Soufrière Brutes (4-2, .666, 1st South) @ Gros Islet Rays (2-4, .333, 6th North)
Gros Islet has sputtered a bit off the line – mostly due to an offense in desperate need of fuel, ranked 12th in AVG, OBP, OPS, and wOBA, where their best hitter,
2B Antoine Bruneau, has a .280/.40/.292 slash so far. Their staff, however, has been quite good so far, coming in much hotter than advertised, and are running near the top of the pack, ranked 2nd in Starters ERA and FIP, and 6th in Bullpen ERA. This isn’t a club that has high expectations this season – they have a good core, are capable of giving anyone fits, but need to shore up some of their depth issues if they are to make a run at the Island Series. Blessed with fervent fan support, a large market, and good loyalty, Gros Islet is a club that will likely stay busy on the trade market during the season to strengthen their anemic development system and will likely throw some cash around during the offseason to keep their supporters fat & happy.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP H. Nguyen (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP T. Dodds (0-1, 2.00 ERA)
RHP V. Crawshaw (0-0, 1.50 ERA) vs RHP K. Smith (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
RHP E. Kidd (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs RHP D. Smith (0-1, 7.50 ERA)
May 17th, 2021
Brutes brutalized by Yeomans GRAND SLAM in loss to the Rays
Soufrière 5 @ Gros Islet 7
WP: Graeme Victor (1-1, 5.68)
LP: Rob Thurston (1-1, 3.00)
- SOU: Edgar Bernard (SS) – 3 for 5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
- GI: Lyndon Yeomans (SS) – 1 for 3, HR, 4 RBI, R
May 18th, 2021
Smith hurls clean sheet against Brutes, Crawshaw uneven in loss
Soufrière 0 @ Gros Islet 4
WP: Dwaine Smith (1-1, 3.00)
LP: Vernon Crawshaw (0-1, 3.75)
- GI: Dwaine Smith (SP) – 9.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, W
- GI: Hughie Chellun (1B) – 2 for 4, 2B RBI, R
May 19th, 2021
Soufrière swept out of Gros Islet, walked off in extras
Soufrière 3 @ Gros Islet 5
WP: Franck Salomon (1-0, 0.00)
LP: Dermot Griffiths (0-1, 0.00)
- SOU: Mo Crellin (C) – 3 for 4, HR, 2 RBI, R, BB
- SOU: Elliot Kidd (SP) – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Oof. Swept out of Gros Islet by a poor club… using what I put up on the chalkboard prior to starting this set, I think that it is safe to say it went nothing like we drew it up…we drop into a 4-way tie for 2nd with, well, everyone, while the Laborie Corsairs find themselves a scant 1 game up on the division. Meanwhile, in the North, Bisee swept Bongalo at home to pull into a two-way tie with Anse-la-Raye for the top spot in their division… the Hammerheads’
Clyde Anderson sent his 4th ball over the fence during a loss to Laborie – he now leads that category while his Canaries-based ballclub finds itself at the bottom of the table in the Northern Division… Also, because I’m a glutton for punishment, I suppose, I should note that your Brutes have now dropped 4 straight contests.
That’s not good.
Soufrière Brutes (4-5, .444, t-2nd South) @ Castries Black Cats (4-5, t-6th North)
At 4-5 so far this year, the Black Cats have struggled out the gate and have come in as advertised given that the baseball punditry figured them for cellar dwellers in the North. They are in 6th place in the Northern Division, 2.0 games behind the leader, and have their pitching to thank for it – 11th in runs allowed, 10th ranked Starters ERA, with a defense that ranks 9th in ZR and 7th in efficiency. They’re coming off a series loss to Micoud where they looked a bit shopworn already and seem primed for a club like ours who is looking to get back on track.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP G. Barnett (0-1, 3.55 ERA) vs LHP L. McCarthy (1-1, 4.85 ERA)
RHP L. Bolton (1-0, 1.23 ERA) vs RHP C. Price (0-1, 4.76 ERA)
RHP H. Nguyen (1-0, 1.93 ERA) vs RHP C. Verdier (1-1, 2.84 ERA)
May 20th, 2021
Soufrière wins in extras despite two costly fielding flubs
Soufrière 5 @ Castries 4
WP: Rob Thurston (2-1, 2.38)
LP: Michael Dean (0-1, 1.80)
- SOU: Gael Barnett (SP) – 6.1 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- SOU: Damyean Power (RF) – 2 for 5, HR, 3 RBI, R
May 21st, 2021
Soufrière’s late rally falls short in Castries
Soufrière 4 @ Castries 5
WP: Cameron Price (1-1, 3.29)
LP: Rob Thurston (2-2, 3.65)
- CAS: Cameron Price (SP) – 8.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, W
- CAS: John Barlow (CF) – 2 for 3, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB
May 22nd, 2021
Castries claws back to .500 at Soufrière’s expense
Soufrière 1 @ Castries 2
WP: Clyde Wiggins (1-0, 3.00)
LP: Harvey Nguyen (1-1, 1.74)
- SOU: Harvey Nguyen (SP) – 6.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
- CAS: Jude Beasley (RF) – 1 for 3, HR, RBI, R
A tough 1-5 week for the Brutes on the road with 3 more @ Bongalo on the docket… not ideal. Sitting in 4th now in the South, loser of 2-straight, but with plenty of time to turn things around… the key is positivity. Right? I think that’s right… not 100%. Bongalo and Vieux Fort each secured sweeps in their last sets and find themselves battling it out at the top of our division, while the Bisee Mad Dogs have reeled off 6-straight in B2B sweeps, taking a 1-game lead over Ande-la-Raye into next week.
3B Andre Curley, of the Bisee Mad Dogs, is our latest HR leader putting 4 of his 5 dingers on the board over the last week…
Record: 5-7, .416, 4th South