Blowout victories, last-inning fightbacks and the arrival of three new teams highlighted opening day of the National Baseball League on Sunday, April 18.

With Southampton, Mildenhall and Essex making their top-tier bows there was an extended schedule of eight matches, with plenty of surprises.

Defending champions Bracknell Blazers locked horns with fellow heavyweights London Mets in the pick of the day’s action, with both sides forced to settle for a game apiece in a wildly contrasting double-header.

Game One saw the Mets sneak a 4-3 verdict, backed by a sterling pitching effort from Jason Roberts, with Henry Collins taking the loss.

But Bracknell bounced back in fine style in game two, scorching the Mets to the tune of 15-2, with Reed Wilson claiming the win.

Truth be told though, this was far from an offensive masterclass, with a catalogue of errors peppering both contests – Bracknell committed nine in game one alone.

Blazers coach Rob Rance admitted he was happy to take a share of the spoils.

He said: “I am sure the London Mets are going to provide our strongest competition this season so I am pretty happy.

“We were missing six starters for a variety of reasons so I am very happy with how we dug in.

“They were not great games in any way and we made far too many errors, but to bounce back like we did is very pleasing.”

Mets coach Alex Pike echoed those thoughts.

He said: “I think it was a case of ironing out the bugs.

“We made a lot of errors and we did not really hit well.

“We got the win in game one but they were much better than us in game two.

“They were two very ugly games of baseball and we just had to get them out of our system.”

There was a surprise in Croydon as the Pirates, who went the whole of last season without claiming a single win, split their double-header with the Richmond Flames.

Even more impressively, the Pirates bounced back from a game one 23-3 hammering to record a thrilling 6-5 win in game two.

Cody Cain claimed a comfortable win in game one for the Flames, with Jose Sosa taking a pounding for Croydon.

But all that changed in game two as a Mikael Azcuy two-run home run set the Pirates on their way to a comeback victory, earning Tim Ssali the win, Mike Osborn taking the loss.

Understandably Croydon coach Dave Ward was delighted.

He said: “In one weekend we have beaten what we achieved in the whole of last year.

“I am absolutely over the moon.

“Everyone has worked so hard over the off-season and in training and this is a reward for that.

“Last year was completely dismal but hopefully we can look forward with some confidence this year.”

New boys the Mildenhall Bulldogs wasted little time in signaling their intentions, brushing aside the Essex Arrows in both games of their opening set.

The Bulldogs cruised to 16-5 and 11-1 wins, with Brandon Blide earning the win and impressing at the plate in game one (Richard Chesterton taking the loss), and Jason Coffee hurling a gem in game two.

Mildenhall coach Gabriel Macias insisted his side were not simply joining the NBL to make up the numbers.

He said: “We love competition and we will really be going for it this season.

“We are really excited to be playing at this level and we aim to make our mark.

“The key for us was hitting.

“We put together a few good innings and scored runs consistently throughout.

“Defensively we were sound.

“We just had a good day all round and it was pretty rough on Essex.”

Fellow debutants the Southampton Mustangs did not enjoy their opening series quite as much, falling to 8-7 and 12-0 losses at Herts Falcons.

But the new boys will take heart from their game one performance, where they scored three runs in the top of the seventh and had the bases loaded before a groundout ended their rally.

Chuck Truelson took the loss, with Herts’ Dan Kerry claiming the win, while Oscar Sierra clubbed a three-run shot for the visitors.

Things went downhill in game two, Pete Kikel pitching an impressive complete game shutout as the Mustangs fell apart.

Despite that, Southampton’s Ben Davis saw plenty to encourage him.

He said: “We fell short in game one which was pretty heartbreaking, but there are plenty of positives we can build on.

“We did not let ourselves down in any way at all.

“Game two we will wipe out of the memory, and quickly.

“The key for us this season is to try and compete in every game – we want to prove the BBF were right to bring us into the league.”

The Falcons’ Jason Greenberg admitted it was a case of job done for his side.

He said: “We won both games and we are very happy with that.

“I thought Southampton had a good squad and I think it is great they are in the league.

“Obviously we will get a better indication of where we are at when we play London next week but we cannot ask for more than two wins on opening day.”