Four on the Bounce as Knights Win Two at Home
The New Forest Thunder Knights kicked off a streak of five consecutive home games with two wins against the Cornish Claycutters on Sunday. On an incredibly humid day, the Knights did just enough to see out a game one victory thanks to a good all round hitting display. Mitch Sullivan and Chris Lawson picked up three hits apiece, whilst Marcus Senior drove in two on the home side’s first triple of the season. Both sides scored twice in the first inning, with Dan Kitts getting the first of his three hits in the game for the visitors. Things opened up in the second inning, as the Knights scored five thanks to hits from Sullivan, Chris Lawson and Rob Holbrook. Eddie Donald scored on his full return from a shoulder injury, as did Shaun Barrett thanks to some excellent base running. However, the visitors clawed themselves back into the game with five unanswered runs of their own over the next two innings. Then, in the final inning, they took the lead for the first time in the game to go ahead 9-8. With the home side needing two runs to win, Manager Warren Doyle drove in Alex Frampton with a single to left field, before Andy Moore brought in Doyle to seal the walk off win. Game two was more of the same as the New Forest bats stayed hot. A player of the day performance for home debutant, Sarah Banerjee, saw her pick up two hits and two RBIs – including a fantastic line drive through the left side of the infield. She was joined with two hits by Lawson and Senior. After the home side hit their first triple of the season in game one, Rob Holbrook picked up the second in game two – hitting a towering blast to right field and showing his speed round the bases. The ‘play of the day’ honours were shared thanks to two outstanding pieces of fielding which helped secure the win. Sullivan made a sprawling stop down the first base line, before getting to his feet and dashing to make the out. Then, Sam Williams secured the final out of the game by taking a diving catch over his shoulder behind the plate. A final score of 12-8 meant the home side picked up their fourth straight win and moved to second in the division. Ahead of the MLB London Series, a two week break means the Thunder Knights are back in action on the 2nd July against the Cardiff Merlinss.