SIZZLING FASTPITCH INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT – GAME 3
Wednesday, August 21, 2019 16:30 Venue: Kercem Stadium, Gozo, Malta
Umpires: Charles Micallef & Giancarlo Pulvirenti
The Redcoats were scheduled to play a double header on the final day of the SIZZLING FASTPITCH INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT, with the opening game against Sparks Haarlem, who had already secured 1st place with three emphatic wins. Although the 2nd game was more important, the Redcoats wanted to perform well against Sparks, and improve on the 1-15 loss of the 1st round. They couldn’t have asked for a better start, as the first two hitters, Estelle Scicluna and Kimberley Scerri, got on base. Estelle scored on a wild pitch, and Ilena Buttigieg drove Kimberley home with an RBI ground out. Marilise Vella followed with a solid double to left field, and later scored on a past ball.
The Sparks didn’t waste any time to get back into the game. They promptly scored four runs in the bottom of the 1st inning, and another four in the 2nd inning. Although the Redcoats didn’t score more runs, they were making good contact with the ball, but were often unfortunate to hit balls right at their opponents. Whereas in first encounter against the Sparks the Redcoats struck out eight times, this time round they only struck out four times.
There was also improvement defensively. The Redcoats committed only two errors as opposed to four in game 1. There were also some very fine defensive plays. Simona Refalo, playing at 3rd base, made a great play to field a ground ball, and then, made a perfect throw to 1st for the out. Ilena Buttigieg at short stop, had an assist and a put-out. Marilise Vella reconfirmed herself as an excellent catcher. Once again the two stand-outs defensively were Nicole Cassar with four assists and a put-out, along with Laragh Tabone, who made six put-outs and an assist. These two fine players were also responsible for the play of the tournament. With a Sparks runner on 1st base, a ground ball was hit hard to Nicole who fielded the ball, promptly tagged the advancing player, and threw a strike to Laragh at 1st base for the double play to close the 3rd inning.
| Team/Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Redcoats | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Sparks | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | – | 12 | 12 | 3 |
Redcoats lefty pitcher, Monique Attard, started the game and did extremely well. In four innings pitched she only walked two opponents. The 12 hits given up are acceptable given the level of the opponents. Monique had an excellent season, with her only blemish being the tournament in Venice when she was not at her best. However, with her solid performance against the highly rated Sparks, she got her confidence back. Monique, who is still 15 years old, needs to develop further as a pitcher to be able to be successful against top European teams.
Despite the 3-12 loss, the Redcoats were quite satisfied with the performance of the team and they were looking forward with confidence to the final game of the tournament against the Herons.
This initiative has been supported by the Ministry for Gozo Sport Organisations Assistance Scheme, a funding programme for Sport Organisations on the Island of Gozo.
This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Ministry for Gozo cannot be held responsible for the content or any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
