Kensington clean sweeps Goodwood to win division one baseball flag

KENSINGTON has regained the division one baseball crown after a two-game grand final sweep of Goodwood at Erindale on the weekend.

KENSINGTON has regained the division one baseball crown after a two-game grand final sweep of Goodwood at Erindale on the weekend.

The Cardinals won 8-4 on Saturday and 9-4 yesterday to claim their fourth flag in five seasons.

Game one featured a 13-strikeout performance from Cardinals pitcher Chris Salamida and two-run home runs from Tom Brice early and Nick Talbot late.

Goodwood scored an unearned run in the first inning on Chris Adamson’s sacrifice fly after Brice’s third-frame shot gave the Cardinals the lead.

Indian pitcher Matt Wickswat lost control in the fifth inning with five walks, allowing Kensington to score four runs and lay the foundation for its win.

A single run in the sixth dig on Brandon Pett’s home run and a pair of runs in the eighth frame gave some hope to the Indians, but Talbot quashed those chances with his fence-buster in the bottom of the eighth.

In game two, the Indians took a 1-0 lead on Chris Adamson’s sacrifice fly in the first inning.

Big doubles from Brice and Scott Gladstone fuelled a three-run second frame from the Cardinals for a 3-1 advantage.

On the back of two walks, a pair of errors and a wild pitch, the Indians regained the lead at 4-3 with a three-run push in the third dig.

But again Kensington fought back hard, this time with a six-run fourth inning.

Gladstone belted a two-run double, Bas Nooij connected for a two-run home run and Brice picked up two hits for the frame.

Veteran Goodwood pitcher Darren Fidge did not walk a batter but hit four Cardinals hitters, ensuring he did not see out the fourth dig.

Talbot pitched the winning game for Kensington, throwing nine innings for four hits, four walks and nine strikeouts.