Everyone expected sixth-placed Herts Falcons to suffer a heavy defeat away at the reigning champions London Mets on Saturday but it’s a sign of the enormous strides which the team has made over the last few weeks as they left Finsbury Park disappointed to lose the lead and the game in the late innings.

The Mets won the first game of this series after a number of defensive errors gave the Mets an 8-0 lead after the first two innings. It was always going to be difficult to catch the Mets after that but something changed after those first two innings. The Falcons not only regained composure but started to turn the game around.  15-year-old pitcher Tomohiro Tamura came in relief and allowed only 1 hit for the remaining 5 innings of the game. Catcher Alex Paterson contributed behind the plate throwing out two base stealers. Offensively, they found it difficult against the Mets ace pitcher Chris Messer but the momentum was changing.

In 30oC temperatures on the hottest day of the year so far, the players may have looked subdued as they preserved their energy but they could sense that they have a chance to cause a major shock in the second game of the doubleheader.

Game One Box Scores

The Mets scored 5 runs in the first inning after four singles and a home run by Rich Minford but that didn’t seem to faze the Herts Falcons. They tied the game up in the next inning which included a 3-run home run by Cris Hiche to right centerfield.

Pitchers Will Clayton and Tasuku Ishihara kept Mets quiet for the next 2 innings and managed to get out of a major jam allowing only one run to score after the bases were loaded with no outs.  Back came the Falcons in the top of the 5^th inning not only to tie the game but to take an 8-6 lead after a 2-run triple by Dylan Lawler and a third run came in after Tasuku Ishihara’s second double of the day.

The Mets showed why they sit at the top of the NBL table and they responded to win the game 13-10.

But the Falcons’ performance was a clear statement that they are very much in this battle for the playoff places. The last time these two teams met was on Opening Day when the Mets won 0-16 and 0-19. The team’s display on Saturday was on  a completely different level. They scored 10 runs in that second game which is the most runs conceded by the champions this season on 11 hits against their formidable pitching staff and defence.

Game Two Box Scores

Apart from this NBL doubleheader, the day included five other games between Herts and Mets youth teams and made it a real celebration of baseball.

All focus now turns to next Sunday’s huge series away at the Sheffield Bruins who currently occupy the fourth playoff spot. If the Falcons win both games of that doubleheader they will go neck and neck with the Bruins.

The Herts Falcons put on a much improved performance away at the Essex Arrows but it was not enough to cause a major shock against one of the pace-setters in the National Baseball League this season.

Falcons starting pitcher Jack McCarthy limited the Arrows to only five hits in his five innings on the mound which gave his team a chance in the first game of this doubleheader. But they struggled to find a way past Essex’s pitcher, German Obando, who was in command from the start. In this fast-moving game which was completed in 1 hour and 53 minutes, the Arrows gradually extended their lead to 4-0. 

It wasn’t until the final inning of the game that the Herts offence came to life. The top three players of their batting line-up all reached base and clawed one run back against the Essex relief pitcher who came in to close the game.  A single from Matt Moran loaded  the bases with one out and the Herts players and travelling  fans were on their feet sensing an opportunity to win this game when everyone had written their chances off.  

Arrows manager, Eduardo Rodrigues, took urgent action and brought relief pitcher Juan Farrach in to put out the fire which he did by recording two quick outs. Final score 4-1.

Game One Box Scores

The second game of the doubleheader did not have the late inning drama of the first but the visitors performed much better than the 2-12 score line would suggest. 

Game Two Box Scores

The Falcons will certainly want to carry the positive signs from today to the next game, including the five hits in the second game, as well as the successful relief appearance by Alex Deacon in the first game.

The team is now three games back from the fourth-placed Sheffield Bruins who won a thriller in extra innings against the London Capitals. The Falcons are not out of the playoff chase and their performances indicate that they are gathering momentum, but they need to start picking up wins before the rest of the pack pulls away beyond their reach.

Their next game is at home this Sunday, 28 May, once again against the Essex Arrows. First pitch is at 1pm at Grovehill Ballpark and tickets are currently on sale here.

The Herts Falcons lost both games of their home series against the Sheffield Bruins which could prove to be critical at the end of the season.

Before the games, the Falcons were in fifth place, one game ahead of the Bruins who were sixth in the National Baseball League (NBL) standings. They had identified this series as key not only to pull away from the Bruins but to leapfrog the fourth-placed London Latin Boys and go into the playoff zone.

Game One was tied at 1-1 after three innings but Herts had a repeat of the previous week where a couple of bad innings allowed the opponent to run away with the game.  Player manager, Cris Hiche hit a solo home run late in the game but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback and the game ended with a final score of 2-12. The winning pitcher for Sheffield was Elbis Avila who pitched a complete game allowing only four hits.

Game One Box Scores

While game one proved to be one-sided, the second game of the doubleheader provided intense late inning drama. The ballpark saw the highest attendance of the season so far, and those who stayed to the end were kept on the edge of their seats.

The Falcons took an early 1-0 lead and seemed to be in control but a crushing grand slam home run by Andrei Apostoaei put the Falcons on the back foot again. They tied the game with three runs in the bottom of the third but the Bruins responded immediately with another four runs in the fourth.

Patient at bats combined with hits by Cris Hiche, Fraser Duggan and Tetsuro Shinkawa brought the Falcons right back in the game. They loaded the bases with two outs in the final inning and the score 9-10 but Sheffield managed to get the final out and sweep the series.

Game Two Box Scores

The game saw a large number of kids and families in attendance who were seeing a baseball game in person for the first time. The children played catch with their parents and many showed interest in coming to try baseball with the Herts youth teams. Growing the fan base and the Herts youth baseball programme was one of the aims of the club’s NBL Pilot Project. Will one of these boys and girls go on to play for the Herts Falcons in the NBL in a few years?

The team’s next game is on Sunday, 21 May, away at the Essex Arrows who are currently occupy second place in the NBL table. This is followed by the Falcons’ next home game on Sunday, 28 May, when the Arrows will come to Grovehill Ballpark. Tickets for the game are on sale here.

Herts Falcons manager Cris Hiche will have the task of lifting the players after this setback. Qualification for the postseason Playoffs is still in their own hands, but they need to start picking up wins, especially in the key matchups against direct opponents in the Playoff race.

The Herts Falcons played two games away at the East London Latin Boys on Coronation weekend and picked up their first win of the season.

Both teams went into this series with a record of no wins and four losses from their first four games, desperate for a win against a direct opponent in the battle to finish in the top four places.

The team from Hertfordshire took a 6-1 lead after three innings, which included two runs scored on two balks by pitcher Jose Martinez. This was only the second time that the Falcons have had a lead in a game this season but this time they held onto it to the end.

A 2-run home run by Ben Sporleder in the fifth inning and his 2-run double in the sixth extended the lead to 10-1.

Player-manager, Cristobal Hiche (pictured above), also went deep with a 2-run home run of his own to give his team’s pitching staff and defence a little more breathing room going into the closing innings of the game.

Starting pitcher Dan Moran was effective throughout, allowing only three hits in five and two-third innings. Relief pitcher, Tasuku Ishihara, came on to strike out Jeffrey Aguilar for the final out of the game with a final score of 12-2.

The team struggled defensively  in the first four games of the season but on this occasion the fielding was exemplary without any errors. It included two double plays involving middle-infielders Dylan Lawler and Tetsuro Shinkawa and several spectacular plays by left fielder, Ben Morris, who made his Herts debut.

In the second game the Falcons struggled with the bats against Latin Boys’ pitcher, Jorge Luis, who allowed only one hit and struck out 11 batters. They also struggled defensively allowing 13 runs in the second and third innings and there was no coming back from that. The final score 0-15.

Both teams will probably be happy to have picked up a win each which lifted them above the Sheffield Bruins into fourth and fifth place and very much in the thick of the battle for the four playoff places.

After the game, Falcons infielder, Rene Torcato, said that “the team will aim to take the positive momentum from today into the next game at home versus the Sheffield Bruins on Sunday, 14 May, which is another key series in the playoff race”.

Tickets for that game are currently on sale here.