Luanda Red Caps at Sheffield Mountain Hares (22nd to 24th April, 2059)
Logos: LRC by @low, SMH by @20_range
Team Profile: Luanda Red Caps
Banners: none
Playoff appearances: 1
Last Season: 17th
Current record: 7-8
One of the WBL’s less successful teams, they’ve only made the playoffs once since 2040, and came bottom of the Africa Division last year.
Game 1
SP: Isaac Saville
Ilyas Muraguri took the Hares on his back and took them to a 9-6 win in their opening match against the Red Caps. Muraguri was 3-4 with a home run and a double. Muraguri’s hit his 3rd home run of the season at a crucial moment in the 8th inning, with the bases loaded he glided the ball out the park off Hadji Adipo to make it 9-5, Sheffield. Isaac Saville was unspectacular, but kept the Hares in it with a 5 inning start in which he gave up 3 runs.
Player of the game: Ilyas Muraguri
Game 2
SP - Yushua bin Saqr
The Luanda Red Caps tied the series, with a 4-2 win at Kingfisher Park. Right-hander Ikuhiko Oki played a key role in the triumph. The Japanese 32 year old gave up no runs in 6.1 innings despite giving up 7 hits as he outfoxed the Hares whenever it mattered most. Justin Parker‘s 2-run triple off Rey Ochoa in the top of the tenth was the decisive hit, breaking the 2-2 deadlock and putting the Red Caps in front, 4-2. He was 3 for 5 for the game. The Hares did get 12 hits, but struggled to convert anything into runs. Jeff McBurrow’s 9th inning home run helped tie things up for extra-innings, but it wasn’t to be. Yushua bin Saqr’s start was decent, giving up only 1 run in 5.1 innings - though he did give up 4 walks.
Player of the game: Ikuhiki Oki
Game 3
SP - Giobbe Marinello
The Sheffield Mountain Hares electrified the home crowd with a walk-off win to take the series in game 3, with a scrappy 4-3 win. Glove specialist Jason Portman was the walk-off hero for Sheffield, letting his bat do the talking. With the game tied in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Mountain Hares center fielder hit a dramatic run-scoring single to bring Kolya Saetgaliev in and send the teams home. Portman was 3 for 4 in the game. Giobbe Marinello put in a great performance on the mound going 7 innings and giving up one run.
Player of the game: Giobbe Marinello
Sheffield Mountain Hares record: 10-8