After missing four of their six preseason games due to rainy weather, the Mid-Island Brewers plunged into the regular season last Saturday by winning a two-game set against the Lambrick Giants.
Even Saturday’s season opener was in doubt earlier in the day as the weather forced the closure of all but one of the Evans Park fields.
“We came into the game off two weeks of non-action because of weather, and were a bit worried about how the lack of pre-season would impact our ability to swing the bat,” Brewers manager Keygan Hankins said. “But we quickly dismissed any worries in the first inning of game one.”
The first game saw the Brewers put away the Giants 11-1. Nolan Fothergill, playing his first game in more than four years, went 4-for-5 with a walk, scoring three runs, and pitched two shutout innings while striking out two batters. Caleb Battye made his Brewers debut, going 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while pitching three shutout innings with four strikeouts. Harman Rathor had his best outing in a Brewers uniform, going 2-3 with three walks, three runs and two RBIs.
The second game got dicey for the Brewers when pitcher Jamie Roberts was injured sliding into home. He was pulled for emergency reliever Manohar Rathor, who gave up a pair of runs but managed to preserve the lead while Battye warmed up. Battye sat down the next three hitters to calm the threat, and the Brewers rallied around the injury to Roberts to put up four runs over the next two innings and win 7-2.
The Brewers have this weekend off, then visit the Lambrick Pirates for a doubleheader on May 28.