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Rams
prevail in Game One over South Australia Bite 16-6
The Queensland Rams bats came
out swinging hard in the first innings blasting three home runs
and a double against South Australia starting pitcher Chris Lawson
Justin Linger, Michael Collins and Matthew Studeman put the ball
over the fence while Brad Dutton hit a double for the Rams to
post four runs in their first at bat
However the visitors rallied in the second innings and successive
fielding errors from the Rams mixed with safe hits from Tom Brice,
Todd Langmann, Daren Fidge and Josh Cakebread and South Australia
had rallied scoring five runs to take the home crowd out of the
game
In the third innings South Australia right fielder Tom Brice
bagged his second successive hit and came home over the plate
after Ben Wigmore hit safely to right field to move the score
to 6-4 in favour of the visitors
No more runs were added from either side until the bottom of
the fifth innings when Queenslander Steve Greer scored on a sacrifice
fly then Brett Roneberg
homered to right field bringing home Justin Linger
The Rams had wrestled back the initiative for a 7-6 lead
Another run by Queensland forced a pitching change by South Australia
which saw Michael Ewart replace starter Chris Lawson
However Ewart was in trouble when Rams Jay Nilsson doubled to
centre field scoring Sutherland and Naughton taken Queensland
to a 10-6 advantage
Rams starting pitcher Chris Mowday, after the second innings
onslaught, had settled to shut down the visitors bats who were
struggling to add to the score line
His effort was rewarded when he was replaced by Matt Timms for
the eighth innings
Queensland then forced the game to invoke the mercy rule after
the South Australia bull pen lost control walking four batters
and conceding two hits including a second home run to Michael
Collins for a final 16-6 result
Queensland
quells South Australia in 16-6 romp
Even allowing for the fact
that the South Australians went down in order in the top of the
first, our correspondent at Redlands tells us that, after three
half-innings, he felt like this game might never end
The Rams got going quickly against hapless SA starter Jay Ziersch
when leadoff batter James Linger went yard to left field, followed
by Brad Dutton’s double and Mike Collins’ two-run jack
to left field
There was a momentary respite when Ziersch finally secured the
first out, but Matt Studeman delivered another crushing blow
with his home run vanishing over straight-away centre
It probably sounds harsh to say, but this was not a total shock
given the woes of South Australia's pitching in recent times,
but what happened next to Rams’ starter Chris Mowday was
somewhat unexpected when the ‘Croweaters’ hit back
with a “five spot” in the top of the second
In this case the South Aussies sent nine batters to the box,
but the ninth didn’t bat when the innings ended via an ill-advised
caught stealing
Two of the five runs allowed were unearned
More sedate viewing was restored after that when the seasoned
former pro Mowday settled in nicely to allow only one more run
in what he skilfully transformed into a deep seven innings, quality
start
Ziersch was lifted after his shell-shocked single inning, handing
over to Chris Lawson who has been as good as any of the South
Australian relievers on occasions, but not on others
This time he was very good to scoot through the following three
innings, however, we can only surmise that he was to become a
“sacrificial lamb” when he was butchered in the fifth
inning ... surely beyond his “use by date” in terms
of his pitching stamina
One feels that the unlucky Lawson could have ended this game
with much better numbers if the South Australian management had
more confidence in their bullpen that has been as shaky as a
plate of aeroplane jelly
I guess the immediate evidence of this was the performance of
their next hurler, young Michael Ewart, who simply wasn’t
capable of averting the “Mercy Rule” defeat at the
end of eight frames
Conversely, Rams’ closer Matt Timms was about as impressive
as you can be, walking Ben Wigmore in the middle of striking
out three batters to kill off the top of the eighth
Los Angeles Angels’ Michael Collins is doing his best to
counter the brilliance of his Australian Capital Territory compatriot
Nick Kimpton as a terrific “import player” for the
Queenslanders
His 3-5 included TWO home runs and he plundered five RBIs
Matt Studeman, Steven Greer, James Linger and Jay Nillson each
enjoyed two-hit outings, while Nilsson nailed four RBIs and Linger
went deep for one .. Greer also drew a stroll to first, while
Studeman did this twice
As often the Queensland
production line was represented by ‘Brilliant Brett’
Roneberg and Dave Sutherland who manufactured two RBIs each, while Brad Dutton supplied one
Roneberg's coming via
the explosive "long route" deep over right field
Tom Brice came to the fore with three hits to show how much he
has been missed by his team for large parts of this competition,
while Todd Langman knocked another two to prove that he refuses
to wave the white flag
Wigmore, Fidge, Cakebread, Cresswell and Corbett were the men
to drive in one run each for the out-slugged South Aussies
As it happens, these teams are playing for little more than pride,
noting that neither can now reach the semi-final series
The Queensland Rams might feel that they have under achieved
with an impressive looking roster, while the beleaguered South
Australians are entitled to look towards the end of this recurring
nightmare in Claxton Shield 2009
It has been excruciatingly tough for them in this campaign even
though they could easily have recorded a few more wins with a
little more luck at crucial times |
