Manager: Andy Malthouse
Ass Manager: Cath Shelley
Scorer: Kim Malthouse
Score: Research 19 – NC Rebels 9
Match report courtesy of Manager Andy Malthouse
Firstly, I could not be more proud of the 12 people who were there today wearing the Rebels uniform. It’s not very often that new club is formed and although we are all part of the North Coburg Rebels, this is Summer and a new and exciting chapter in our history. Thanks to our supporters and thanks to Kim for scoring.
Paul, all that hard work has paid off. From me and I’m sure everyone else, congratulations. If it was not for your hard work, this would still be a dream.
What a day. Beautiful sunshine greeted us at Research for our first game ever and although it was a bit windy, we were all so looking forward to getting out there and continuing the legacy which is the North Coburg Rebels.
With Cath Shelly as my Assistant Manager today, we went into the game with 10 players. All except one being old faces from winter. I would like to welcome Glenn Wimetal to the family for his first ever game of baseball.
We started pretty well, getting 2 in the 1st but they tied it up with 2 of their own. The 2nd saw us score another but they answered with 5 to take a 7 to 3 lead after 2 innings. We then answered with 5 of our own and with great pitching by Bruce Barnes, we kept them to 0 to take a 8 to 7 lead after 3. With one more in the top of the 4th, that is where the wheels fell off. They came back scoring 7 and then 5 to eventually win the game 19 – 9.
Mozz started on the mound and did a great job in the conditions. Pitch counts were a concern today as I wanted to not over use any arms too early in the season, so Mozz only threw 1 and 2/3 innings. Bruce relieved and threw really well until the Research bats started firing. Tim Karas then came on to finish the game. It was a good start to the season with our main chuckers getting a good work out in. Hopefully this will set us up well over the next few weeks.
Batting wise, we also did pretty well. We have a pretty handy team with the bat and I can’t wait to see what it does when we come up against some average pitching.
Standouts: Nathan went to 2 from 3 with a double. Gavin no HPB’s and a Sac Fly. Bruce, a nice blooper over 1st. Doesn’t matter how they come as long as they do. Donk, donked a deep one for a double. Tim got single and myself went 2 from 2 with 2 doubles.
We still have a lot of work to do but things looked pretty good for a first game. We need to work on waiting for our pitch. You don’t need to swing at a pitch just because its a strike, be patient. We battled hard and did not give them too many easy outs. Only 6 strikeouts which is ok. We can improve on that.
In summary, a great start to the season and its a relief to get the first one out of the way.
Just one last thing, I could not sign off without mentioning one special event that occurred today. Congrats to Paul M Clarke. What a weekend. The Doggies win the AFL Grand Final and he had he’s first spew at a baseball game.
