2009 Game Reports - most recent at top.  2008 Game Reports are now in the Archives.

For the second time this season Cartmel came up against the irresistible force of the best pitcher in the league, Harry Pickup of Halton, who again managed to finish off a complete game in less than 85 pitches. CV batters struck out 15 times and only managed 1 base hit, an RBI double from Tom in the 4^th inning. Ryan was the only batter not to be struck out at least once and he went 0 for 1 with a flyout and a run after being hit by a pitch. Defensively Cartmel did well, keeping Halton to only 1 hit after the 2^nd inning, but the damage had already been done with sharp base running from the Polecats leading to 7 runs in the first 2 innings. On the plus side there was some good work at first base by newly converted outfielder Jonathan H, and more fine pitching from Amane who went hitless and struck out 3 batters in 1 and 2/3 innings before retiring with a sore arm. Thus Cartmel finish the season on 6 and 2 and must wait to see if they can stay in position for the Final Four playoffs while Manchester and Halton finish their schedules. Dave Hill

What was expected to be an awkward away fixture at rainy Manchester turned out to be a relatively easy win in glorious sunshine. Cartmel managed 16 hits, including Tom going 4 for 4 with a double and a home run, and efficient pitching from Amane, Ryan and Tom produced 15 strikeouts in 6 innings and restricted the Saints to only 5 hits. So CV went 6 & 1 for the season and stayed top of the league, but whether they will still be there when other teams have caught up with games in hand remains to be seen.  Dave Hill

6 June 2008 - Cartmel Valley Broncos 25: Rudheath Majestics Broncos 6  

It was business as usual for Cartmel in their last home fixture, despite the showers, as once again Rudheath were unable to cope with CV’s powerful batting lineup. The Cumbrians amassed 25 runs, the maximum possible in 5 closed innings, and were only put out 4 times in total. Highlights of the batting performance were Ryan going 3 for 3 with two triples, three runs scored and four RBIs, and Jonny H going 2 for 2 with a triple and a ground rule double; but generally the whole team batted well with 16 hits shared between eleven different players. Rudheath looked a lot sharper than in the equivalent away fixture, especially base running, and were only the 2^nd team this season to score 5 runs in a closed inning against us. On the pitching side Amane made his debut and did very well for the first two innings, with 3 strikeouts and a high percentage of first strikes and positive counts, after which Ryan and Tom closed down the opposition without showing any of the jitters of previous weeks. So Cartmel made it 5 wins from 6 so far this season, but with tricky away fixtures against their two main rivals in the league still to come.  Dave Hill

For the second week running Bolton were unable to cope with another display of awesome batting power from Cartmel, who scored 24 runs in 5 closed innings for only 5 outs. The main feature was a return to batting form by Jonny H who went 3 for 3 with 2 home runs and a triple, 4 runs scored and 5 RBIs. The only defensive weakness was, once again, a seeming reluctance to close down the game after a good lead had been established. Of the 33 runs conceded by CV in the last 3 games, 23 (and 28 walks) have come in the oppositions’ final inning. Still, Cartmel held out for the win, and thus returned to the top of the BSUK Bronco NW League. Dave Hill

Cartmel’s second away match of the season saw more magnificent hitting from their "Murderers Row" of a batting line up, with 23 hits in total including 13 extra base hits, This culminated in Sam achieving the cycle, going 6 for 6 with two singles, a double, a triple and two home runs, making it definitely a victory won through good batting rather than poor fielding by Bolton. Defensively the Cumbrians were quietly efficient rather than outstanding, with Sam gaining the win on his pitching debut, and thus making himself the MVP. So CV again proved too strong for one of the newer teams in the league, but it remains to be seen whether they can gain the advantage over their main rivals Manchester and Halton.  Dave Hill

Cartmel’s unbeaten record came to a grinding halt in this game against Manchester, mainly due to a shortage of experienced pitchers. Everything seemed to be going smoothly for four innings as the rain held off and the home team built up a 10-1 lead, with Tom scoring two home runs in successive innings. Then the showers returned and the wheels came off as, once Ryan finished his stint, nobody else could get the ball in the strike zone. Tom gave up 5 runs in the top of the fifth, so was taken off in favour of Luke for the open 6^th inning. Four different pitchers were tried, conceding 13 walks and 14 runs before Jonnny H (CV’s version of the Big Unit – but pitching in a game for the first time ever) finally managed to get two strikeouts and end the inning. So ultimately a bad day for Cartmel but hopefully they will be able to shake it off and bounce back next week. Dave Hill

9 May 2009 - Cartmel Valley Broncos 22: Rudheath Majestics Broncos 0

In contrast to the previous week, the story of this game was the inability of Rudheath, in only their second ever league game, to cope with the experience and power of Cartmel’s batters. In 1927, the NY Yankees batting lineup was so strong it was known as ‘Murderers Row’, and with Tom, Ryan and Jonny H getting 12 runs from 10 hits between them, it was hard not to make the comparison. Cartmel scored the maximum possible 5 runs in each of the first two closed innings, with only 2 outs in total, but from then on Rudheath managed to improve defensively and achieve the outs required to finish the game, restricting CV to only 12 further runs in 4 more innings, including the open 6^th inning. Superb pitching from Ryan and Luke (in his pitching debut) kept the opposition scoreless, and thus CV continue their winning record, not having lost a competitive game since September 2007 at the Final 4 in London. However they should not be complacent as other teams will provide a greater test of their abilities in the coming weeks. Also Rudheath can take heart from the fact that Bolton suffered similar losses in games at the start of last season but had improved enormously by the time of the 2008 Frank Caunce Trophy.  Dave Hill

2 May 2009 - Halton Polecats Broncos 1: Cartmel Valley Broncos 3

Cartmel’s first Broncos fixture of the season was short and low scoring, with only 7 base hits in the entire game, but nonetheless exciting for all that. CV started well, with 3 runs from 2 hits and a walk in the bottom of the first, but from then on were closed down by a superb pitching performance from Harry Pickup. Harry gave up only one more hit, no more walks, and managed to complete six innings despite this season’s new rule restricting each pitcher to a maximum of 85 pitches. Meanwhile, however, Cartmel’s Ryan and Tom were doing a similar job with 16 strikeouts in total restricting Halton’s batters to only 1 run in 5 innings. Thus Cartmel Broncos continued their winning run into a new season despite the inevitable loss of several of last year’s stars who have progressed to the Pony team. Dave Hill