By Glen Robertson
Newton Aycliffe Spartans were given a baptism of fire in their competitive debut at the weekend, losing both games in their first pre-season tournament.
Taking part in the inaugural Leicester Spring League, the inexperienced Spartans were beaten comfortably by both Hull Scorpions (15-8) and the hosts Leicester Blue Sox (20-2)
On a gloriously hot day in Leicestershire, Spartans, who were wearing special t-shirts in support of Sport Relief, soon found out just how unforgiving baseball can be, as their opponents’ experience told.
Despite the heavy defeats, head coach Sean Wallwein acknowledged that there were plenty of positives to come out of the games.
He said: “We learnt as a team a good early lesson in that if you play a good defensive game, cut out the throwing errors and are aggressive with your hitting, you will win more games than you lose and I was pleased that when we were able to put the ball into play when batting, we scored runs.
“The entire team enjoyed the day and I saw a determination to learn from the mistakes we made and we will work on those areas of the game that let us down in future training sessions”
In the opener against Hull Scorpions, the north-east’s only baseball side were 12-2 down after just three innings as their inexperience, particularly in fielding, allowed the Humbersiders to score runs at will.
However, the Spartans gained strength and staged a plucky late fight back, scoring six runs in the final two innings and limiting the Hull Scorpions, who they will meet in regular season action in the BBF Northern Division, to just three more runs.
The second game saw the Leicester Blue Sox come out strong against the Spartans, launching themselves into an early 10-0 lead after three innings. The Leicester side, who in the first game of the day rallied to beat Hull Scorpions, 14-13, extended their lead further and eventually ran out winners by a score of 20-2.
The Spartans will return to Leicester on the 8th April for additional preseason games before their first regular season game in their history on the 15th April against Manchester Torrent – first pitch 12pm.
For those interested in playing baseball or softball, they can attend the training sessions at Horndale Field, opposite Greenfield College, on Thursdays 6pm-8pm and Sundays 10am-1pm.
For further details, contact John Johnston on [email protected]
Pictures courtesy of Colin McNeilie
