BOURNEMOUTH Bears battled through a tough weekend as both teams faced off against strong opposition in their quest to reach the post-season.

Coming into Sunday at 18-4, the AAA Bears travelled up the M3 to face the London Sidewinders in the capital.

The Sidewinders also sported a winning record entering the weekend as they sat second in the South A division, behind the Richmond Knights.

With Jose Lopez on the mound for game one, the Bears were confident of kicking off the double header with a win. Lopez obliged, producing 10 strikeouts and allowing just six hits through seven innings of work.

The game got off to a slightly rocky start, as Naohiko Kumagai hit a triple to left centre with the bases loaded to put three runs on the board for the home team. As the Bears’ bats struggled to get going, Lopez showed his class by taking just 13 pitches to strike out the side in the second inning.

After the home side added another run in the fourth, the score was 4-0 entering the top of the sixth. In customary Bournemouth fashion, the visitors' bats got hot at just the right moment with Juan Miguel Ortega driving in Williams Vega and Neal returning the favour to Ortega either side of Lopez scoring on an error.

Ortega then came up big again in the seventh, driving in Ben Hyde and Vega. With the bases loaded, Mitch Cross battled for a walk to bring home Lopez, before Neal singled for the second time in as many innings to score Ortega and put the game beyond reach for the Sidewinders at 7-4.

The second game saw the home side pick up a 6-5 win in a back-and-forth contest.

Mitch Cross pitched the majority of the game, picking up two strikeouts and only allowing one hit on his way to player of the day honours.

The Single A Bears travelled to Bristol for a neutral site match-up against the Cornish Claycutters.

Despite missing several players, the Bears gave a good account of themselves against the Wessex Division leaders but ultimately fell short in both games, losing 18-4 and then 13-12.

There were some positives as Olivia Burlinson pitched her first innings as a Bear, picking up her first strikeout in the process. Rhi McMah also showed her talent on the mound, taking just three pitches to see off the final two Claycutters’ batters in game one.

Artie Herbert earned player of the day for catching both games, picking up two RBIs and providing motivation for the whole Bears team throughout the day.

AAA have a crucial game against the Bristol Badgers at Ferndown on Sunday, whilst the Single A side travel to Weston-Super-Mare to face the Weston Jets.