[pauwoo]

Soufrière Brutes (5-7, .416, 4th South) @ Bongalo Terrapins (7-5, .583, t-1st South)
The Terrapins came into this season with expectation – not especially high expectations, but expectations nonetheless… they, according to the preseason prognosticators were the best of a pedestrian bunch after us in the South. The type of club that, with a lucky bounce here and a good hop there, could find themselves in a position to buck expectations and accomplish something truly special. And, so far, they have been using their luck up at a rate that doesn’t seem sustainable – a -14 RDiff, running +3 against the Pyt, and owners of a 5-0 record in 1-run games… something has to give with these guys because, simply put, they’re not as good as their ho-hum 7-5 record suggests.

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP V. Crawshaw (0-1, 3.75 ERA) vs RHP J. Handley (1-1, 3.18 ERA)
RHP E. Kidd (1-0, 1.38 ERA) vs LHP P. Gomes (0-1, 3.94 ERA)
RHP G. Barnett (0-1, 2.37 ERA) vs RHP C. Chevrier (2-0, 1.07 ERA)

May 24th, 2021
Soufrière’s Crawshaw leaves early with injury, Brutes hang on for the victory.
Soufrière 6 @ Bongalo 4
WP: Ashley Allen (1-0, 0.00)
LP: Jordan Handley (1-2, 4.32)
• SOU: Carl McGovern (C) – 3 for 4, 2 RBI, R
• SOU: Fabrice Strowbridge (2B) – 3 for 5, 2B, 2 RBI, R

A real gut punch here… Crawshaw will be out for the 4 months with a torn triceps. Brutal. RP Alexander Gautier’s been called up from the Grand Anse Rice Rats, taking a slot in the pen, while Max Davis has been moved into the #5 slot for now.

May 25th, 2021
Chevrier renders Brutes offense useless, Terps win with ease
Soufrière 0 @ Bongalo 5
WP: Christian Chevrier (3-0, 0.79)
LP: Gael Barnett (0-2, 3.51)
• BON: Christian Chevrier (SP) – 9.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W
• BON: Michael Smythe (3B) – 2 for 4, RBI, R

May 26th, 2021
Brutes stave off late rally, earn series win on the road
Soufrière 4 @ Bongalo 3
WP: Elliot Kidd (2-0, 1.86)
LP: Patrick Gomes (0-2, 4.24)
• SOU: Elliot Kidd (SP) – 6.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W
• SOU: Harrison Rawlings (3B) – 1 for 2, RBI, R, BB

A hard-earned series win – likely made it harder on ourselves then it needed to be – where we did what we were supposed to, nothing more, maybe less… 1 game off .500, 1 game off the pace set by Bongalo and Vieux Fort… no change in the homerun race, but our own Oscar Day has moved up to 3rd on the RBI leaderboard with 12 so far… Anse-la-Raye has reclaimed the top spot in the North after winning 5 straight while Bisee stumbled a bit against the Micoud Hammerheads, dropping 2 of 3 against them in their most recent set…

Vieux Fort Saviors (8-7, .533, t-1st South) @ Soufrière Brutes (7-8, .467, t-2nd South)
Widely considered to be the worst team in the South, the Saviors have been anything but to start the season, showing themselves to be a steady swimmer capable of treading water with the best of them. Throughout this early run, their offense has been amazing – 1st in swiped bags, runs scored, OBP, OPS, wOBA, and HRs – with Alistair Harlow’s .455 average and 8 swiped bags setting the tone. The pitching, unfortunately, has been the other side of that same coin – they rank 11th in runs against, Starters ERA, and FIP… so, as soon as their bats cool off (it’ll happen, you’ll see…), we fully expect them to sink like a rock. The question here is whether our 4th ranked staff will be the unit to douse their early flame or will we fan that blaze for them during their visit to Soufrière?

Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP H. Nguyen (1-1, 1.74 ERA) vs LHP C. Alonso (2-1, 8.00 ERA)
RHP L. Bolton (1-0, 2.51 ERA) vs RHP N. Brown (1-1, 6.28 ERA)
LHP M. Davis (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs LHP C. Kavanagh (1-2, 2.11 ERA)

May 27th, 2021
Nguyen hurls Brutes back to .500 at home
Soufrière 7 vs. Vieux Fort 2
WP: Harvey Nguyen (2-1, 1.91)
LP: Christophe Alonso (2-2, 8.59)
• SOU: Harvey Nguyen (SP) – 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W
• SOU: Chris Routledge (CF) – 1 for 4, HR, 3 RBI, R

May 28th, 2021
Bolten spins masterpiece, Brutes piece up Saviors in Soufrière
Soufrière 9 vs. Vieux Fort 0
WP: Lance Bolton (2-0, 1.61)
LP: Neil Brown (1-2, 7.58)
• SOU: Lance Bolton (SP) – 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, W
• SOU: Fabrice Strowbridge (2B) – 2 for 3, 2B, 3 RBI, R, BB
• SOU: Carl McGovern (C) – 1 for 4, HR, 3 RBI, R

May 29th, 2021
Late, 8th inning run secures first sweep of the season for Soufrière
Soufrière 2 vs. Vieux Fort 1
WP: Dermot Griffiths (1-1, 0.00)
LP: Cedric Kavanagh (1-3, 2.15)
• SOU: Max Davis (SP) – 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K
• SOU: Cedric Kavanagh (SP) – 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K

Finally playing with some verve, winners of four straight, and in our rightful place atop the Southern Division table… that the Laborie Corsairs are sharing that spot with us currently is no bother, that we’d manage to summit this early season hill is reward enough in and of itself… 3 batters sit tied atop the HR rankings with 5 dingers each – not a lot of power so far and we’re already 18 games in… Castries, like us, finds themselves in the midst of 4-game winning streak, the Dennery Dukes and Laborie each swept their last set, and the once formidable Vieux Fort Saviors have lost 4 in a row, while the Bisee Mad Dogs have dropped 5 in a row after a 10-3 start to the season…

Record: 10-8, .556, t-1st South