Armidale Outlaws signalled their intentions to the rest of the Tamworth Baseball competition with their opening round drubbing of Gunnedah.
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The Giants had no answers for Armidale’s batting and fielding as they were beaten 26-2, the Outlaws’ biggest winning margin since their inception into the competition last year.
Cam Beat was the best for the Outlaws with four hits and seven runs batted in.
Coach Josh Shaw was particularly pleased with the efforts with the bat as he felt that was a slight weakness in last year’s side.
"Our strength, and it was something we did focus on in the preseason, was hitting well and hitting well with runners in scoring positions. That is something we did very well on the weekend and we didn't leave many runners on base which is something we struggled with last season,” he said.
"Somewhere we have come on along with is our fielding, again something we have worked on in preseason and a lot more organised training is starting to show itself and guys are really going to that next level in terms of their fielding.”
Shaw said while his side were brilliant, Gunnedah were weakened by the loss of a few key players from last year’s side.
Proving there is plenty of depth within the club, Armidale’s B grade side also started their season with a victory, accounting for the Cavaliers 11-9.
The Outlaws’ victory sets up what is expected to be a cracking match against the Cougars at SportUNE.
The visitors were also first round winners, beating last year’s champions Tamworth Warriors 9-6.
Shaw said after bowing out of the competition in the preliminary finals last year, a win against the Tamworth-based side this weekend could be their first shot at redemption.
"Cougars are a club we get along with very well off the field but there is a really healthy rivalry there so we are looking forward to seeing how we go against them, particularly considering they knocked over last year's premiers on the weekend,” he said.
"We are expecting a tough match but confident we will play well and come out on top.”
B grade begins at 12pm before the A grade starts at 2.15pm with a function at the Whitebull post-game.