Category: Featured

by Cristobal Hiche

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.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles battle hard but go down in Milton Keynes

Eagles 16 MK Coyotes 34, BBF Single-A League

written by Duncan Hoyle

Herts Eagles were on the wrong end of a 34 – 16 scoreline at MK Coyotes on opening day, but can still take many positives from the game.

The Eagles have a completely new look about them in 2013, with several players now having moved up the Herts organisation. Only 2 players remained in the starting lineup from last seasons opening day, and it was last season’s joint Single-A Home Run Champion Adrian Smithers who got the Eagles off to a good start with a line drive to left field in the first at bat of the game. He would get in to score, along with returning catcher Geoffrey Thomas to start the ball rolling in the top of the first.

On the mound was manager Duncan Hoyle, making his first BBF league pitching appearance. Despite getting a number of first pitches in the strike zone, he wasn’t able to capitalize on this and after the end of the first MK had opened up at 6 – 2 lead, the Eagles being punished for a number of errors. But they responded superbly in the second to tie the game at 6 all, helped by 2 RBIs from Mike Cresswell and newcomer Jamie Lang, and some superb catching in left field from Will Belbin.

Manny Banson and Jamie Lang are just two of the many players who made their league debut on Sunday

At the mid point of the 3rd Herts had opened up a 9 – 6 lead but once again, made errors in the 3rd that got punished, and with Hoyle’s arm now beginning to tire MK score 9 times to lead 15 – 9.

Simon Roberts came in to pitch in the 4th, along with DH Adrian Smithers who moved to catcher. Roberts couldn’t find the strike zone with any regular accuracy, pitching all around the edges but not inside. MK went on to score heavily in the 4th and 5th and the Eagles batting had now ran out of steam with only 1 run being scored in the 5th and 6th.

Jamie Lang came on to pitch the 6th for the Eagles and he will be delighted to have secured his first strike out and to only concede 3 runs in his first attempt at pitching. Herts rallied well in the 7th to try to avoid a defeat on the “mercy-rule” but despite loading the bases could only score once.

The Eagles had a completely new look about them, with the vast majority of the squad beginning their first full season in baseball. Notable performances included a superb performance at 1st base from Dan Bartram, who in only his second week of playing the game looks to be a great signing, good performances in the infield from Mike Cresswell, Jamie Lang and Tom Kosak at 3rd, the latter two who were both making their first league starts. Adrian Smithers had a great game with 4 hits, 3 runs scored and looked good at catcher.

The ever dependable Will Belbin had a solid game at left field and 1st, with some solid hitting, 15 year old Adam Landau Smithers did all that could have been asked of him at centerfield with a good catch and 3 runs scored. Club favourite Manny Banson made his debut and scored to get his account opened with the club, and also debuts were given to Dans brother Andy Bartram, and James Holt in the closing stages to leave the Eagles with many positives to take from the day, and a great platform to build upon in 2013.

A special mention should be given to Joseph Osborne-Brade, who suffered a horrendous injury in the Hunlock Series, and instead of feeling sorry for himself has remained positive while he regains his fitness and has taken up the role of base coach, scorer and assistant to manager Duncan Hoyle and his presence has no doubt helped the Eagles make some excellent early season progress with their. Base-running game.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Spirited late Ravens rally not enough

Conner Brown impressed on his Ravens league debut (photo by Will Baxter)

The Ravens may have lost two games in heartbreaking fashion against the visiting Leones de Feltham, but they will be going into their next league games with plenty of optimism.

As their name would suggest, the Leones are a team made up of Latin American players with many years of baseball experience so this doubleheader was always going to be a difficult test for the Ravens. With some of the Ravens’ big guns away, it was good to see the club’s upcoming young talent step up and they didn’t disappoint.

GAME1: Leones de Feltham 8 Herts Ravens 4

Liam Green was the starting pitcher in the first game going 4 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts and 4 earned runs. It was very positive to see improvement in Green’s control with the number of walks reduced significantly and most of them came at the end of his outing when his arm started to tire.

Moment of controversy - it makes a big difference when a professional photographer is covering the action. The photo appears to prove that umpire Dave Smith made the right decision to call Mike Cattermole safe as his foot seems to have made contact with the edge of home plate just as the ball entered the catcher's glove on a force-play at home plate (photo by Will Baxter)

This was a game where both teams showed some good pitching and defence and the score stayed at 2-2 right up to the fifth inning, but then the visitors opened up a 7-2 lead with a big 5-run fifth inning. Gilberto Medina came in to relieve Green on the mound and he kept Herts in the game allowing only 1 hit and no earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. The team couldn’t take advantage of this and was not able to mount a major come back leaving quite a large number of runners on base (11). Matt Johnston who made his comeback from a hamstring injury, had an outstanding day with the bat (3-4).

Click to view game 1 box scores

GAME2: Leones de Feltham 15 Herts Ravens 13

With Mike Cattermole on the mound for Herts in game two, they got off to a quick start and built up a 7-2 lead after just 2 innings. The heart of the Ravens batting order of Liam Green (2-5 3RBI), Gilberto Medina (3-5 2RBI) and Carlos Casal (2-2) was causing the Leones some real problems. However, the visitors started put up numbers in the next few innings to tie the game at 9-9 in the fifth. They also managed to silence the bats of the Ravens by bringing in their game one starting pitcher. He had pitched 7 innings in game 1 and pitched another 2 in the second game. When he came out for his third inning of game two (10th inning of the day) he threw one pitch at which point Herts Manager, Carlos Casal, referred umpire Dave Smith and the visiting Manager, Andres Maslowski, BBF’s rule 7 (pitching restrictions) which indicates that “If a pitcher pitches in both games of a doubleheader, he/she shall not accumulate more than 9 full innings over 2 games, however distributed (Doubleheader). A pitcher shall be considered to have violated these rules if he throws one pitch in an inning above the prescribed limits.” Under these regulations “The minimum penalty for violating these rules is automatic ejection from the game for the pitcher and his manager”, however the Ravens waived that penalty which allowed both the visiting manager and the pitcher to stay in the game.

By that time the team from Feltham had built a 15-10 lead and the Ravens had one last chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the last inning. 6 Herts players reached base to make the score 15-13 and loaded the bases but the Leones held on and secured the win.

Click to view game 2 box scores

Carlos Casal paid a compliment to his team. “We couldn’t have asked our players for more. A very positive performance giving us lots of optimism for the rest of the season. Several young players made their AAA-League debuts today and it will be exciting to see them develop and grow in the coming years.”

Next up for the Ravens is a visit to Finsbury Park next Sunday, 28 April, where they will meet the London Metros who are 1-3 so far this season but this is after playing against two of the AAA Leagu favourites, Bristol and Oxford, so tis will be a real test for Casal’s team.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

New look Raptors show their claws in season opener

written by Ken Pike

Theo Scheepers went 3-4, with 5 BB and 5R (photo by Rob Jones)

There is an old adage in competitive sports that goes along the lines that a season cannot be won in the first game. While that is certainly true, some common ways of describing opening fixtures include ‘rusty’, or ‘statements of intent’, and both of these were true of the Herts Raptors in their away fixture at Leicester 2Sox.

Preparations for the season were hardly ideal and the Raptors defence could be forgiven a few simple errors. Rain had prevented all but one HSL warm-up game, and the game that did go ahead had several first team members missing due to the Easter Weekend scheduling. A last minute friendly against the Herts Eagles – a sister team intended to be a training ground for newcomers – ended very one sided in the Raptor’s favour, and so the squad were largely untested against high calibre opposition. What’s more, no one knew what kind of opposition the Leicester were bringing to the single A league as they have only just this year moved over from the Midlands double A division.

As a result of this anticipation, and apprehension were both in high supply for Sunday’s visit to Western Park in Leicester. The top of the first inning looked to be going pair shaped with two outs and no runs on the board. However, the famous Herts 2-out drive kicked in and brought 7 runs across the plate. The batting abilities had clearly not been rain affected, and the new additions to the team all made a positive start alongside their more experienced team mates.

The bottom half of the inning however proved a different story. Young star pitcher Zack Longboy struggled to hit his usual devastating groove, and some sloppy fielding all round aggravated the issue allowing five 2Sox runners to get round the bags bringing it back to a 2 run game. This trend continued over the next two innings with Herts consistently batting in large additions to their score only to be pegged back in the bottom of the inning. Despite this, the small overall lead was growing and by the time veteran Raptor Jeff Witter came in to relieve the tiring young starter. The net difference at the turn of the fourth inning was four runs in the Raptors favour.

Raptors manager, Arnie Longboy, will be happy to start the seaosn with a win. (photo by Rob Jones)

Some individual great plays including a pair of difficult outfield stops from Warwick Byrne and Rob Jones and a diving grab behind his shoulder from catcher Ken Pike, along with Jeff’s assured pitching brought a confidence boost to the Raptors and a change of gear. A three up three down 6th inning blew the game wide open putting the Herts team in a commanding position – a mercy rule victory was a possibility with a big score and good defence in the seventh. Precisely that ensued with Herts beating up on the third pitcher to take to the mound for Leicester and ending the inning on a massive 42 run total and a lead well in excess of the 11 run mercy rule margin.

While the 2Sox made a spirited effort at a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and scoring runners, it was ultimately not enough. The inning finished leaving the 2sox trailing by 22 runs.

It looks like Ken Pike will be spending more time behind the plate this season (photo by Rob Jones)

For a team with so many changes since last year there was much to be happy about. Having lost some big bats in the form of Gilberto Medina, Glen Downer, and John Kjorstad, worries about weak hitting proved to be unfounded. The newly promoted Sony Lama and Theo Scheepers had been known for strong batting and baserunning abilities on which they delivered perfectly. Returning Raptors veteran Jeff Witter got the game ball from coach Arnie Longboy for a calm and assured performance on the mound, while Ken Pike’s first full game at his newly discovered position of catching only allowed for three pass balls all game and held the Leicester running game in check.

A mighty 42 runs crossing the plate for the Raptors is certainly a statement of intent for a team that is tipped to top their group, and in fact puts them at the top of the league after week one, but conversely conceding 20 runs means work has to be done to prevent stronger opposition from derailing a playoff push. A first test of that will come with the very next game against the Old Timers where a Herts win will turn a whispered statement into an assured proclamation.

Starting Lineup:

Zack Longboy – P (swapped to 1st base in 4th inning)

Rob Jones – LF

Arnie Longboy – 2nd

Ken Pike – C

Sonam Lama – 3rd

Theo Scheepers – SS

Amit Odedra – CF

Jeff Witter – 1st (swapped to P in 4th inning)

Warwick Byrne – RF

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Heavyweights meet again this Sunday

(NBL) FALCONS @ NATIONALS (Harlow, 1pm start)

We are only into week 3 of the National Baseball League (NBL) season so it is too early to build-up games as pivotal, but it would be fair to say that Sunday’s encounter between last year’s top two teams is the biggest game of the NBL season so far.

The reigning champions from Harlow (1-1) didn’t play last Sunday due to waterlogged field so they find themselves 1 game back on the joint-leaders, Herts Falcons (3-1), but they will know that two wins on Sunday and they will jump over Herts.

In the encounters between the two teams last year the Nats came out on top with 3 wins and 1 loss. The new faces in the Nationals’ roster this season compared to 2012 are right-handed pitcher Matt Gilbert who moved over from the Arrows, Dominican catcher and infielder Ambiorix Hurtado who joined from the Latin Boys, pitcher Ben Powell from Leicester, as well as South African, Gary Snyman.

George Lintern and slugger Edwin Alcantara who were influential in 2012, do not feature in the Nationals active roster at the moment.

HERTS TEAMS IN ACTION

This is the first week in which all 5 Herts teams are in action. Fans travelling to see Herts teams in action this Sunday should note the irregular start times of some of the games:

NBL, Herts Falcons @ Nats (1:00pm, venue: Harlow)

AAA-League, Leones at Herts Ravens (1:30pm, venue Grovehill Ballpark, Herts)

AA-League, Hove at Herts Hawks (1:00pm, venue: Grovehill Ballpark, Herts)

A-League, Herts Eagles at Coyotes (2:00pm, venue: Milton Keynes)

A-League, Herts Raptors at Leicester (12:00pm, venue: Leicester)

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

A record number of Herts players confirmed in the final GB U16 squad

The Great Britain National Team has confirmed that six members of Herts have been selected in the final GB Under-16 National Team roster for the 2013 GB games schedule.

Callum Vangundy, Carlos Casal Jr, Conner Brown, Marty Cullen Jr, Tom Everex-Armstrong and Zack Longboy have received confirmation of their inclusion in the GB squad. All of them are members of the Herts U17 team which is preparing for the start of the British U17 league season which opens next Saturday, 27 April, with a home clash against one of the favourites, London Mets.

Herts U17 manager, Cristobal Hiche, was very pleased about this news. He said: “we at Herts are very fortunate to have players with a lot of potential to excel both in the domestic league and internationally”. He added: “the players have put a lot of hard work into this and they should be very proud of what you have achieved. Of course the hard work is only just starting.”

This means that these Herts players may miss quite a large number of games for their club in the U17 league and the adult leagues, which is a major setback for the club, but at the same time it is an opportunity for others to take their place and compete for that spot in the roster.

A total of ten Herts players were part of the GB Under-16 National Team extended roster before this week’s announcement of the final roster. Herts Baseball Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, said: “We have some Herts players who didn’t make the final roster and they will feel down. Our club needs to pick them up. They need to realize that this is a challenge for them to work hard over the next 12 months with the Herts teams. Our club has one of the best baseball programmes in the country to develop players and promote their careers. Those players who do the hard work with Herts will see the rewards very quickly in terms of domestic and international recognition and call-ups.”

The progress of Herts players with the GB teams is a tremendous boost for Herts as an organisation. The Club is even more excited by the fact that there are many more talented players coming through the various age groups of the Herts youth system, from the U-11 and U-14 teams through to the U-17 age group. The opportunity is there for any young players who want to get involved in baseball to progress and wear the GB Team jersey. But you don’t have to be a GB National Team player to play baseball. Any interested players, boys and girls between 6 and 16 years of age, from complete beginners to advanced players can join the Herts baseball youth teams (click here for more details).

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Raptors prepare for a big playoff push

The Herts Raptors start their season this Sunday on the road at the Leicester Two Sox, who, in a Houston Astros-like move, have switched to the BBF Single-A League over from the AA Midlands. We had a chance to put some questions to Raptors Manager, Arnie Longboy.

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

Arnie Longboy: Less than ideal weather is something that baseball players here just have to take as a given. So on one hand all of our competitors have faced the same challenge. That said I hope the indoor training we’ve had, especially with our strength and conditioning coach Tony, will prove to be a competitive advantage for all Herts teams.

What are your main goals for this season?

Arnie Longboy: Our goal is similar to last years. Field a competitive team and have fun in the process. We’ve also had some players move up so I’d like them to further develop and see them move up in the ranks as they progress with their baseball prowess.

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?

Arnie Longboy: I want all of the team to expect a winning season and a goal is always to make the playoffs. We almost did it last year and want to challenge for the title this year.

Will the entry of the Herts Ravens in the AAA League affect your team’s chances this season by diluting the strength of the Herts rosters across a larger number of teams?

Arnie Longboy: Herts is blessed to have the numbers to field 5 teams! I think it’s a result of the efforts we’ve made in trying to grow the sport in our region.

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

Arnie Longboy: We’ve again recruited a few of the junior club members so I expect much from them. But some of the veterans returning will provide the wisdom from their experience. It should make for a great team dynamic.

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

Arnie Longboy: The Eagles will be a formidable team and as their manager now has a year’s experince under his belt I expect that team to go far. Given we play them twice I think those will be the games to watch for our Herts fan base.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

We do try to do things the right way

The Herts Eagles had a very successful 2012 finishing the season with a .500 win-loss percentage.  We asked Eagles manager, Duncan Hoyle, for his thoughts on the Eagles, ahead of their 2013 season opening game at league debutants, MK Coyotes.

We are just days away from Opening Day of the BBF Single-A League. Do you feel ready or has the bad weather in March affected preparations?

Duncan Hoyle: It has affected our preparations. We have lost two HSL games to the weather, but several of the Eagles have played for other Herts teams during the HSL. All clubs and teams must have been affected by weather but we have had some good indoor and outdoor training sessions and overall I think we are in a good position going into the league season.

What are your main goals for this season?

Duncan Hoyle: The main goal for me is to provide a team for new players to be able to come into the sport and play in a friendly and committed team, in an enjoyable environment. We don’t take things too seriously but we do try to do things the right way. I want all the players who play for the Eagles to have the chance to develop as baseball 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?

Duncan Hoyle: I don’t want to set targets as I think this is unhelpful for us, as we won’t know the quality of the teams we will play against until a few weeks into the season at least. However I would like to think we will be competitive for the most part.

Will the entry of the Herts Ravens in the AAA League affect your team’s chances this season by diluting the strength of the Herts rosters across a larger number of teams?

Duncan Hoyle: For a short time, possibly. However in the long-term I think the introduction of the Ravens will benefit all of the existing teams as we should attract more players to join the club, as we have teams at all BBF levels, and this will in turn increase competition and movement between players within the teams.

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

Duncan Hoyle: We have several young players who I think could have a very good season, it would be unfair of me to single anyone out at this stage. But I am looking forward to the return from injury of last season’s joint Single-A home run-leader Adrian Smithers, the game is never dull when he is involved!

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

Duncan Hoyle: Difficult to say. In my time in baseball Single-A has been slightly damaged by always having one or two teams who should obviously be playing a higher grade, but at first glance this year seems to have a balanced line up. London Marauders, Guildford and the Old Timers are always tough to beat.

Which league game are you looking forward to most?

Duncan Hoyle: I am looking forward to the trips to new teams MK, Leicester and Haverhill – all new diamonds for us.

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?

Duncan Hoyle: I don’t think so. I would hope that players will want to get to the playoffs wherever they are held, but it would be nice to play at such good facilities such as Farnham.

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

Duncan Hoyle: Watch this space for bigger and better things at Herts!

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

The small man with the big heart

Kimiyoshi Saionji launches a home run over the right field wall against the legendary Cody Cain in a 2-1 win over the eventual NBL champions, Richmond, in 2010

Herts Baseball Club has announced the departure of one of its most loved members, Kimiyoshi Saionji. He has just completed his transfer from the Herts Falcons to NBL rivals, Southampton Mustangs.

Kimi joined Herts in 2005 recruited thanks to another Herts legend, second-baseman, Shunji Kakutani. He made his debut for the Falcons on Opening Day of the 2005 season as the team made its debut in the Premier League (AAA-class) at the Shropshire Panthers after earning promotion in 2004.

Since then Kimi has been an ever-present figure at the club giving everything on and off the field through the ups and downs of relegation to AA in 2006 and then two consecutive promotions which included winning the AAA National Championship and promotion into the NBL in 2008 and finishing as NBL runners-up last season.

In 2006 Kimi suffered a horrific injury fracturing his jaw after a brave play as second baseman covering first base and colliding with an oncoming Richmond batter. That didn’t deter him. He was back within a few months better than ever.

In his 8 years with the club Kimi’s outstanding performances were recognised with a long list of awards, including the 2010 Falcons Most Valuable Player (MVP), three-time Infield Gold Glove Winner (2006, 2007, 2008), Batting Champion (2008), Home Run Champion (2010), Most RBIs (2008, 2010).

Kimi may have been one of the smaller players in the NBL but he has a big heart and the power of a giant.

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, said: “I’m sad to see Kimi leave but I will hold onto the great moments we had together on the field. I will never forget the image of Kimi with his trademark battle cry at second base every time he hits a double to start a rally.” He added “I and everyone connected with the club is grateful to Kimi for always playing hard and for sticking with the club during the dark years. Kimi will always be one of Herts Baseball’s greatest legends”.

His Herts Falcons team mates and members of the front office tried their best to convince him to stay, but the club will ultimately have to accept and respect Kimi’s decision.

Before his departure Kimi had a message for the club’s members: “Thank you for your kindness for nine years as a member of Herts Baseball Club. I love Herts and all the members. I want to wish the Falcons and all the Herts teams good luck this season. Please don’t feel sad. I will see you soon.”

 

by Cristobal Hiche

Falcons bounce back after dramatic walk-off loss

Falcons player-manager, Lee Manning, came up big with a 3-run double in game two (photo by Will Baxter)

written by Cristobal Hiche

The weather was perfect for some great baseball if it wasn’t for some strong winds from right to left field which effectively killed the “long ball” from the game. This set the tone for the first game in which solid pitching by Jordan Farkas (Herts) and Ryan (Diamondbacks), kept batters at bay with few hits and no runs scored by either team in the first 4 innings. Added to that was the fact that both teams weren’t efficient and both teams left too many men on base. In fact, Herts had men on 2nd and 3rd with no outs in the first inning but the heart of the order couldn’t bring the runners home. Lakenheath also had the bases loaded with 1 out in the bottom of the 3rd but ended up empty.

Both teams realised this game was going to go down to the wire and a small mistake could prove costly. Also, both teams realised they needed to manufacture runs and switched strategies by playing small ball. Sacrifice and drag bunts were attempted but a great play by third baseman James Brooks prevented Herts left fielder John Blose reaching base on a great surprise bunt down the line.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the 5th when Xavier Gonzales made an error on a very routine ground ball. The ball made an unusual bounce due to poor ground conditions and Xavi couldn’t do anything about it. Tough luck but this sparked the Dbacks to go on and score 3 runs. Herts felt the blow and quickly bounced back to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the 6th inning. All looked like it was going to extra innings with quick two outs in the bottom of the 7thinning, but Jordan Farkas’ pitch count was rising and he gave up the first and only walk of the game for him, which at the end of the day proved to be costly. Matt Mulvaney, who was already 2-3 in the game, hit a timely line drive for a double in the gap in left-centerfield. The runner was held at 3rd base, but Shawn Benton became the hero with a single up the middle, which neither Robbie Unsell (2B) nor Xavier Gonzalez (SS) could reach. Walk-off single – game over.

This was truly a MLB-type game, with solid pitching, changing strategies by both teams, and with a nail biting finish which unfortunately didn’t go the way the Falcons wanted. “We left too many guys on base and we didn’t give Jordan the run support his pitching deserved” said Falcons manager, Lee Manning, after the game.

Click to view game 1 box scores

Given the disappointment by the Herts players and believing they should have won the first game, they were hungry to respond in the second game. They came out of the dugout with determination and in the top of the first they scored 5 runs. The highlight of this inning was a great 3-run bases-clearing-double by Lee Manning, proving the manager still has the skills to play at the top level. This proved to be enough as Darrin Ward again pitched a solid game, managing the game and his pitching repertoire to keep the Diamondbacks’ bats quiet. It was only in the 3rd inning that the heart of the Dbacks batting order managed to string a few singles together and scored two runs. With 2 outs and a man on first and third, Matt Mulvaney who was 3-4 with that great double in the first game, came up to the plate with the potential tying run. However, Ward won the battle and Matt hit a ground ball to second for a routine 4-3 play. Herts managed to get an insurance run in the 5th and sealed the game with additional 3 runs in the top of the 7th.

Click to view game 2 box scores

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, felt that the team responded well after the difficult loss in the first game.  He said: “we quickly picked ourselves up and exploded on the ball. Wardy (Darrin Ward) coasted through the game and we never looked back.” Manning added that “It’s always hard to travel to Lakenheath with the extra players they have for their home games. The wind played its part and affected both teams. Losing the way we did in game 1 was hard for the boys to take but we showed spirit to get ahead early in game 2 and stay there.”

Standout Herts players:

Robbie Unsell: 3-5, 1R, 2RBI, 3BB, 3SB, 1K

Darrin Ward: 7IP, 2R, 2ER, 3SO, 3BB

Xavier Gonzales: 3-6, 4R, 2 doubles, 2BB, 1SB