Jason Scott probably awoke Thursday morning feeling a little beaten up but another Belfast Hornets victory was undoubtedly a suitable balm.

The rookie right fielder was hit by pitches three times on Wednesday evening as the Northstars (4-8) were taken down 8-3 at Hydebank Park.

Advertised as a pitcher’s duel between Mark Smith and Melvin Woods, the game wouldn’t disappoint with Smith ( 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 10K) taking the win and improving his team to a 9-1 record. Before leaving with tightness in his arm, Woods (6 H, 6R, 3 ER, 6 BB, 8 K) was himself on his way to a solid outing before the ball was handed to Will Mitchell in the last inning.

Unfortunately for Woods’ Northstars, the Hornets provided a more balanced attack, led from the leadoff spot By Sean Gottschalk (3 H, 2 RBI, 2 SB). Northstars coach Darwin Sanchez would attempt to motivate his team with an inside-the-park home run in the third inning but unfortunately for the maroon and gold, four errors and seven men left on base gave them little chance to catch the expansion Hornets.

In a game that included spotty defence on both sides, both coaches will be looking for tighter fielding as the season moves into its second half.

Attention turns to the smaller diamond on Sunday as the Angels look to bounce back from a nailbiter loss to the Cubs last week.

Despite a valiant comeback, Jay Slevin and Jonny Craven’s team just got pipped 14-13 with the tying and winning runs on base. They will be facing off against the Bangor Buccaneers (3-4) in a mid table clash at Hydebank. With a 4-4 record in this, their rookie season, the Angels have shown potential and the coaches will be hoping that they start strong from the first pitch.

Be sure to check out the Facebook pages and twitter feeds for the teams of the Belfast Baseball and Softball Club – The Belfast Northstars(@NorthstarsBB) , The Belfast Buccaneers(@BelfastBucs), The Belfast Hornets (@BelfastHornets) and The Belfast Angels Softball Club (@Belfast_Angels).

www.belfastbaseball.co.uk