Mariners lose out after taking control on the road

Sundays game at Richmond will ultimately be remembered for the way it ended in the 8th, rather than for the all round team play that led to the Mariners taking to the field in the bottom of the 8th with a 7 run lead.

The Mariners filled the bases early but could only get one run home in the first. Adam Brown then closed down Richmond with a perfect bottom of the 1st. Browno ended up going 4 innings for 8 runs. The Mariners then had another opportunity to score big on the 2nd leaving but couldnt deliver leaving the bases loaded for the second straight innings. Browns 8 runs came across the plate over the next three home innings, taking an 8-4 lead into the fifth.

Hot bats then delivered big for the Mariners scoring five and taking the lead. Sam Ratcliff then came on for Brown and pitched three great innings only giving up two runs across that span. With the Mariners putting up 4 runs in both the 7th & 8th things were looking good for a road win. Leading 17-10 in the bottom of the 8th Sam began to tire he was replaced and a mixture of both ben & Jason pitching for his first time as a Mariner showing good velocity and strike to ball ratio saw the game running away with them. Heads began to drop and errors then crept in and Richmond put up 17 runs ending the game at that point with a ten run lead.

A special mention must go to Nigel Ward for his exceptional performance with the bat seeing him take the bottle of Rose man of the match award.

By Simon Canter - 12/08/11