The Auckland Tuatara’s rough start to the Australian Baseball League season continued last night, losing not only the game against the Canberra Cavalry but also their manager Steve Mintz, who was ejected in the sixth innings.
The 7-5 loss was the eighth for the Tuatara, who sit bottom of the Northeast Division. They found themselves down 3-0 at QBE Stadium in Albany after the first innings as well, with the Cavalry scoring off a Zach Wilson home run over right field. They then increased that lead in the next innings when Jerrick Suiter came home off a fielder’s choice that ended up being a double play.
The home side’s offensive woes that have plagued them all season kept them scoreless till the fourth innings, when Won Seok-Kim was walked and then Te Wera Bishop advanced him to second with a base hit. Kim then came home off a Jonny Hozma fly ball, before Kent Blackstone brought Bishop in with a single to left field. The hits kept coming and Jared Walker was able to score two more with a single to right field before the innings ended.
That made the score 5-4 in favour of the Tuatara, however by now the home side was getting clearly aggrieved at the strike zone calls by home plate umpire Josh Weschler. Shortstop Josh Morgan gave Weschler a verbal spray at the bottom of the sixth that led to him being tossed, so Mintz leapt to his defence and was ejected as well.
The bad news didn’t end there for Tuatara, as the Cavalry first tied up the game at 5-all through a fly ball by Suiter. Then Tucker Nathans sent a bomb straight over the centre field fence to bring home two runs in the seventh innings and take the lead.
The Tuatara’s final turn at bat failed to yield any runs. The two sides meet again in the second of their four game series tonight at QBE Stadium.