Category: Featured

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Ravens unable to stop impressive Metros

The Herts Ravens were not able to upset the odds and lost both games of their doubleheader with the AAA League leaders.

AAA League (Game 1) London Metros 17 Herts Ravens 5 (click to view box scores)

The London Metros produced an impressive hitting display in the first game outhitting the Ravens 16-4. Ten of their 16 hits came in the top of the first inning which produced 13 runs. Herts did well to recover after that, scoring 5 and conceding 4 runs from the second inning onwards, but the early deficit was too much to come back from.

Johan Villanueva hit one of three homeruns for the Metros, but it was lefty centerfielder, Andrew Vargas, who stood out for them batting 4-for-5, with 2 home runs and a double, just missing out on the cycle. His two home runs went deep over the right-centerfield wall falling on the new diamond and interrupting the NBL game between the Falcons and Dbacks which was being played at the same time. Given the power which he displayed on the day, it is surprising to see that he does not have any other home runs so far this season and has only 2 extra base hits over the course of the season. On today’s display he is certainly worth a call up to the London Mets NBL team.

AAA League (Game 2) London Metros 10 Herts Ravens 6 (click to view box scores)

In the second game Herts turned the table on the Londoners taking an early 1-run lead. They were still holding on to a 1-run lead going into the fifth inning. Liam Green was in control on the mound for Herts allowing only 3 hits through the first 4 innings, but in the fifth the Metros produced another devastating inning scoring 5 runs. Herts stayed in touch right to the end with debutants JP Prouty and Matt Bucher contributing both defensively and offensively. London reliever, Johan Villanueva came in to pitch very effective sixth and seventh inning to close the game for the save.

The Herts Ravens will be looking to return to winning ways next Sunday, 28 July, when they welcome the Oxford Kings (first pitch 12pm).

by Rob Jones

Fastballs, hot dogs and underpants: Herts in Croydon 2013

One of the most famous sayings in sports goes something like this: Winning isn’t everything. It’s the only thing.

But there are times when it isn’t true — and the annual London Tournament is one of them. For me anyway. Perhaps not everyone comes with the same attitude. But I see this weekend as a chance to relax on a baseball diamond while still playing a competitive game. If I have to choose a pithy quote, I’d prefer Grantland Rice’s “it’s not that you won or lost, but how you played the game”.

For anyone who hasn’t been, the London Tournament in Croydon is a weekend bunfight of baseball, with teams competing from around England but also from further afield. Clubs have come over from Ireland, France, and the Netherlands.

Herts players
Cris Hiche (R) gives his first team talk of the weekend

Some are complete teams. Others are made up from random bits of clubs and from collections of players who make shifting rosters. The Herts offering this year was one team, made up of the very best from the NBL Falcons, down to the Sunday hackers like me from Single-A.

That is a great opportunity to play against and alongside some classy players. Xavi Gonzalez has been causing a stir in British baseball this year, so to see him up close is fun. Chilean international Cris Hiche was managing the squad, so it was good to watch him handle some of the rising young stars he has helped to develop at Grovehill.

I took first base for our first game of the day, against the MK Bucks. I really enjoy playing first, as you can be in on virtually every play. You coach players to always want the ball, and to always expect the ball — at first base, there is never any question about that. I’d gladly do it more often, though manages would probably want me to grow five inches.

It can be a little daunting to be taking the throws from cannon arms like Liam Green and Carlos Velazco-Caruz, but at least you know that the ball is definitely going to reach you! It’s not like Single-A here (I would still quite like it if Liam took something off his throws though!)

I safely caught a couple of routine ground-outs which the infield had snared. There was another which I caught, but then lost as I pulled my hand out from the runner’s path, before gathering it again. MK argued their guy was safe, the umpire gave him out. I honestly don’t know, but I did think that I had got him before the ball came out the glove.

Lee Manning
Falcons manager Lee Manning suits up. Form an orderly queue, ladies.

Hitting was a challenge against a strong pitcher. The downside of getting to play with great players is that you have to face some, too! My scoresheet shows that the Bucks starter struck out 8 in his four innings of work, so I should feel no shame in being one of them!

At least the second time up I managed to get a bat on it. I figured it was best to go the other way to help me deal with the high speed fastballs, but I lined out to second base. If I’d come up a third time, I’d have got him! Definitely.

The second game went slightly less well for me, though much the same for the team (a defeat this time by the Midland All Stars, one of those pick-up squads which seemed to have players from the Latin Boys, the Nottingham Rebels, and the Essex Redbacks). I never got to hit, and in the field was a party to three balls which were just too far out of reach. The one play I could have made — receiving a force-out at second — Lee threw instead to first and muffed it. But I won’t hold it against him…

Of course, as the first words of this article suggested, the London Tournament experience is not just about playing competitive baseball. It is about beer and hot dogs in the baking sun. About reading the Daily Telegraph sports section while relaxing on the bench.

It’s about endlessly ribbing Lee Manning, and fighting off unpleasant visions of him in his underpants. It’s about empathising with catcher Dave Westfallen as he took a foul ball directly to the crown jewels. When I say empathising, obviously I mean that we laughed cruelly, but we always had a good heart behind it.

It’s about catching up with former team-mates and old faces. Ex-Falcon Marty Cullen was helping run the show for the GB team, so he was busy lugging beer, hawking merchandise and shooting the breeze. Simon Langton, now with Hull, again lent Herts his soft hands and strong arm for the weekend.

I should also make honourable mention of my Herts Eagles team-mates, who did us proud with their performances on Saturday. Duncan Hoyle and Tom Kosak scored our first runs in both Saturday games, and hit well against higher league pitchers. Hopefully that will boost their confidence for the stretch run in Single-A.

Attention at the club now returns to the serious business of qualifying for playoffs, and hopefully securing a national title. This sun-soaked experience in south London — this small-time equivalent of the All Star break — could be the springboard for even better things.

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts add two American outfielders

J.P. Prouty with the Grinnell Pioneers

With big games coming up this weekend, Herts have confirmed that they have added two players to their roster.

J.P. Prouty is a 25-year-old outfielder. He comes from Stilwell, Kansas. The 6’1” tall right-handed batter has played at the college level in America for several seasons with Grinnell College alongside Herts Falcons pitcher and infielder, Robbie Unsell. His stats with Grinnell College are shown below.

Also joining is Matt Bucher, who played high school baseball at Marquette Catholic High School and is currently a history/business teacher and the head American Football and junior varsity baseball coach at Marquette Catholic.

Both players have been registered in time for this Sunday’s league games.
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J.P. Prouty statistics with Grinnell College Baseball

Year Avg. GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI Slg% OB%
2007 0.286 22 56 9 16 0 1 0 6 0.321 0.328
2008 0.292 33 113 16 33 5 0 0 16 0.336 0.346
2009 0.302 29 96 21 29 4 1 1 16 0.396 0.382
2010 0.243 14 37 3 9 1 0 0 2 0.27 0.282
Totals 0.288 98 302 49 87 10 2 1 40 0.344 0.347
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Giants end Dodgers’ winning streak

The U11 series between the Herts Giants and the Herts Dodgers is now tied after the Giants secured a convincing 15-6 win on Saturday. Before the game the Herts Dodgers were on a 3-game winning streak threatening to take the series beyond the Giants but this win has blown the contest wide open.

Nicholas Durer (4-5), Josh Jones (4-5), James Dullea (3-4) and Lewis Auchterlounie (2-3) stood out with a multi-hit game, but in fact the Giants performed with the bat from the top to the bottom of the batting lineup outhitting the Dodgers 17-10.

Halfwway through the game the Haines family gave both teams a treat with ice-cream for everyone and that seemed to give the Dodgers the boost they needed, but it wasn’t enough to get back into the game.

U11 Series: Herts Giants 15 Herts Dodgers 6 (click to view box scores)

With the start of the school holidays the U11 series will be taking a break over the next few weeks, but it is perfectly poised for a climactic U11 championship decider when the players return from the holidays.

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts pick up Tournament Bronze Cup. Attention firmly on upcoming league games.

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Herts players prepare to face the Midlands All Stars (photo by Rob Jones)

Similar to the All-Star Week in America, British clubs had their traditional midsummer break at the weekend taking part in the International London Tournament. Herts was represented at the event by a team made up of players from its various squads of the four tiers of the British baseball leagues. They had a difficult start losing their first two games to the Milton Keynes Bucks and the Midlands All Stars. Herts bounced back on Sunday with wins over the Milton Keynes Coyotes and the South London Pirates to claim the Tournament’s Bronze Cup. Sunday’s games saw Herts Falcons pitcher, Darrin Ward, hit two homeruns.

Tom Everex-Armstrong was one of many Herts players who wore the Great Britain National Team jerseys this weekend (photo by Rob Jones)

The various Great Britain National Baseball Teams, from Under-16 to Under-23, were also involved and they featured a large number of Herts players.

The focus now turns back on the all important league games as we enter the final 6 weeks of the regular season which will determine who will play in the postseason playoffs to decide the national champions in the four senior and two youth league tiers.

The Herts Falcons will host the Lakenheath Diamondbacks this Sunday, 21 July, in a doubleheader. They cannot afford to slip up. Anything less than two wins and the chasing London Mets and Southampton Mustangs could leap over them into first place. The game starts at 12:00 at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead (free admission).

On the same day the Herts Ravens will face the Triple-A League-leaders, London Metros. This game will also start at 12:00pm at Grovehill Ballpark.

The Herts Hawks currently occupy the last playoff spot in the Double-A league, which is the third league tier of British Baseball. This Sunday they will travel to Richmond to face the Dragons, who are just outside the playoff zone and will see this as their golden opportunity to overtake the Herts Hawks. The Herts Raptors and Herts Eagles travel to Guildford and Essex, respectively, in the Single-A League. The Raptors have already secured a playoff spot, but need to keep their winning run going for a higher playoff seeding.

 

by ChrisJones

The Only Way is Essex

When Herts under-11s played the Essex Redbacks in Richmond a few weeks ago, the two teams contested a pair of closely-fought games. Essex coach Jamie Cairns suggested that we schedule a couple more meetings between the two neighbouring counties. And so, the travelling Herts All-Stars found themselves in Billericay on a glorious, baking-hot Saturday.

I don’t know much about Essex, so I turned to my trusty web browser for some deep background. As a result, I can reveal the following:

  1. Essex boasts the sunniest place in the UK. (This comes as no surprise as I inspected my pink legs on Sunday morning.)
  2. Essex has the largest population of adders in the UK
  3. Stansted Airport in 1983 was the site of the only known theft of Space Shuttle equipment
  4. People in Essex are 38% more likely than anywhere else in Britain to be hit by falling aeroplane parts
  5. The 1974 Paper Lace hit “Billy, Don’t be a Hero” was written in pub near Brentwood, and if you’re over 45 you’ll be humming it for the next three days
  6. Although it might have been more useful to know this before our trip, Essex also has more speed cameras per mile than anywhere else in the world
  7. Essex is the home of the oldest door in England, the longest pier in the world, the driest place in Britain, the world’s first public broadcast, the oldest wooden church in the world, and the longest coastline, the smallest town, the largest village and the oldest town in the UK

So it seems that Essex has plenty to offer, if you’re not Chris Huhne, nervous of snakes or running a space programme.

Game One was scheduled for four innings with Herts as the visiting team. Singles by Lewis Auchterlounie and Lucas Lebrato, and a Nicholas Durer hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. Lewis scored on a fielders’ choice with error, and Lucas scored when Josh Jones was also HBP. That was it for Herts, who then took the field with Alex Trautman on the mound. Two quick Ks, but then Essex loaded the bases with a single and a couple of HBPs, before Alex got the third strike-out of the inning. 2-0 Herts.

The second inning was scoreless on both sides, despite singles from Christian Lynch and Lewis. In the third, Alex Trautman and Josh Jones hit singles, both converted into two-base hits with good base running and a fielding error. Joe Gipple hit a line drive single to bring Josh home, and a combination of a single from Alex Jones and a ground rule double from Lewis Auchterlounie brought the third run as Herts took a 5-0 lead. Some good control from Alex Trautman again shut out the Redbacks.

Into the fourth. Nicholas Durer was again hit by a pitch, and some good batting by Alex Trautman, Josh Jones, Joe Gipple and Jonathan Wakelam brought four more runs. Josh Jones then took over as pitcher, and disposed of Essex with a strikeout, a 1-3 groundout and a flyball caught by Lucas Lebrato.

After a break for lunch and plenty of water, it was time for game two. This was a three-inning contest, with Herts now the home team. Josh Jones continued with pitching duties. Essex scored their first run of the day through some good hitting and a couple of fielding errors, and were 1-0 up in the middle of the first. Herts again dominated with the bat, with singles from Joe Gipple and Christian Lynch and doubles from Lucas Lebrato, and Josh Jones.

Christian Lynch now came on to pitch, giving up three hits and three runs as Essex found some form with the bat. In reply, another double from Lewis Auchterlounie started the ball rolling for Herts, followed up with hits for Alex Trautman, Joe Gipple, Jonathan Wakelam, Alex Jones and Nicholas Durer (finally connecting with his bat rather than his chest). Lucas Lebrato fired a big ground rule double to score the maximum fifth run and leave Herts 10-3 ahead.

There it remained as Christian picked up three strike-outs to close out the game.

These were two fairly comprehensive wins for Herts; the difference between the two teams was probably the speed and accuracy of Herts’ pitchers. We are fortunate to have a number of good pitchers on the Herts roster, whose skills have been sharpened over the season in the regular tussles between the Dodgers and the Giants. There were some good performances at the plate, too, particularly from Lewis Auchterlounie, 4-4 in the day (and climbing up the batting averages as a result), Josh Jones (3-3 and 4 RBIs), Joe Gipple (4-5) and Lucas Lebrato who hit two doubles and claimed two RBIs.

Another Dodgers/Giants battle takes place this coming Saturday. This will be followed the following week by a return fixture when the Essex Redbacks come to Hertfordshire. We can’t offer snakes, tumbling aeronautical components or even much in the way of a coastline, but we do provide a warm welcome, quality doughnuts and a stiff northerly wind.

Game Statistics

Season Statistics

 

 

by Ken Pike

Road to the single A playoffs

By Ken Pike

As you might have already heard thanks to a very proud ‘yours truly’, the Herts Raptors are confirmed as being in the playoffs (with the caveat that they do not forfeit any games between now and the end of the season, which could bring other teams back into play – but we won’t let that happen) and with any luck some of you are planning to come and support. With other Herts teams, including the Falcons, being right in the mix for also going to British Baseball’s new home,Farnham Park, there might be a big convoy headed from Hemel to Slough in the first couple of weekends of September. It would be great to get as much support as possible for this historic occasion for the club, so we urge you all to get your friends and family to come along.

Just so you know what to expect over playoffs, the structure for the single A post season is as follows:

  • 12 teams in three pools play in A South.
  • The two best pool winners get first round bye into the NBC.
  • The 3rd pool winner (#3 seed) and next 3 best teams based on win %, regardless of pool play wild card round on September 1st, with the Semi Finals and Championship game at Farnham Park on September 7th and 8th.

As in all leagues, all teams will be seeded based on win % to establish postseason ranking.

 

Now the Raptors final position is not set in stone and here are the two main permutations:

Worst case scenario (which still ain’t bad to be honest)

The Raptors have some work to do to determine exact postseason positioning, but the main part is done. They are set for Farnham Park.

The worst case scenario is that they don’t win another game and the Coyotes win all of theirs then the Raptors would be #4 seed and placed as the top wildcard team. This would result in them having to play in the first round of the playoffs on the 1st of September at Farnham Park against the second best wildcard team while the Pool winner with the lowest record of the pool winners will play the third wildcard team. If the Raptors win the wildcard game they would face the #2 seeded team (which would in that scenario likely be the Coyotes) on September 7th.

Best case scenario

If the Raptors win 1 more game (or the Coyotes lose one) by the end of regular season, then the Raptors will clinch the Pool A pennant and a #1 or #2 seeding is already sealed in that scenario. This would mean they will get a 1st round bye and the first game would be on September 7, also at Farnham Park, and they would nominally be the home team facing one of the wildcard round winners. As to being first or second seed, that depends on a very close race with the Marauders and will likely not be settled until the last game of the regular season.

The final is on September 8 at Farnham Park.

 

Expect to cheer on your fellow teams, as well as fight tooth and nail for your own team!

by Rob Jones

Marauders take Eagles treasure in tropical heat

London Marauders 42-14 Herts Eagles, Sunday 7th July

The powerful London Marauders brought their 6-2 record to Grovehill on the hottest day of the year so far, looking to maintain  their challenge for a playoff spot. The Herts Eagles stood in their way, trying to fight back towards .500 and continue their learning curve.

It’s hard to ignore the weather for this clash, as an early morning start and the punishing heat all played a part. But nobody was complaining that the British baseball season had been kissed by the sun at last.

Hunter Devine
Eagles on their knees? Hunter Devine swings away

The early exchanges were fairly even. Ben Marques continued his varied season for Herts by making his pitching debut. His two-seam fastball was effective, but finding consistency in the zone was harder.

However, Marques and his defense limited the Marauders to just three runs in the first. The Eagles’ lead-off man, catcher Hunter Devine, then got on base, promising a quick response. He was stranded at third thanks to solid work by the visitors. 3-0 after the first.

Then the Marauders broke out big-time, plating 11 runs with Adam Landau-Smithers scoring the only Herts reply. Three more runs and London were threatening to make it a massacre.

But the Eagles responded impressively in the bottom of the third inning. They rallied to score nine runs before making an out. The London pitcher Sam Melton, who had been solid and crafty up to this point, tired in the heat, giving up three walks in a row at one point.

Ben Marques
Ben Marques pitching for Herts

There were two hits for the Eagles manager Duncan Hoyle, one for new recruit Rob Gibson, and a second hit of the day for Jamie Lang. The comeback was finally snuffed out when Hunter Devine was doubled off at third by an alert fielder.

Sadly for the Eagles, they were not able to build on the momentum they had created. John Peters came in as relief on the mound, and pounded the strike zone with impressively fast fastballs.

There had been just one strikeout in first three innings, but there were another six in the final four innings. DH Adrian Smithers and Tomasz Kosak were among the only players who could get a bat on the ball.

Having been hauled back into range at 17-10, the Marauders then piled on another eight runs by the bottom of the fourth, and 11 more in the fifth. Their offense was as unforgiving as the Hemel Hempstead heatwave. Rob Jones pitched a scoreless seventh for the Eagles, but it was a mere consolation prize.

London ran out 42-14 victors and are two games ahead of the Mavericks in their pool. There was no shame for the Eagles in defeat to a strong side which looks set for the playoffs.

There must be special mention for Devine, who caught the full game of some four and a half hours without passing out from the heat. Will Belbin also played the full game, securing two hits and a run, and Rob Gibson made a dramatic outfield catch — even sliding into the fence — to end an inning.

No matter the result, there are good points for the Eagles to carry with them. And the game was played in an excellent spirit, with sunshades and cold drinks very much the order of the day once it was over.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

British League braces itself for the Grabowski factor

It would be fascinating to see how Doug Grabowski would compare to some of the top pitchers in the NBL like Herts Falcons' Robbie Unsell (pictured), Michael Osborn, Jordan Farkas, Ryan Bird and Darrin Ward among others (photo by Richard Lee richardleephotography.org)

The Herts Ravens travelled to the Cambridge Royals upbeat after a good run of 5 wins and 1 loss in the last six games put them back in the playoff race. They knew they were about to face one of the favourites for the AAA title, but they were not aware that just a week ago Cambridge had made a player signing which could turn the league on its head.

Doug Grabowski arrived from America on duty with the nearby US air bases. He is around 6 feet and 5 inches in height and has the physical attributes which have become the standard for the pitching staff of MLB teams. Similar to Roy Hobbs in the movie “The Natural”, there is little information about his career on the internet, but we understand he has played at the college level back in America.

AAA League (Game 1): Herts Ravens 0 Cambridge Royals 10 (click to view box scores)

His fastball overwhelmed the Ravens. Perhaps they would have had some success after a few innings of getting the timing on their swings right, but that became impossible when he introduced his knee-buckling curveball and changeup. Grabowski is certainly the best pitcher in the AAA League and Herts Ravens Manager, Carlos Casal, went a step further. “He is probably the best pitcher in any of the British Leagues today. We didn’t have a radar gun on hand but it probably reached 85-90mph.” said Casal.

From the 20 plate appearances made by Herts batters only 5 resulted in the ball being put in play. The remainder were 12 strikeouts and 3 walks giving Doug Grabowski a complete game shutout no-hitter on his British baseball league debut. He also proved to be a class act quietly shaking the hands of every Herts player during the break between the two games. Players like him are a rarity and his presence can have a very positive effect on efforts to promote baseball and the league. The British Baseball Federation should not miss the opportunity to publicise outstanding players like him.

In this first game of the day the Ravens were not able to keep up despite good pitching from Petar Kikel.

AAA League (Game 2): Herts Ravens 3 Cambridge Royals 13 (click to view box scores)

The Ravens were eager to see the back of Doug Grabowski and face a different pitcher in the second game of the doubleheader. Levandowski seemed a much more hittable pitcher, but despite a much slower fastball Herts only managed 3 runs on 3 hits and 3 walks. The hits came from Conner Brown, Gilberto Medina and Liam Green. The 3 runs were not enough and the Ravens went down 13-3.

The Herts Ravens had to face the Royals without ace pitcher Louis Hare who fractured his left elbow in a football game at the end of June. They need him back if they are to stand a chance of somehow getting back in the playoff race especially as the club will be losing Seth Lipstock in the coming weeks as he flies back to America.

It will be interesting to see how the introduction of Doug Grabowski will affect the AAA League as we enter the deciding final third of the season.

Our visit to Cambridge gave us a lot of food for thought. The Royals team includes a large number of players from the US air bases. With the news of the their neighbours, Lakenheath Diamondbacks, struggling this Sunday in their NBL game at Southampton, the door is open for the two clubs to consider a merger in 2014. While Lakenheath have American Air Force players, they appear to lack the administrative infrastructure and community activities of the Cambridge Royals. Bringing the two teams together would create a very strong multi-team organisation which would have the potential to become a major force in British Baseball. Lakenheath or Cambridge club officials reading this article may want to schedule a meeting in October to secure a merger deal.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons extend winning streak to stay top of the League

Xavier Gonzalez was in the zone on Sunday hitting two homeruns for the Herts Falcons in their wins against the Bracknell Blazers (photo by Richard Lee richardleephotography.org)

written by Randy Brenzen for britishbaseball.org

The Herts Falcons extended their winning streak to 13 games in the BBF’s National Baseball League on Sunday 7 June with a doubleheader sweep over the Bracknell Blazers at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

NBL (Game 1): Herts 8 Bracknell 3 (click to view box scores)

Robbie Unsell’s two-run single, followed by Xavier Gonzalez’s two-run home run, both in the bottom of the sixth inning, propelled the Herts Falcons to an 8-3 victory over a tough Bracknell Blazers squad in Game One.

Crafty veteran Darrin Ward took to the mound for the Falcons in search of his third win of the season but instead found himself in a bit of a pitcher’s duel with Blazers’ youngster Jordan Edmonds. Both Ward and Edmonds lasted 5.1 innings but did not factor in the result.

Ward struck out two and allowed six hits, three runs (two earned) and two walks while Edmonds surrendered four earned runs on four hits and four walks with six strikeouts. Both then gave way to the bullpen.

Ryan Bird replaced Ward for the Falcons and held down the fort en route to his second relief win of the season. Henry Collins took over for Edmonds but was shelled by the Falcons offense. Collins gave up four runs (all earned) on three hits and a walk in just two-thirds of an inning for his third loss of the season, but his first from a relief appearance.

Xavier Gonzalez went 1-for-3 with three RBIs and a stolen base to lead the Falcons’ offense while Robbie Unsell also had a good game, going 2-for-3 for a double and two RBIs in the win.

Blazers’ starting pitcher Jordan Edmonds had the best game at the plate for Bracknell, going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and a walk in the loss.

NBL (Game 2):  Herts 15 Bracknell 1 (click to view box scores)

The Falcons put their hitting trousers on for Game Two and exploded for 13 hits in a mercy rule-shortened 15-1 victory over the Blazers.

It was a start that Camrin Opp, fresh off a win in his NBL debut last weekend, will hope never happens again in his career. The rookie southpaw got rocked by the Falcons’ bats, surrendering 14 earned runs on nine hits and five walks while striking out three batters in just two innings of work.

Brendan Hassan then took over for Opp and did well in relief. Hassan allowed just three hits and one run while walking one and striking out two in his two innings of duty.

For Herts, Robbie Unsell allowed just two hits, a Camrin Opp single and a Fraser Duggan double, over three innings before letting Jordan Farkas get some work in on the mound for the final two innings. Unsell was his usual spectacular self, giving up just those two hits while walking one and striking out five. Farkas, meanwhile, surrendered one run on three walks in his two innings of mop-up duty. He also struck out one Blazers batter.

The dominant Falcons offense was once again led by Xavier Gonzalez. The talented Venezuelan went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored while Cristobal Hiche (3-for-3, double, walk, one RBI) once again reached base safely in every at-bat. Other men to pick up RBIs for Herts were Lee Manning (1-for-2, two RBIs), Michael Osborn (2-for-3, three RBIs) and Ryan Bird (1-for-3, two RBIs).

Game Two might not have provided much positive feedback for Blazers Head Coach Colin Whitton, but he did mention that there were things to build on from Game One.

“We played some great ball in Game One,” said Whitton. ”Jordan Edmonds had great control on the mound. Unfortunately, silly errors at key points gave Herts the opportunity to put runs on the board in the bottom of the sixth.”

On the other side of the diamond, Herts Manager Lee Manning was quick to give praise to the opposition. “Bracknell played well and the scores don’t reflect the games played,” he said. “Again, our pitching was amazing and timely hitting in Game One gave us the win. Every Falcon has improved as the season has gone along and they’ve all contributed to the bingo-bango style that we play.”

The next action for the league-leading Herts Falcons (18-4) will be Sunday 21 July when they welcome the visiting Lakenheath Diamondbacks (9-11) to Grovehill Ballpark. Meanwhile, the Bracknell Blazers (11-11) will go from the frying pan into the fire. Their next action will be Sunday 4 August when they visit the third place Southampton Mustangs (17-5) at Mustangs Field.