The Tamworth Cougars have sent a message to the rest of the Tamworth Baseball Association A grade competition with an emphatic win on Saturday.
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Playing host to the Armidale Outlaws, the Cougars were looking to cement their place inside the top two positions on the A grade ladder.
The home side proved to be a force to be reckoned with as they scored a decisive 18-5 victory over the Outlaws.
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The win sees the Cougars draw level with the ladder leaders and puts them in the hunt for the A grade minor premiership.
Cougars' starting pitcher Brock Ridgewell got the ball rolling for his side, conceding just one run in the first five innings.
After the fifth inning, the Outlaws scored their first before an error in the outfield allowed them to register three more runs later in the inning.
Cougars' closing pitcher Scott Hurn then took to the mound in the sixth and final inning, determined not to allow the Outlaws back into the game.
Hurn closed out the game to hand the Cougars a vital win and percentage boost.
Kris Bird (five hits) and Aiden Lee (four hits) were on fire for the home side, while Cameron Beat was the Outlaws best with the bat, finishing with three hits for the game.
It was a different story in B grade as the Outlaws scored a 7-6 win over the Cougars.
Tight pitching from Cougars' starter Ben Ridgewell kept the Outlaws to just one run in the first inning, while the Cougars piled on four runs of their own.
Outlaws' pitcher Sam McKay did his best to keep the Cougars' batters at bay until the top of the fourth inning, where the Cougars scored two more runs.
Critical fielding errors from the Cougars at the bottom of the fourth inning then opened the door for an Outlaws comeback, as the visitors scored four runs.
The flurry of runs was enough to see the Outlaws across the line.
Ollie Grimble and Matt Sullivan were the Outlaws best with two hits each.
Meanwhile, the Warriors had their first winning weekend as a club in about a month, with both grades registering victories .
Their top grade side was without the experience of Nathan and Ryan Handsaker going into the clash with the Gunnedah Giants.
But John Warren and his wily pitching was a welcome in for the Warriors on a windy afternoon.
The Warriors eventually ran out 5-3 victors.
Earlier in the day, the Warriors claimed an 11-3 win over the Pandas in B grade, thanks to three hits from Jacob McArthur.
Sarah Davis was the Pandas' best.