off the young lefty pitcher. She did manage to strike out one hitter, and got another one to pop-out to short stop Estelle Scicluna, but she walked five and then gave up a base hit which scored two runs. The very promising start petered away, and just like that the Redcoats were down by four runs! The Redcoats managed to get a run back in the top of the 3rd inning when Simona Refalo singled to score Marilise Vella.

This was a must win game for the Redcoats in their quest to climb up in the tournament standings. The players were still determined to make this happen. For the bottom of the 3rd inning Estelle Scicluna replaced Monique at pitcher, and she did her job. She sat the Joudrs down in order. In two innings she faced six hitters, struck out four and got the other two to ground out to Rebecca Grech, who replaced Estelle at short stop, and the other ground ball was right at her.

Estelle’s performance inspired her teammates who managed to score three runs in the top of the 4th inning. Monique Camilleri and Marija Vella both walked and scored. Estelle had a base hit and scored on a single from Kimberley Scerri for her second run batted in of the tournament. The Redcoats had finally found their groove, but they ran out of time! The game was stopped at the end of the 4th inning as the 90 min time limit was up.

8114

 This was a game that the Redcoats should have won as they were the better team, could have won if there was no time limit, and would have won if the umpire didn’t make a terrible call on a ground ball to 3rd base with the ensuing throw caught by the Joudrs 1st base player when Estelle was a step past the base. Both teams were surprised to say the least by the call. In the photo above, Estelle is seen stepping on 1st base as the ball is still about 2m away from the glove of the Joudrs 1st base player, while the umpire had a clear view of the action.

Team/Inning 1 2 3 4 R H E
Għajnsielem Redcoats 0 0 1 3 4 3 1
Joudrs Praha Orange 0 4 0 0 4 1 1

Still the Redcoats were proud of their achievement. They finally got their act together. The feeling was that they turned the corner and are now playing at their full potential. The objective was to win the next game against Blue Girls Bologna.

 TOURNAMENT HOME