Pirate ship crashes for second time in two weeks

BULLI Pirates crashed to their second Illawarra Baseball League (IBL) loss in as many weeks when they were thumped 11-nil by Berkeley Eagles at Fred Finch Park in round 14.

Eagles starting pitcher Josh Doyle pitched five hitless, shutout innings while the Eagles offence sparked from the outset of the game, running in eight runs in the first two innings.

Berkeley showed no mercy to Pirates starter Brendan Lower, blasting thirteen hits and nine earned runs in 5.1 innings.

The game was decided in the second inning where five runs were scored, all with two outs retired.

Berkeley's 8-nil lead became 11-nil in the sixth where the reliable bats of Keith Ward, Stuart Thompson and Kiane Abbott all fired in a one-out rally.

Eagles outhit Pirates 14-1 with Ward (4 from 4), Thompson (3 from 4, 4RBI's) and Abbott (3 from 4) doing most of the damage.

Meanwhile, premiership favourites Wests Cardinals fired a warning shot to their IBL rivals with a 23-9 demolition of Kiama Braves at Gainsborough Oval in round 14.

The hosts were on a high after leading 2-nil after one inning before conceding 11 runs in the second.

Kiama scored four in the bottom of the second for 11-6 but nine runs over the next two innings put the balance back in the Cards' favour.

One highlight of the game for Kiama was the solo homer hit by Anthony Larsen in the third, the only home run by a Braves player this season.

Cardinals amassed 21 safe hits, Ben Warner batting 4 from 5 with four RBI's and Jeff Trembearth, Josh Dean, Ben Garvey and Lee Vlasoff each registering three hits while Dean recorded a game-best five RBI's.

Braves tallied ten hits from the league's leading pitcher, Jamie Simon, who allowed nine earned runs in six innings.

In next week's round 15 fixtures Wests Cardinals play Dapto Chiefs and Berkeley Eagles play Kiama Braves, Fred Finch Park, Berkeley. Bulli Pirates have the bye in firsts but play Shoalhaven Mariners in lower grades at Fred Finch Park.