With three-quarters of Croydon’s schedule completed, and no wins to show for it, the Pirates may be worrying that time is running out to register a pride-rescuing first win. Still, the Pirates have reason to hope after having three narrow defeats in the past month.
On Sunday 14 June, Croydon forfeited game one of a double-header against the Blazers but looked strong in game two, holding a 4-3 lead after the top of the sixth inning. But Bracknell crossed the plate twice in the bottom half of that frame and shut down the Pirates in the top of the seventh to win by 1 run.
Then, on Sunday 28 June, Croydon bounced back from an 11-2 loss in the first game of a double-header against Herts to build a commanding position in gme two, leading 10-4 after the top of the fourth. But the Pirates faltered, eventually falling 12-11.
And then on the Sunday just gone, the Pirates scored 8 runs across the third, fourth, and fifth innings, to overturn a 7-0 deficit after the first two innings against the London Mets. It was not until the bottom of the seventh that the Mets scored the 2 runs that they needed for a win.
The Richmond Flames are the only team in the National Baseball League to have enjoyed purely comfortable victories against the Pirates. The Flames have outscored Croydon 63-11 in the teams’ four meetings so far.
Two of the Pirates’ remaining six games are against Richmond, and so they may need to look to their other four games for a chance to register that first victory. All of these are against Bracknell. Should Croydon win a game, it might not take them off their 0-fer, though, as a strict enforcement of league rules would see their first victory wiped off for a forfeited double-header back in week 2 of the season.
3 comments
Joe, I was at the London-Croydon game on Sunday and it was good to see the Pirates fired-up once they fought their way back into the Game Two – their heads and hearts didn’t seem in it in Game One. Once they had something to play for they started to pull out the stops defensively in an effort to preserve the lead.
Given that exuberance I was concerned with how crushing it would be if they won the game and then found they still had ‘0’ in the win column due to that forfeit earlier on. Perhaps you should make sure they’re aware of that BBF rule for future reference?!
Is there a precise critera for relegation/promotion in the NBL? For example, if the Pirates remain winless in 2009 but the Arrows do the opposite in AAA, will they potentially swap places in 2010?
Hi Matthew,
The NBL is an invitational league (by which I mean that there is not guaranteed/forced promotion/relegation), and participating teams are meant to fulfill certain criteria with regard to facilities. The league does not have a fixed size, so were Essex to be promoted, it wouldn’t mean that Croydon have to be relegated. And an even number of teams is always helpful for scheduling (there is currently an odd number).