Guernsey make it 11 wins in a row as Muratti returns home

Guernsey won the big finale 33-14 to conclude a delightful day at the diamond, where they also claimed victory in two of the three earlier Upton and Muratti matches.

But that end scoreline did not show the onslaught they inflicted on Jersey in the first inning, stopping the visitors from scoring a single run before producing 14 of their own. A home run from Ross Machon was among them.

Guernsey’s hot start fizzled out but a shell-shocked Jersey struggled to retaliate and, after three innings, the hosts led 18-4.

Guernsey then won a busier fourth inning 9-3, including home runs from Great Britain international Josh Smith and MVP Shane Taylor.

The hosts cruised to the line from there and Jersey managed eight runs at the top of the sixth innings, with no retaliation, to tighten the scoreline.

Guernsey coach Ryan de Jersey praised that rapid start, saying ‘it boosts everyone’, and was overall very complimentary of his side’s performance.

‘I’m very pleased,’ he said.

‘Every time we batted really well, fielded really well ... we were on it.

‘It’s so nice winning it now for the 11th time [in a row].’

Captain Ben Corson has been a regular during that grand winning streak.

‘That was probably the strongest island side we’ve had for a while, with some new faces in it, and we had Josh [Smith], Macy [Cortez] and Kirstie [Marquis], all GB futures or GB players,’ said a man who doubles as Guernsey Softball Association president.

‘We couldn’t have asked for a better start, but there was a little bit of pressure or some good hitting from them and they came back into it a little bit.

‘It’s nice to see they fought till the end.’

Guernsey defended their Muratti B title with a 21-13 scoreline, having taken much longer to get going.

After three innings the score was level at a measly 2-2, but subsequent scores of three, seven and nine from the Sarnians blew the match apart.

Jussie Smith earned the MVP honours.

Tomahawks had repeated last year’s Upton A victory for Guernsey.

The domestic champions lagged Jersey’s Jackson Phoenix by two runs after a fruitless first inning and were level at 4-all after three.

They then blew the match apart with 11 runs across the next two innings, which proved pivotal to them winning 15-5.

But the return of the Upton B, which was absent last year but here started off the day, proved fortuitous for Jersey.

Their Marwyn Royals tamed CAR Cobras with a 24-12 victory, which was built from a 10-3 lead after three innings.

Cobras got their noses ahead with an 8-0 fourth inning but that reawakened the fighting spirit of the Caesareans, who dominated the rest of the match.

After three very one-sided Guernsey wins last year, Corson credited Jersey’s improvement across the board.

‘Jersey winning the Upton B today was a good result for them,’ he added.

‘The scores were a lot heavier last year so it’s nice to see that they’ve improved and brought better sides.’

The GSA president also thanked the ‘good crowd’ that had assembled on the sidelines, with this being the first home inter-insular since 2019.

‘It’s obviously nice to have the home support and play on our home diamond.’

Another boost for the event came from two fully-qualified umpires from Bristol, David Lee and Sean Gostage. They liked what they saw.

‘The quality is very high, far higher than what we were led to believe,’ Lee said.

Gostage added: ‘The facilities are fantastic.’