Category: Featured

Club structure tries to keep up with growth

10 years ago Herts Baseball Club had around 15 members and one adult team. The club has changed beyond recognition since then. There are now 5 Herts teams playing in the adult baseball leagues as well as 4 youth league teams. The facilities have doubled in size with two purpose-built diamonds and the club had 127 paying members at its last Annual General Meeting in November 2012.

This fast growth has prompted the club to seek a better organisational structure. In the early days the club could be administered by just three members of staff – secretary, treasurer and team manager. To a certain extent the model can be replicated with each new team, but there comes a point at which the model is no longer viable. Herts reached that point around 18 months ago.

Over the last six months the club has been making the gradual transition to a new more departmentalised model, which is expected to give the club the capacity to accommodate further growth in the next few years.

The size of the club’s Executive Board has increased from 8 members last year to 12. Two weeks ago the club added its thirteenth Board member when Joe Gray was appointed as the club’s first Non-Executive member of the Board.

Apart from increasing the size of the Board, the club has established eight subcommittees covering the club’s various operations and departments as shown below. Some of them are still at their very early stage and more subcommittee members will be added in due course, but the club is already starting to benefit from this new structure with much more effective communication and decision-making.

As the club grows and evolves so will its structure. The new club structure appears to be an improvement, but perhaps there are other innovative structures and procedures used by other businesses which could be applied effectively by fast-growing British baseball clubs. If you have suggestions and proposals on ways to improve existing procedures and structures, please contact us.

Adult Baseball Committee Media Committee
Andy Cornish Aspi Dimitrov
Arnold Longboy Joe Gray
Carlos Casal Rob Jones
Cris Hiche
Duncan Hoyle Retail Committee
Greg Bochan Mark Caress
Joe Gray
Lee Manning Events Committee
Aspi Dimitrov
Youth Baseball Committee Joe Gray
Aspi Dimitrov
Cris Hiche Ballpark Committee
Jake Caress Aspi Dimitrov
Lee Manning Dave Ames
Mike Wakelam Joe Gray
Softball Committee Finance Committee
TBC Aspi Dimitrov
Chris Jones
Dave Ames
Mark Caress

Everyone can play baseball at Herts this summer thanks to Sportivate funding

Herts Baseball Club is one of the largest baseball organisations in this country and it has teamed up with Sportspace (Dacorum Sports Trust) as part of the National Lottery and Sport England’s Sportivate programme to give male and female players the opportunity to play baseball.

From May until July this year there will be weekly training sessions and games for anyone who is interested to play. Participants are able to take part in these sessions free of charge and all baseball equipment will be provided during these sessions. The first session is this Thursday, 2 May, starting at 6pm.

The project is aimed to attract male and female participants aged 14 to 25 and this age range is the main focus but Herts Baseball Club is able to accommodate any age groups from 6 to 55+ year olds, so the club is encouraging anyone who is interested to get involved.

“Over the last 6 months enquiries from people, young and old, interested to give baseball a try have been coming in at an unprecedented rate.” said Club President, Aspi Dimitrov. “It is difficult to say whether this trend is a result of the increasing baseball coverage in the UK or the release of Oscar-nominated baseball movies like Moneyball, but we certainly want to be in a position to satisfy this demand and welcome everyone who wants to play baseball”. Dimitrov added “We are grateful to the Dacorum Sports Trust and the National Lottery’s Sportivate initiative for helping to fund these open sessions and hopefully by the end of the project we will see a large number of people getting involved in the sport and generally staying fit and healthy”

The sessions will be held at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead which is one of the best baseball venues in the United Kingdom and over the years has been the preferred venue for the British Baseball Federation’s National Baseball Championships.

For those who enjoy the sessions and feel like playing baseball on a more regular basis, Herts Baseball Club is able to add them to one of its adult or youth league teams at any time of the year. Male and female players, from the age of 6 to 55+ from complete beginners to advanced players are all welcome.

To confirm interest in attending or to find out more about these sessions click here.

 

London Metros dominate against Herts Ravens

The London Metros picked up two comfortable wins against the Herts Ravens in the British AAA League. In both games of the doubleheader the Ravens kept up with the pace of the Metros up to the fourth inning and were very much in the game, but devastating batting display by the team from the capital in the fifth and sixth innings took the games beyond the reach of the Ravens.

Seth Lipstock was back for Herts and he made the defensive play of the day. That sparked a discussion in the Herts Ravens dugout about giving Lipstock an outing on the mound and see if opponents can handle the heat (photo by Will Baxter)

The Metros had the luxury of their NBL team resting this weekend and were able to call upon the services of two of their NBL starting pitchers. Ordinarily, under the league rules NBL pitchers would not be able to pitch in the lower leagues, however by virtue of the fact that the London Mets had played only two league games so far, pitchers who have pitched less than 14 innings for the London Mets in the NBL were able to pitch in this AAA league game. Right-hander Pietro Sollecito gave Herts a concoction of breaking pitches mixed with a change of speed which the visitors were not able to cope with. Sollecito allowed only 4 hits in 5 innings. Carlos Casal, Carlos Velazco-Carus and Dave Westfallen seemed most likely to make solid contact with his pitches and they did produce 3 of the 4 hits. In the bottom half of the innings the Metros always seemed to threaten, even in innings when they were not able to score any runs.

Click to view Game 1 box scores

Jonathan Cramman, the other member of the London Mets (NBL) pitching staff, started on the mound in game two. He also allowed only 4 Herts hits over 6 innings of work. 3 of those hits came in the fourth inning which put the Ravens right back in the game with the score 3-2 to the Metros, but once again London’s bats came alive in the last few innings of the game to complete a deserved 12-2 win.

Seth Lipstock made his first appearance of the season for the Ravens and he showed why he was one of the top performers for the Herts Hawks last season in what was the defensive play of the day. With 1 out Lipstock made a spectacular flyball catch in left field and then threw the ball all the way to home plate on a frozen rope straight into the glove of catcher Jake Caress to apply the tag on the helmet of the oncoming London player who was trying to score on the sacrifice fly. The runner managed to make contact with home plate just before the tag was applied, but that didn’t take away from the impressive throw which fans would expect to see from outfielders like Ichiro or Jeff Francoeur, but not in a AAA League game.

Click to view Game 2 box scores

“We couldn’t have asked for any more from our pitchers Mike Cattermole ad Carlos Velazco-Carus. We just couldn’t produce offensively to keep us in the games” said Herts Ravens Manager, Carlos Casal at the end of the day. He added “Despite the heavy defeats, the score does not tell the full story of these games. There were many positives and my players performed very well”.

With four defeats in the opening four games of the season, this is not the ideal start for the Ravens, but the Hawks had a similarly difficult start last year and ended up in the AA-League postseason and the national semi-finals. The team will certainly stay positive in the knowledge that over these first four games they had to field two very different teams due to player injuries and unavailability. When players like Jon Lewys, Louis Hare, Nic Goetz, Pete Kikel and Rod Naghar – all with previous NBL experience – make their first appearance of the season, the Herts Ravens are expected to be in much better position to compete against the big guns of the AAA League.

 

Raptors come back to win against tough Old Timers

Pitcher Will Zucker was all smiles as he helped his team secure a vital win against one of the favorites in the Single-A League

Herts Raptors 19 Old Timers 18

BBF Single-A League

written by Ken Pike

The Herts Raptors have placed themselves firmly in pole position of the BBF Single A division after a hard fought four hour battle with arch rivals The Old Timers resulted in a thrilling comeback victory.

The team from Enfield visiting Grovehill had taken the early lead as the Herts defence committed a series of errors around the field, plating 2 runs in each of the first innings before the Raptors could bring their bats back to life in the bottom of the second, scoring 3 runs to get back into the game. Young pitcher Zack Longboy was showing a return to form on the mound, which helped keep the scores low, but some messy backup indicated the start of what would be at times a very difficult and painful fight.

A clean third inning for both teams gave signs that the Herts defence had woken up, but five runs in the top of the fourth tired Zack’s arm and put the Old timers in a commanding 6 run lead, with a further 2 added without reply in the fifth.

Another young pitcher had taken the mound for Herts though, and as Will Zucker started to find his stride, and catcher Ken Pike noticed the unhittable nature of the boy’s curve ball, the game’s momentum changed. Will cleaned out the batters in order for the sixth inning at the same time that the Old Timers let tempers fray over an umpiring call. The resultant lapse off concentration and change of pitcher led to the Raptors bat’s suddenly finding traction. Once around the order, 6 runs scored and a couple left on base left another Old Timer pitcher tired while tempers flared even further.

The Raptors, now only 3 runs down, were looking much more composed and took the initiative to come back swinging. Two Old Timer runs in the top of the seventh were answered by four from Herts and only 1 run in it. At this point the simmering tension from the away team boiled over with arguments across the field. The brilliant young Will Zucker boiled over with confidence instead and cleaned out another inning in order before going to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning to sign seal and deliver his demand for the game ball by slamming another double in an inning where six runs would put Herts into the lead for the very first time.

They went into the top of the ninth knowing that keeping the Old Timers to five runs or less would mean guaranteed victory, while even a greater dent could still be overcome in the bottom. However, Zucker’s arm was tiring, and one by one the Old timers started to make their mark on the inning. After several runners got home and no further outs to get into, coach Arnie Longboy made the tough, but correct choice of replacing the young star with seasoned closer Jeff Whitter who came in with a three run lead.

Jeff’s calm and accurate display let only one more runner in before the Herts defence did their jobs taking down the required outs in short succession. Whilst several players had lost count during the inning, some wondered if we had won or would need to go out to bat with a small but dangerous margin to overcome. The rest however knew that they had overcome a team they so loved to beat, and cheered jubilantly knowing that they were now in pole position for the league.

Click to view box scores

Stand-out performances from all pitchers garnered special praise from the manager while Short Stop Theo Scheeper’s potent hitting display nailed four hits, including one double and 5 RBIs.

Coach Arnie will be sure to demand that his team bring their best defensive performance much earlier in the game from now on and cut out some of the silly errors that so nearly cost them dear, but he will also be glad to see the offence create 19 runs against a strong defensive team like the Old Timers. The total of 61 runs from two games and a 100% win ratio is certainly the best of starts to the 2013 Raptors season and a stark contrast to the two losses that in the end cost them so dearly last year.

Giants and Dodgers Back to Business

Honestly, you’d think I’d have learned by now.

After, what, three seasons of taking my sons to Hemel Hempstead to play baseball, I should be used to the unusual climatic conditions to be found at Grovehill Ballpark.

But on Saturday I stepped outside my front door in North London, sniffed the warm spring air, glanced at the boys in their Herts T-shirts and we drove north. We pulled up at the ballpark, under menacing dark clouds, in temperatures fully fifteen degrees lower than when we left. All around me were better-prepared families with puffa jackets, skiing gloves and thermos flasks.

Aspi gathered us together for the Opening Ceremony, sound system at the ready. In truth, Aspi serves as Herts Baseball President solely so that he can play at being DJ to large crowds. Move over Fatboy Slim… Aspi’s in the house.

The massed ranks of the newly-renamed Herts Harriers, Herts Cardinals, and the two Herts U11 teams assembled on the first base line. With them stood the visiting London Mets U17 team, exchanging puzzled looks. On the horizon, it looked grim. Those dark clouds drew nearer.

The National Anthem was played. Caps were doffed; Americans amongst us placed hand on heart and sang lustily, while the Brits kept quiet and looked vaguely uneasy.  It always seems incongruous to hear “God Save the Queen”, rather than “The Star-Spangled Banner”.  Yet, given the approaching precipitation, a better choice might have been “Hail to the Chief”.

After taking refuge in the changing rooms, we headed off to play the U11 season opener. The under-14s had a practice session, so we had the unusual privilege of playing on the old diamond.

The transfer market has been active during the off season. The Giants traded Alex Trautman in exchange for Nicholas Durer, while Noah Haines also made the switch to the Dodgers. Both teams have benefited from a number of draft picks. For the Giants, we welcome Sebastian Bohn, Lenny Flavin, and the Zneimer trio of Lily, Lexi and Leo. The Dodgers are also proud to announce their new signings – Chloe and Callie Amsterdam, Amber Chisholm and Joe Gipple.

The game was a rain-shortened four inning affair. This season we will have players pitching; after four balls a coach will pitch until the batter is out or gets on base.

With the Dodgers as the home team, Ozan Martin opened the pitching with an impressive display of control, striking out the first three Giants batters.

Christian Lynch pitched first for the Giants, and drew Alex Trautman into flying out to Oliver Durer at shortstop, before William Morillo fell to a 4-3 ground-out, and Jonathan Wakelam struck out swinging.  So 0-0 after the first.

After another two strikeouts, the Giants got bat on ball in the second inning; Nicholas Durer and Lexi Zneimer hit singles, leaving Nicholas on third, but alas Lily Zneimer hit a flyball to Ozan as pitcher to end the inning.

Joshua Jones now took over pitching duties for the Giants. With Ozan Martin and Thomas Garton on base, Noah Haines doubled on a wild throw to bring home Ozan for the RBI. Chloe Amsterdam then stepped up to hit a line drive double for a second run, and her sister Callie singled for another RBI, making it 3-0 to the Dodgers after two.

Alex Trautman now pitched for the Dodgers. With one out, Noah Lynch, Leo Zneimer and Lenny Flavin each hit singles to load the bases. Lewis Auchterlounie drove home one run although Leo was forced out at third. The Giants were denied a second run as Lenny Flavin was tagged out at third base.

With Ben Jupp now on the mound, the Dodgers batters hit their groove, with singles from Joe Gipple, Alex Trautman, Jonathan Wakelam, Ozan Martin, Thomas Garton, Rory Vangundy and Noah Haines. Five runs were scored, which automatically brought the inning to an end.  The scoreboard showed 8-1 to the Dodgers after three, and the Giants had a lot of ground to make up.

New signing Lucas Lebrato pitched the last for the Dodgers, an inning characterized by some strong hitting from Ben Jupp and Joshua Jones. But Lebrato managed to find the strike zone with some good accurate pitching, and finally struck out Nicholas Durer to end the inning as the rain returned. With the score at 8-2, that was the ballgame – no need for the Dodgers to bat again.

All the pitchers on display showed great promise – there will clearly be stiff competition for the coveted All-Starts starting pitcher slot.

Players, coaches and supporters alike deserved three cheers and a warming cup of cocoa (available at a very reasonable price on the concession stand). They call baseball players the “Boys [and girls] of Summer” for a reason – it’s a tough game to play in the cold. We should reassure new players and their families that the sun sometimes shines at Grovehill. But whatever Tomasz Schafernaker may say, always throw a coat in the back of the car.

Giants:

Dodgers:

London beat Herts in extra innings of a wild game

The ceremonial first pitch of the 2013 youth baseball season was thrown by the mums who were in attendance. The scouts certainly took notice and perhaps we will be seeing them back in action soon.

The Herts Harriers opened their 2013 season in the BBF U17 League against the most difficult of opponents. The London Mets have won the U17 national championship in 2 out of the last 3 seasons and are expected to be one of the main contenders again this year.

Tom Everex-Armstrong started strongly on the mound for Herts maintaining a 2-1 lead going into the third inning, however he appeared to pull a back muscle during one of his deliveries and that took him out of the game. Brodie Caress came in relief and he did well allowing only one earned run, however a series of errors proved to be costly. The Mets took full advantage and took a 7-2 lead.

With a very accomplished pitcher like Taichi on the mound for the visitors from London, this game seemed out of reach for Herts, but they received the boost they needed. Charlie Mayhew led-off the inning and he put up a major fight against Taichi. He managed to get on base with a walk after an epic 11-pitch at bat. From the 11 pitches he saw 8 were with two strikes against him, but he kept fighting off the pitches. A simple walk very rarely brings a team back from a 5-run deficit, but it was the nature of the walk that did it for Herts. The Harriers were back in the game. The players were no longer sitting in desolation. Everyone was up on the dugout fence cheering on the next batter.

That walk led to 5 Herts runs to tie the game 7-7. The Harriers took that momentum into the next inning and took a 9-7 lead going into the last inning. The Mets responded taking a 10-9 lead. In the bottom of that final inning Conner Brown worked a walk and stole his way to third base. Jonny Compton-Weight drove him in to take the game into extra innings with the score 10-10.

Herts Manager, Cris Hiche, had a difficult decision to make. Should he utilise the pitchers he had reserved for the second game of this double-header which would almost certainly have resulted in a loss in game two, or should he save those pitchers for game two and try to win game one in extra innings with less experienced pitchers? Not an easy decision to make. At the end Hiche decided to choose the second option and the gamble didn’t pay off for Herts. The Mets scored 14 runs in extra innings. It must be said that they deserved the win outhitting Herts (9-5), committing less errors (4-5) and allowing less walks (11-17). They also did it with only 8 players.

Click to view box scores of game 1

The weather was becoming worse and the teams and officials agreed to postpone game two, and it is to be rescheduled later in the season. If Cris Hiche had known this, he would have undoubtedly used the starting pitcher designated for game two and the outcome of the game may have been different.

A wild game of baseball which generated a lot of excitement for the spectators and gave us a taste of what can be expected this year. One thing is certain – Herts are firmly in the title-race this season.

Youngest baseball players in Hertfordshire set for Saturday’s season opener

Ahead of this Saturday’s season opening games in the youth leagues we are in conversation with Herts Baseball Club’s Head of Under-11 programme, Mike Wakelam.

The Dodgers versus Giants rivalry resumes this Saturday with the opening day of the 2013 season for the Herts U11 teams. Is one of the teams seen as the favourite or do you expect it to be a close race once again?

Mike Wakelam: It’s been close the past couple of years, and really, at the beginning of the year we feel it’s best to revisit the lineups for each time and make sure both teams are balanced out to ensure a great season’s competition and fun for all.

We understand that several players from the U11 age group will gradually be making the step up to the U14 league. Do you have any specific advice for them?

Mike Wakelam: There are a couple of the under 11s ready to move up this year or definitely next year. Ozan Martin and Oliver Durer are turning 11 in August, so primed to step up when needed in the Under-14 team. They’re both ready, having grown immensely the past couple of years.

There has been a good number of new players joining the U11 teams. If this continues would the club consider creating a new U8 age group and how would this benefit the Herts baseball programme?

Mike Wakelam: We’d love to have an Under-8 age group. The past couple of years we’ve had a few players join, and yes, this year more are interested, but unfortunately not enough to have their own age group. There are a couple of considerations when including Under-8 players in the Under-11 age group. Safety is an important point, as the older players are hitting and throwing the ball harder, but also the enjoyment factor. Young players enjoyment is usually linked to their skills and understanding, and this is different for all players.

Do you have any suggestions for the new U11 players who have joined the league on things they can do during the week at home or in the park to help their development?

Mike Wakelam: Consistency is very important at a young age. So playing catch at home with parents or siblings is a great way to improve skills. Also watching games or youtube skills videos is a great way to get a further understanding of the game.

We understand that the number of U11 teams from other regions is increasing. Will Herts look to use this opportunity to add a few exhibition or interleague games for this age group?

Mike Wakelam: Yes! This season we will be playing several games against other clubs. We’ll be selecting an All-Star team to play these games, giving the older and more experienced players in the age group a chance to display their skills at a higher level of competition.

The parents of the U11 league members are always in attendance on game days to support the teams. Do you have a message to the parents ahead of the new season?

Mike Wakelam: Enjoy! And please try to be on time. The first part of each Saturday is skills work, so for players to improve, they need to be on time. This means at the field with gloves on when it’s time to start. If you want to be in the starting line-up, please try to get to the park on time. Of course it’s fine when players are late with legitimate reasons.

 

 

Herts household names by the end of the season

Herts recently announced the appointment of Jake Caress and Lee Manning as the co-managers of the Herts Cardinals, the club’s U14 league team. We had the opportunity to put some questions to Jake Caress as his team prepares for the start of the U14 season next month.

We are not too far away from Opening Day. Do you feel ready or has the bad weather in March affected preparations?

Jake Caress: In many cases this year the march weather has greatly affect the amount of training in preparation for the season, but all of this aside I believe that the team will be ready for opening day.

What are your main goals for this season?

Jake Caress: The main goal for the Cardinals this year is to work on fundamentals while playing the game but more importantly to have fun.

What win-loss percentage would be seen as a successful season for the team and is it realistic to expect your team to reach the playoffs or even challenge for the title?

Jake Caress: If we could break even with a .500 then I would consider the season very successful, I have high hopes that we will certainly challenge our way into a playoff spot as well.

Who are the players we should look out for this year?

Jake Caress: I haven’t had a chance to look at all of the players this year yet but I’m sure by the end of the season some will be a Herts household name.

Which of your opponents in the league are likely to be the biggest challengers for the national title?

Jake Caress: From what I can remember the London Mets are always tough competition, but there will be others who will also be challenging for the title.

Which league game are you looking forward to most?

Jake Caress: Well it has to be the London Mets game as Southern derby’s go.

The postseason playoffs will be played at the brand new Farnham Park. Will this act as an even greater incentive for players to reach the postseason?

Jake Caress: I hope it will. The new facilities are second to none is this country.

What is your message to Herts Baseball fans ahead of the U14 season?

Jake Caress: We’re going to give it our best and hope to come out with some positive achievements, Play ball!

New season, new expectations

The Herts Baseball youth program had a good 2012 season and it is expected that 2013 would be even better. Ahead of the new season we put several questions to Herts Harriers (U17) Head Coach Cristobal Hiche who is in his second year in charge of the team and led them to postseason quarter-finals.

We are just days away from the Opening Day clash with the London Mets. Do you feel ready or has the bad weather in March affected preparations?

Cristobal Hiche: No, I don’t feel ready. We haven’t practiced as a team. Maybe individually they’re ready since most attended GB and/or the Academy during the last few months. But baseball is still about teamwork.

What are your main goals for this season?

Cristobal Hiche: To reach the playoffs and fighting to reach the championship game. In other words that no matter if we end up winning or losing in the playoffs, the opposite team will be quite worried until the last pitch of the game. There are other goals off the field to try and make this the best Youth Program in the UK and creating future GB players.

What win-loss percentage would be seen as a successful season for the team and is it realistic to expect your team to reach the playoffs or even challenge for the title?

Cristobal Hiche: We need to finish above .500. That to me is the minimum for the year. We should reach the playoffs and a lofty but achievable goal is to reach the championship game.

Who are the players we should look out for this year?

Cristobal Hiche: There are many players, if not all, in the team that can make an impact this season but also in the future. However, if you ask me for players that should step up to the plate because it’s either their last year in the team and/or are ready to play in the adult league very soon (some already are doing it), those would be Zack Longboy, Marty Cullen Jr, and Jonny Compton-Weight. They’ll need to carry this team this season.

Which of your opponents in the league are likely to be the biggest challengers for the national title?

Cristobal Hiche: I think in U17 every team can be a challenge because kids can grow and improve so fast, a year can make a difference between an ok team and an excellent team the next year. Furthermore because it’s age-specific, you’ll have players getting too old but also getting many new young players. This means you don’t have the consistency for example of NBL teams like Falcons, Nationals, Mets,etc which you know they’ll be strong based on last year’s performance. We’ll have to see each weekend how strong the opposition is, which is actually quite exciting and should be fun.

Which league game are you looking forward to most?

Cristobal Hiche: All of them. Each weekend will be a new challenge as mentioned above…Of course I’m looking forward to the championship game!

The postseason playoffs will be played at the brand new Farnham Park. Will this act as an even greater incentive for players to reach the postseason?

Cristobal Hiche: Maybe, maybe not. I think the incentive for players to make the playoffs should be more than where the playoffs are played. The desire to win should be as a reward for their hard work, commitment, and the love of the game and to say they’re the best team in the UK, regardless if we play in Yankee Stadium or in a barn. Nevertheless, if that’s an extra motivation I’ll take it.

What is your message to Herts Baseball fans ahead of Opening day?

Cristobal Hiche: Come watch us some time. You’ll have fun watching these kids and possibly future GB stars. Besides, there are always some nice doughnuts, hot dogs, and drinks to kill the time.

Perfect Falcons travel to Harlow to sweep the Nationals

Cristobal Hiche hit the first Falcons home run of the 2013 season in the first game of the day (photo by Will Baxter)

written by Cris Hiche

The 9-0 in the 1st inning of the first game and 14-0 by the 2nd inning summarises the difference Falcons showed against the 2-time NBL champions Harlow Nationals throughout the day. A lot can be said about the game and both teams will draw their own conclusions. The fact is Falcons did everything perfect. Pitching was great, hitting was great, defence was great, and running was great. With such a high score, there’s bound to be great highlights and there were. Cris Hiche blasted the first home run of the season for the Falcons to right field. The defensive and impressive duo of Robbie Unsell (2B) and Xavi Gonzales (SS) was up to the highest level once again. John Bloise (LF), Barry Wiles (3B), Phil Clark (1B), and Dave House (C) were solid. However, Dave Tretheway (RF) stole the show with a tremendous diving catch.

It is important to note that Nationals looked awful out there and they’ll be the first to admit it. They committed an unusual amount of easy errors from experienced players and their bats were too quiet. Credit to winning pitcher Jordan Farkas, who although didn’t have the velocity of previous outings, managed to control the game. Nevertheless, Nationals is always a dangerous team and was able to score some runs to end up with a more “decent” final score of 16-8 for the Falcons. Pitcher Jordan Farkas said after the game: “My arm was dead since the first inning and didn’t have the speed. So I used my control to outsmart the always dangerous Nationals lineup. I got the run support which is always great for a pitcher.”

Herts pitcher Darrin Ward was in control in game two (photo by Project COBB Photography http://projectcobb.org.uk/)

And if you thought the second game would be much closer and hard-fought, well it wasn’t. It was a deja-vu with again solid defence, running, hitting and pitching by the Falcons. The player of the match was without a doubt pitcher Darrin Ward who with his vast experience shutdown their lineup once again. It was so one-sided that by the bottom of the 7th it was still 8-0 with 2 outs and no man on base. ‘Wardie’ relaxed a bit and walked the next batter. Of course baseball is about momentum and the Nationals used that little window of opportunity to score one run to spoil Darrin Ward’s perfect day and avoid a shutdown (Final score 8-1).

Some of the highlights of the game were some good defensive plays by several Nationals players (trying to stop the numerous Falcons hits) and as imagined, little can be said of the Falcons defence because they were barely challenged. Yet the only time the Nationals could have done something with man on second and one out with a deep fly ball to center, a ‘textbook, MLB style’ 8-6-5 relay was performed to execute the double play and finish the inning. Cris Hiche mentioned after the game: “I really enjoyed that double play. It was beautiful all the way and I love throwing people out like that. I enjoyed it more than the HR in the first game.” Manager Lee Manning summarised the day: “Two great games and is fantastic to sweep the Nationals. Our team played excellent in every aspect of the game and this gives us confidence that we can achieve our goal this year.”

With the next games on Saturday 4th of May at Finsbury Park against the London Mets, I really encourage all adults and youth players of the Herts family and those from other organisations to come watch two great teams battle each other and see these exciting Falcons try to make it 7-1 for the season.