Rangers play the patient game to defeat Pine Hills in home opener

BASEBALL: An explosive start to the season has helped the Toowoomba Rangers pick up where they left off.

Sean Rodgers hits for Toowoomba Rangers. Picture: Kevin Farmer

At home to the Pine Hills Lightning in the opening round of the GBL, the Rangers lit up Commonwealth Oval from the outset.

Two runs in the first innings, followed by three apiece in the second and third opened up a matchwinning 8-0 lead early on, before they went on to close out the contest 9-4.

Player-coach Luke Ardill said he was proud of how they were able to start the season

“It was a good way to start and everyone played well. To come out the way we did was good to see,” he said.

“It was a great team effort, considering we were down three players from our A-grade line-up.

“We spoke about trying to not be sluggish. We have a tendency to start the season a bit slow, so we worked very hard in the off-season to start as well as we did.

“Laurie Taylor did well on the mound for the first four innings’.

“It was a bit hard to work the bats. We had 10 walks during the game so we didn’t get a great chance there.

“It shows that we have patience. In the past we’ve chased bad pitches, but we’re working on not swinging at balls and are happy to take the walks.”

The success of the Rangers A-grade side in division four was further enhanced with both B and C-grade sides winning their season openers as well.

B-grade won their division five encounter with a 13-3 defeat of the Windsor Royals, with C-grade sweeping the Southern Stars in division six to the tune of 19-7.

“It’s always good to start the season with three wins throughout the club,” Ardill said.

“Last year we had only two teams. We’ve had some new players and old players return.

“We’ve got three strong teams. It’s only the first game of a 19-game season, but it’s a good way to show the Rangers are here to play.”

Originally published as Rangers play the patient game to defeat Pine Hills in home opener