BOURNEMOUTH Bears were forced to settle for a share of the spoils after a win and a defeat in their double header with Bristol Badgers.

Bears' AAA team saw off the Badgers 4-0, before losing the second game 6-2, writes Andy Moore.

After earning five wins in as many starts, Jose Lopez was back on the mound to start the first game of the day. Through seven innings he struck out seven batters, allowed a batting average of just 0.192 and completed his first shutout of the season in the 4-0 victory.

There was another first at the plate for the Bears, as Roger Cedeno hit a towering home run to deep left field in the bottom of the fifth - the first since he joined the Bears. Ashley Neal drove in Ben Hyde for the other earned run of the game, with Juan Miguel Ortega and Jose Bobadilla both scoring on wild pitches.

It was a strong display from the Bears, with the defence making a number of important plays to preserve the shutout for Lopez and win their seventh game in a row.

Unfortunately, the eighth win evaded the home team as the Badgers came back to win game two.

Marcus Lopes and James Norman shared pitching responsibilities for the Bears, only allowing two walks between them all game. However, the Badgers bats got up and running early, as they put up six runs through the first two innings - a margin the Bears could not quite claw back.

Facing good pitching from Mike Osborn, the Bears bats struggled to get a foothold in the game until the third inning where player of the day Cedeno hit a sacrifice fly to bring Bobadilla home. The home team then managed to load the bases in the fifth inning, with Ortega drawing a walk to bring in Neal. Bristol held on from that moment onwards, securing a 6-2 victory.

The Single A side made their first of two trips to Cardiff to play the Merlins.

After two hard fought games, the Merlins came out victorious 7-2 and 6-2, but there were plenty of positives for the away side to build upon.

The Bears’ defence built on a good start to the season, limiting an explosive Cardiff offence to 13 runs over the two games.

Eddie Donald picked up the player of the day award for some strong work in the outfield.

For the first time this season the Single A team are playing at home next week, as the Cardiff II team travel to Ferndown.

AAA have the week off as they continue to sit atop the South West division with a 9-3 record.