BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 5 Recap
Cordoba vs Medina (Video Featured game of the night)
Our featured game of the night was between 2 teams that have the potential of being the top teams in the league this year as both rosters are stacked with talent.
Medina was a missing a key player in Zane Sheikh who missed this game due to extreme selfish reasons as he flew out to BC to get married. Can you believe this guy? I mean, the 5 week notice he provided to his team aside, the audacity to abandon his team like that… I guess we know who’s playing catcher rest of the season 😉
The home team Medina got off to a great start as they shut Cordoba down in the first inning and brought in 2 runs courtesy of a Hamid Malik homerun down CF bringing in Zahid Merchant. Atif Parvaiz did a great job on the mound as he was a completely different player from game 1. He went from throwing 18 walks in game 1 to 6 walks in this one. Pitching is no joke, and for him to turn it around after just 1 game is super impressive to say the least. He helped keep Medina in this game as long as he could.
Forward to the 4th inning where captain Yousaf Chaudhry responded with a homer of his own bringing in 2 RBI’s as he finished the night 3 of 3 at bat capping off a mercy inning to tie the game at 8. Medina had them down to 2 outs and all they had to do was a make a simple play but instead, the infield made 3 costly errors on the simplest of plays resulting in momentum for Cordoba and multiple runs cashed in. Cordoba kept their foot on Medina’s throat and put up 10 unanswered runs over the next 2 innings, thanks to a grand slam by rookie Faisal Shamshad which really put a dent in Medina’s spirits as he drove the final nail in coffin. Medina had a chance to rally as the final inning saw the top of the order but Cordoba shut them down, closing out this game in style. After 2 back to back beat downs by Cordoba, I think the entire league is on notice. Cordoba is the team to beat this year and if they can stay consistent, they look the scariest team out there.
Final score, Cordoba 18, Medina 8
Summary of main Stats:
Medina
Mo Kala – 3 / 4, 2 RBI’s
Zahid Merchant: 2 / 3, 2 RBI’s
Hamid Malik: 1 / 4, HR, 2 RBI’s
Abdul Butt: 2 / 3
Cordoba
Yousaf Chaudhry: 3 / 3, HR, 2 RBI’s
Faisal Shamshad: 1 / 3, Grand Slam, 4 RBI’s
Ahmed Butt: 2 / 3, 1 RBI
Zaid Ghunsar: 2 / 4, 2 RBI’s
Cairo vs Medina
With Medina dropping the previous game, they’re mind set was totally different coming into this game. Medina strongly believes that they are one of the strongest teams in the league and they weren’t going to lose 2 games on the same night. Medina quickly got this one started putting up 10 quick runs in the first 2 innings while Cairo seemed like they were stalled on the side of the road trying to get their engine started. W K brought us out first highlight of the game as he very casually smashed a HR down LF bringing in 3 RBI’s. Mr. Farooq “Miandad” Sani changed up his batting style this game hoping to improve his average and boy did it pay off. He went 2 for 4 with and RBI and made great contact. He was hitting the ball well and was a rock star in RF. On the opposite end, Jay “Smooth” Ahmed was having a day at bat as he went 2/3 at the plate bringing home and RBI and locking it down at LF. Let’s forward to the 3rd inning where Cairo finally showed signs of life bringing in 4 runs as Ali Chaudhry had 3 of those RBI’s on a massive homer down CF which, didn’t really close the gap… Medina turned around and matched their efforts with 4 runs of their own as they maintained a 10 point advantage. Cairo was having some difficulties in the outfield as there were a lot of misplays on dropped catches. Most of the pop flies could’ve been caught but unfortunately Cairo was unable to capitalize on those nicely gift wrapped fly balls resulting in multiple runs. Cairo showed some signs of life in the final 3 innings barely mustering up 7 runs but that wouldn’t matter as Medina went on to score 17 runs on 21 hits. Atif Parvaiz was once again superb on the mound throwing 4 Strike outs, and 0 walks whereas Miqdad Jaffer with his “ready or not” style of pitching had 0 strike outs and 1 walk. There weren’t too many positive points on Cairo’s side on this evening and yes, they were playing down a few of their regular guys like “Big Bass” Yasseen who could change the game with his consistency and HR power. It might still be early for Cairo to start panicking but it is time for Captain Yasser Malik to go back to the drawing board and start figuring some things out. Cairo gets a bye next week and should use that to reset as they have a revenge date scheduled with Medina upon their return. You know… the same team that just laid the smack down on them.
Final score Medina 17, Cairo 7.
Summary of main Stats:
Medina
WK – 4 / 4, HR, 5 RBI’s
Zahid Merchant: 3 / 3, 1 RBI
Hannan Uppal: 3 / 3
Hamid Malik: 3 / 4, 3 RBI’s
Atif Parvaiz: 2 / 4, 2 doubles, 2 RBI’s
Cairo
Ali Chaudhry: 2 / 3, HR, 3 RBI’s
Jav Ahmed: 2 / 3, 1 RBI
Hatf Sohail: 3 / 3
Miqdad Jaffer: 2 / 3
Lahore vs Damascus
The night game featured a fierce pitching battle between two BSL legendary pitchers. That's right folks, we had Zia 'Doc' Beg's Lahore face off against Tanseer 'Robocop' Khawaja's Damascus (franchise team). Lahore was coming into the game in search for its first win this season while Damascus was coming off a convincing win in its prior week. Both teams came into the game looking confident, so it was difficult to predict who would be the victors. In the end, it was a lopsided victory, 10-3 for the men in blue, Damascus.
When you assess Lahore's batting lineup, there you will be left wondering how this team remains winless. They seem to have all the elements - power, speed, spray hitting, on-base and experience. When you mix those factors with the fact that many of these guys are hard working life long friends then it should lead the team to success. Early in the season, the problem seems to be that Lahore fails to find a groove, which is nothing but momentum. In it's last few games, they get going later towards the game. They're like an old Cadillac - takes a while to get going, due to lots of mileage, but once it gets on the highway it's the smoothest of drives. Lahore has yet to get on the highway. Actually they're on the side of the road, with their four-way blinkers on. But, no need to call CAA. Indeed, Lahore can fix these problems. Whether it be more batting practice or adjusting the lineup, we believe Aftab Sheikh and the entrusted men in green will get it together. In this game, Lahore had only 8 hits, which is some credit due to Damascus defense, but some of these guys just need to get the hitting going and it starts with having that confidence in yourself and your teammates. We predict Lahore to have better days than mustering only three runs. Lahore must take a Win next week otherwise pressure will settle in as far as making the playoffs go.
On the other side of the spectrum, Damascus seems to be trending upwards, having won two straight albeit against middle tiered teams. Damascus has a decent defense. There were some head scratching errors that lead to Lahore's only runs. Robocop had zero - that's right zero - earned runs this game. We think Damascus can get better with its defense, despite being one of the better defensive teams in this league. It seems that lack of chemistry and experience in critical positions is what is holding them back. Offensively, the team played a decent game. Ahmad Ammad hasn't gotten out in what seems like since June. As far as the team performance goes, ten runs is a dangerously low. If the team thinks that that will be enough then it's not really a championship type team, as the minimum required is usually 12-14 runs, so some of the guys will need to pick up their bats or figure out how to get on base, so that Shane Worthington and Ammad can bring them home.
Overall, this was one of the fastest games this season - there were only two walks allowed all game! Doc threw only 62 pitches, while Robocop had only 70. For next week, Lahore will be pressured to win at least one of its games otherwise they risk their playoff chances this early in the season. Meanwhile, Damascus has a bye week, so the question becomes whether Damascus can continue its form even after the time off.
Lahore Pros
- Doc is keeping the guys in it. Doc's pitching should give its offense a chance every game it plays. 83% of the time he throws a first pitch strike, which puts pressure on batters.
Lahore Opportunities
- With some batting practice more runs should be produced. If the team can get two W's next week, it's right back in the race.
Damascus Pros
- Stingy team defense - team is looking strong defensively all around. Only one XBH allowed
- Robocop's pitching was magnificient. The
Damascus Opportunities
- CF and SS must stop making errors
- Must find more ways to get runs. Need more runs produced from other than Ammad and Worthington