Of the six games played between the Croydon Pirates and the Bracknell Blazers before last Sunday’s double-header at Westmorland Park (the Blazers’ ground), each team had won three, and each team had enjoyed a walk-off victory, by respective scores of 5-4 and 2-1.

The first game of the most recent double-header was again won in the bottom of the 7th inning, with the 6-5 contest being settled by a “walk-off strike out” (Bracknell’s winning run resulted from a wild pitch that was swung on for strike three with the bases loaded and one out). Croydon had tied the game in the 6th inning thanks to a solo home run from shortstop Kevin Brush – this was one of four extra-base hits in consecutive at-bats stroked by Brush.

Game two remained close through to the 4th inning, but the departure in that frame of Bracknell starter Matt Maitland, after being hit on the elbow by a pitch, was followed by a 10-run 5th inning for Croydon. The game was truncated on the mercy rule at the end of that inning with the score standing at 16-6.

The fielding highlights of the day belonged to Bracknell. The first was a superb catch in right field by Jamie Ford and the second was an unassisted and very athletic double-play from shortstop Ryan Trask. With a runner on second, Ty Touchstone hit a pop-fly that drew both the third baseman and Trask out of the infield. After Trask took the catch, the runner on second tagged up and set off for third (now unattended), but Trask was able to sprint in and apply the tag just in time. Trask was involved in two other double-plays, although these both took a more conventional route (6-4-3, with Max Flajsner being the 4 and Gordan Sheppard the 3).

Inside the M25, the Richmond Flames took on the London Mets at Finsbury Park but managed just three hits across the two games, which London won 5-1 and 10-0. Brian Essery picked up his ninth win of the season in the first game, while Ernesto Bolufer pitched all 5 innings of the shutout in game two.

To complete an unbeaten regular season, the Mets need to sweep two double-headers on the road, the first against Croydon this Sunday and the second at Richmond the Sunday after.

No games were played in the NBL North, so while the Liverpool Trojans technically remain in contention for a second-place finish and the last remaining berth in the National Finals (alongside London, Richmond, and Manchester), it is difficult to see how they would fit in the necessary games to erase the 6.5-game gap between them and the Menwith Hill Patriots.