Category: Headlines

HERTS ALL STARS SHOCK THE SOUTH

The Baseball gods were smiling brightly down on ‘the Hill’ in anticipation for the Herts Little League’s first ever appearance in the BBF Southern playoffs. It was to be a monumental task for the Herts All Stars, in only their second year in existence. What lay in wait for Herts were two very established teams with a celebrated history of success in British Baseball.  Bracknell and Horsham.

The Herts All Stars, hand picked from the Herts Little League, had been training for the past two months in preparation for this very day. With the focus of a Falcon, the eyes of an Eagle, the hearts of a Hawk and the resolve of a Raptor, the Herts All Stars arrived with a quiet confidence rarely witnessed in a second year team about to play the most important games of there lives.

Game 1 vs Bracknell:

With the pitching restrictions for Bronco level Baseball in place, Herts Manager, Marty Cullen put together an eclectic rotation of 4 pitchers, hoping to get the job done while saving some arms for game 2. Would the tactic pay off?

Nickolas Martinez started off strong, striking out 2 before leaving a base runner on for reliever Mikito Ariga, who struck out the first batter he faced to retire the side.

Herts went down in order in the bottom of the inning to Bracknell’s hard throwing ace, Brendan Harsan.

Ariga continued his dominance into the 2nd, cutting down Brackell in order.

Then………Lighting struck and ‘the Hill’ erupted.

In the bottom of the 2nd, Herts catcher, Kieran Manning delivered a 2 run single with 1 out to open up the scoring and take a lead that would prove crucial.

In the bottom of the 3rd, with 2 on and 2 out, up stepped Nick Martinez. With a 2-1 count, Martinez got hold of a Harsan fastball and deposited over the 220 ft centerfield fence, giving Herts a 5-0 lead. Martinez said of his blast, “I was just trying to get a pitch to drive up the middle. Luckily I hit it well and it got out there.”

Bracknell never gave up. They struck back immediately scoring 4 runs over the next 2 innings.

But Herts weren’t done yet. With some aggressive base running and good eyes at the plate, Herts padded their lead going into the final inning. These runs would prove critical as Bracknell jumped on relievers Liam Green and Carlos Casal for 3 more runs in the top of the 6th, before grounding out to end the game, falling to the Herts All Stars 9-7.

It was, by any standard an amazing game that could have gone either way.

It went Herts way.

As he lead his team away from the field and throngs of reporters, Manager Marty Cullen only had this to say: “I’m very pleased with the outcome, but we still have another game to play, so if you’ll excuse me……”

And so with the Herts All Stars off talking strategy, Bracknell set out to salvage their campaign against the hotly tipped Horsham All Stars. A mountain that would prove a little too steep to climb. Bracknell, weary from their epic battle with Herts, couldn’t quite put it together against the dominant Horsham and fell via the mercy rule after 5 tough innings.

In a round robin format, the team that loses 2 games is automatically eliminated. That leaves 1 game with it all to play for between the remaining 2 teams. On this day……it would be Herts and Horsham. Horsham would be the home team in this, the final game of the day, and their starting line-up read like the who’s who of British youth Baseball with no less than 7 GB players, 2 of whom recently returned from the European qualifiers for the Little League World Series. This alone confirmed their status as the wildcard favourites over the 2nd year Herts All Stars. Could Herts pull off the upset of the year, or would lightning strike again for Horsham?


Bracknell Blazers at Herts All-Stars
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Bracknell Blazers 0 0 0 1 3 3 7 5 1
Herts All-Stars 0 2 3 1 3 0 9 3 3

Herts All-Stars 9, Bracknell Blazers 7
Herts All-Stars Bracknell Blazers
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Mikito Ariga p-ss-c-3b 3 0 0 0 Alex Price c-ss 3 2 2 0
Jamie Paterson cf 3 0 0 0 Sian Wiggington 1b-p-3b 3 1 0 0
Liam Green 3b-p 1 2 0 0 Brendan Harsan p-3b-1b 2 1 0 0
Lewis Paterson 1b 1 3 0 0 Chloe Wiggington ss 3 1 2 1
Nickolas Martinez ss-p 1 3 1 3 Nathaniel Leff 2b 4 1 1 0
Lewis Green rf 2 0 0 0 Adam Hopkins cf-3b-p 0 0 0 0
(t6) Charlie Mayhew rf 0 0 0 0 Lee Coster 3b 1 0 0 0
Kieran Manning c 1 0 1 2 (t4) Millie H. cf 2 0 0 0
(t3) Dan Phillips c-2b 1 0 0 0 Ryan Dale lf 2 0 0 0
Carlos Casal Jr 2b-p 3 1 1 0 (b4) Oliver Graib lf 0 1 0 0
Alex Ringrose lf 1 0 0 0 Jack Eve rf 3 0 0 0
(t6) Jonathan Compton-Weight l f
TEAM TOTALS 17 9 3 5 TEAM TOTALS 23 7 5 1

E: Mikito Ariga, Carlos Casal Jr, Dan Phillips, Chloe Wiggington. LOB: Herts
All-Stars 2, Bracknell Blazers 7. 2B: Carlos Casal Jr, Chloe Wiggington. HR: Nickolas
Martinez. SB: Liam Green, Adam Hopkins(3), Nickolas Martinez(2), Brendan Harsan, Sian
Wiggington, Nathaniel Leff, Oliver Graib. CS: Lewis Green.

Herts All-Stars IP H R ER BB SO
Mikito Ariga W 4.33 3 4 0 5 12
Nickolas Martinez 0.67 1 0 0 0 2
Liam Green 0.67 0 2 0 2 2
Carlos Casal Jr 0.33 1 1 1 1 0
Bracknell Blazers            
Brendan Harsan L 4.00 3 6 2 4 7
Adam Hopkins 1.00 0 0 0 2 1
Sian Wiggington 0.00 0 3 1 2 0

HBP: by Sian Wiggington (Liam Green). . WP: Mikito Ariga(2), Carlos Casal Jr, Brendan
Harsan(3), Adam Hopkins(2). PB: Dan Phillips(8), Kieran Manning, Alex Price(6). T: 2:00. A: 110.


Game 3  

Horsham took the field, lead by flame throwing GB starter Miguel Rodriguez (known by some as     M-Rod ). The tension mounted and the crowd grew silent as UBUA legend Darrin Muller yelled “Play ball!”

The first 2 Herts batters reached base safely and with no one out, up stepped slugger Liam Green. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and a 2-0 count, Liam connected with a fastball, launching it 60 feet passed the 220ft left centerfield wall for the longest homerun in Herts Little League history. Stunned silence fell over the Horsham fans as they watched Herts take an improbable 3-0 lead in the top of the first.

Green took to the mound and retired Horsham in order in the bottom of the inning. Herts, after threatening to add more runs, eventually followed suit and were retired, leaving 2 runners on base in the top of the 2nd.

In the bottom of the inning however, the Horsham bats came alive and scored 4 runs, including a 2 run double by GB All Star Tyler Burnie. Carrying the momentum, M-Rod  sat  Herts down, leaving 2 more runners on base before helping his own cause with a 2 run single in the bottom of the 3rd.

Herts, down but far from out, dug deep and clawed back a run in the 4th and 1 in the 5th,while game 1 hero Nick Martinez took the mound and shut down Horsham’s mounting offense allowing only 1 baserunner and striking out 4 over these 2 frames.

Now or never.

Down 6 – 5 going into the final inning, a final war cry could be heard from the Herts bench, as Manager, Marty Cullen rallied his troops for one more push. “Now or never” he said. “You deserve this. Go out there and get it”. 

The All Stars responded.

They kicked and scratched for 4 runs with some aggressive baserunning and timely hitting off hard throwing GB reliever, Callum Vinall and with only 10 minutes of regulation play remaining, Herts took a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the 6th.

Martinez, with only 19 pitches left (based on BBF regulations) would have to come up with something special……and fast! He did…. Inducing  2 ground ball outs with just 5 pitches before walking a batter with 6 pitches.

8 pitches left. 3 minutes left. If the next batter isn’t retired, the game ends (according to BBF rules) with the score from the previous full inning. In other words…..Horsham wins.

Up steps MVP Tyler Burnie who quickly and expertly works the count full and proceeds to foul off 3 more pitches using up Martinez’s pitch count and prompting an announcement by umpire Muller. “Last Batter!” he shouted.

30 seconds left.

Martinez glances toward his manager. Glances toward his family. Takes a deep breath. Sets. Fires……

Strike 3!!!!! HERTS WIN!!!!

The crowd erupts. The Herts bench erupts,  and the All Stars celebrate their improbable upset in front of a stunned Horsham bench.

In the post game press conference, Horsham manager Rob Burnie said, “Our hats go off to Herts. They have a great program and they play the game right. They proved that today.” When asked about the upset, Herts manager Marty Cullen had this to say; “I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. Horsham are a great team, maybe the best in the country, but these kids don’t quit and it really paid off. They showed a lot of heart today.”

Next week the Herts All Stars make the trip south to the hostile waters of Finsbury Park. To reach the National Championships, Herts will have to win 2 more games. Do they have what it takes?

Stay tuned…………….

More photos from the BBF Wild Card Playoffs


Herts All-Stars at Horsham All-Stars
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Herts All-Stars 3 0 0 1 1 4 9 3 2
Horsham All-Stars 0 4 2 0 0 0 6 2 3

Herts All-Stars 9, Horsham All-Stars 6
Herts All-Stars Horsham All-Stars
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Carlos Casal Jr 2b 4 2 0 0 Tyler Burnie cf 3 0 1 2
Jonathan Compton-Weight 1b 2 2 0 1 Dean Jacob ss 3 0 0 0
Liam Green p-ss 4 2 2 4 Adam Lamport lf 2 1 0 0
Lewis Paterson 3b 3 1 0 0 (t4) Dean Coe lf 1 0 0 0
Nickolas Martinez ss-p 3 0 0 0 Callum Vinall p-3b 2 1 0 0
Mikito Ariga c 2 0 0 0 Miguel Rodriguez p-3b 3 1 1 2
Jamie Paterson cf 4 0 0 0 Harry Law 2b 1 1 0 0
Lewis Green lf 0 0 0 0 (t4) George Penfold rf-2b 1 0 0 0
(t4) Alex Ringrose lf 0 1 0 0 Tim Moore c 2 1 0 0
Charlie Mayhew rf 2 0 1 0 Will Chase 1b 2 0 0 0
(t5) Dan Phillips rf 0 1 0 0 (t4) Ben Chambers rf-1b 1 0 0 0
Callum Lewis rf 1 1 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 24 9 3 5 TEAM TOTALS 22 6 2 4

E: Carlos Casal Jr, Jamie Paterson, Harry Law, Callum Vinall, George Penfold. LOB:
Horsham All-Stars 4, Herts All-Stars 7. 2B: Nickolas Martinez. HR: Liam Green. SB:
Mikito Ariga(2), Carlos Casal Jr, Lewis Paterson, Liam Green, Charlie Mayhew,
Jonathan Compton-Weight, Callum Vinall, Harry Law, Miguel Rodriguez.

Herts All-Stars IP H R ER BB SO
Nickolas Martinez W 4.00 1 0 0 2 7
Liam Green 2.00 1 6 4 4 5
Horsham All-Stars            
Miguel Rodriguez 4.00 2 4 1 5 4
Callum Vinall L 2.00 1 5 2 5 1

WP: Liam Green(5), Nickolas Martinez, Callum Vinall(3), Miguel Rodriguez(2). PB:
Mikito Ariga, Tim Moore(4). T: 2:00. A: 110.

POSTSEASON BASEBALL THIS SATURDAY IN HERTS

We are officially into the 2009 postseason of British Baseball’s youth leagues.  The Wild Card round of the Playoffs for the Under-13 age group will take place on Saturday, 15 August.  It will be held at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, which is the home of Herts Baseball Club.

 

The Wild Card Playoffs will involve three teams representing the three independent baseball leagues of Bracknell, Horsham and the hosts Herts.  The best players of these three regions will go head-to-head for a place in the next Round of the Playoffs.

 

Last time these three teams met was in September 2008 and it was once again in Hertfordshire as part of the 2008 Herts Futures Tournament.  Herts came out on top against Bracknell winning 9-5 in the group stages but then went on to lose to Horsham in the Final of the tournament in a dramatic 4-3 ballgame.

 

This Wild Card Playoff will have a round-robin format with all three teams playing against each other.  In the first game of the day at 10:30am the hosts, Herts will make their debut in the British National competitions against Bracknell.  This will be followed by Bracknell vs Horsham at 12:45pm and the final game between Horsham and Herts at 3pm.

 

The winner will go through to the next round of the Playoffs on 22 August at Finsbury Park, where London, Brentwood and Kent will also enter the postseason playoffs to determine who will go through to the National Baseball Championship on 12-13 September.

 

Baseball enthusiasts can attend this Saturday’s Playoffs at Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel hempstead (click for directions).  Admission is free and apart from postseason baseball fans can enjoy a hot dog and other snacks and drinks offered at the venue.

EAGLES SHOT DOWN BY ARROWS

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, DAVE HAMILTON

 

The Herts Eagles were powerless to stop the Essex Arrows domination of the AAA league on Sunday, suffering two comprehensive defeats at the Waltham Abbey diamond.

 

Despite having run the Arrows close in their first encounter of the season at Grovehill, the visiting Eagles rarely looked like becoming the first team all season to beat the Essex side, whose record now stands at an amazing 23 wins (and no losses).

 

The high pointfor the Eagles was undoubtedly the performance of Ilya Dimitrov who normally plays for the Herts fourth team but was a late call up for the game.  He made several good plays in the outfield, including helping to throw out a runner at home plate, and also scored the Eagles only run of game 1 on a triple by Rod Ariss.

 

Some alert baserunning by manager Dave Westfallen gave the Eagles a brief lead in the second inning of game 2 but the Arrows' power hitters soon restored the home sides dominance and, with just nine players available this week, the Herts team had no reply.

 

The final scores were 11-1 and 15-4 but despite the heavy defeats, Westfallen praised the efforts of his team againstvery strong opposition.

 

The Eagles' final two games of the season are the rearranged fixture away to the Oxford Kings on August 23rd.

HERTS AWARDED £5K GRANT FOR SECOND DIAMOND

Herts Baseball Club has been awarded a £5,000 grant from the Dacorum Olympic and Paralympic Fund, administered jointly by Dacorum Borough Council and the Dacorum Sports Network.

A select number of organisations have received awards from the Olympic Fund for capital projects that will enhance sport services and facilities for people in Dacorum.  The goal is to foster greater involvement in sport, culture and volunteering.  Herts Baseball Club – based at Grovehill Playing Fields in Hemel Hempstead – is widely regarded as a positive influence in the local area and their grant application boasted support from local Council members, the Herts Constabulary, the Grovehill Community Centre and many other encouraging organisations.

The funds will be used by Herts Baseball to level the playing surface of a second baseball field, adjacent to their existing diamond in Grovehill.  The Club has made a name for itself in recent years, enjoying rapid expansion to become the largest baseball franchise in the United Kingdom.  They have a thriving youth Little League programme and an adult team at every level of play in the British Baseball Federation – including the Herts Falcons who joined the venerated National Baseball League in 2009, have secured a winning debut season and will appear in the National Baseball Championships in Croydon, London on August 29-30 to compete for the UK trophy.

Herts Baseball is still awaiting news on another critical grant application which will provide for the clay surfaces, pitching mound and other sport-specific features on Diamond Two, but they've already raised enough funds to assure themselves a level field to play on.  The Grovehill baseball facilities are arguably the best in the United Kingdom, and Herts will be the only Club in the nation to boast two professionally-surfaced, adult sized and completely fenced-in baseball fields.

Club President Aspi Dimitrov said, “We are incredibly grateful to Dacorum Borough Council for their continued partnership and support.  It would be impossible to offer our services – family-friendly baseball for kids and adults, alike – without the Council's backing.  We plan on being a key community presence in Grovehill for many years to come.”

(AUDIO) BBC RADIO COVERAGE OF BRITISH BASEBALL

On Thursday, 6 August 2009, BBC London Radio 94.9FM aired a programme covering British Baseball.  Host Nick Godwin and guests representing all London-based teams from the NBL and AAA League who have qualified for the 2009 postseason discussed topics from the upcoming National Baseball Championship, staging an official MLB game in the UK as well as other issues facing British Baseball at the moment.

Among the special guests were Richmond General Manager and BBF Secretary, John Walmsley, London Mets President, Neil Warne, Bracknell Blazers President, Mark Salter, Essex Arrows President, David Shaer and Herts Falcons Manager, Jason Greenberg.

Click below to hear the programme in full.

 

YANKEES ARE CHAMPIONS AFTER REMARKABLE COME FROM BEHIND WIN

The Herts Yankees came back from the dead to become Herts Baseball Little League Champions for a second year in a row.  Trailing 4-0 going into the sixth inning they pulled off an amazing come back to beat the Blue Jays 6-4.

 

The Yankees may have finished ahead of everyone else in the regular season, but going into the Final, the Blue Jays were the team with all the momentum.  They were the hottest team in the league winning 5 out of their last 6 games and an upset was on the cards.  Yankees’ starter, Marty Cullen Jr, got the game under way retiring the first three batters in order.  Starting for the Blue Jays was Nickolas Martinez who responded with 3 strikeouts in the bottom of the first. 

 

In the top of the second the Blue Jays opened the score when Kieran Manning tripled and was driven in by Storm Frisby.  Frisby was one of the outstanding performers of the day with two clutch hits driving in two key runs for the Jays.  Lewis Paterson (2-4), Zack Longboy (2-4), Kieran Manning (2-3) and Jake Strange (1-2) were the other big hitters as the Blue Jays took a 4-0 lead. 

 

At the same time Martinez was putting up zeros inning-after-inning.  He pitched 5 scoreless innings striking out 10 and allowing only 1 hit – an absolutely amazing performance under pressure.

 

The Yankees were struggling to put together any kind of offensive threat but they were taking Martinez deep into the count.  By the end of the 5th he had thrown 76 pitches (51 strikes – 25 balls) and had to be taken out of the game.

 

The Yankees were running out of time trailing 4-0 and needing a miracle.  But they came out swinging their bats hard in the bottom of the sixth.  A combination of walks and timely hits produced the most incredible of come backs.  Both Declan Carlean and Lewis Green hit RBI singles and Robert Binns delivered the knockout punch with a triple to drive in 2 more runs.  The Yankees scored 6 runs in that inning.  This meant that the Blue Jays needed to score 2 in the 7th and final inning to stay in the game.  All the pressure was on Yankees’ pitcher Marty Cullen and he kept his nerve closing the game in style with a groundout and 2 strikeouts.  Yankees Centerfielder, Lewis Green was voted as the MVP of the 2009 Championship Game.

 

After the game Blue Jays’ Managers, Arnie Longboy and Jeff Witter, had a message for their players: ”It has been a pleasure working with such a dedicated group of players.  All season the players have worked so hard and it has been very satisfying to see them grow as players”. 

 

That was a heartbreaking loss for the Blue Jays, many of whom were in tears after the game.  In every game there must be winners and losers but in this case both teams can be very proud of themselves.  They produced a thrilling baseball game of the highest quality for the fans who had packed the spectator areas at Grovehill Ballpark.  They certainly showed that the future is bright for Herts Baseball Club.

 

Herts Yankees Manager, Marty Cullen, said:  “I may have been acting as the stand-in Yankees Manager today, but as the Commissioner of the Herts Little League, I feel that this is more than just about the Yankees winning the title.  All the teams deserve credit and now that the Herts Little League season has ended it is time for all of our Herts Little League players to turn their attention to the upcoming National Championship, which is an opportunity for our club to show what Herts is about to the rest of Britain.”

 

Red Sox survive Cubs’ late rally to win Bronze (Read more).

 

More images from the Herts Baseball Little League Finals.


 

Herts Blue Jays at Herts Yankees
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Blue Jays 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 4 9 3
Herts Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 6 4 3

Herts Yankees 6, Herts Blue Jays 4
Herts Yankees Herts Blue Jays
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Lewis Green cf 4 1 1 1 Aaron Witter 2b 4 0 0 0
Dan Phillips 2b 3 0 0 0 Zachary Longboy ss-p 4 0 2 0
Marty Cullen Jr p 3 0 1 0 Nickolas Martinez p-ss 4 0 0 0
Jamie Paterson ss 2 1 0 0 Lewis Paterson 1b 4 1 2 0
Charlie Mayhew 1b 2 0 0 0 Kieran Manning c 3 2 2 1
Carlos Casal Jr c 1 1 0 0 George Beatty 3b 3 0 0 0
Alex Ringrose 3b 3 1 0 1 Storm Frisby lf 4 0 2 2
Robert Binns rf 3 1 1 2 Stella Dixon cf 3 1 0 0
Declan Carlean lf 2 1 1 1 Jacob Strange rf 2 0 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 23 6 4 5 TEAM TOTALS 31 4 9 3

E: Marty Cullen Jr, Jamie Paterson, Carlos Casal Jr, Lewis Paterson, George Beatty,
Stella Dixon. DP: Herts Yankees 1. LOB: Herts Yankees 5, Herts Blue Jays 9. 2B: Marty
Cullen Jr, Lewis Paterson, Kieran Manning, Zachary Longboy. 3B: Robert Binns, Kieran
Manning.

Herts Yankees IP H R ER BB SO
Marty Cullen Jr W 7.00 9 4 3 2 9
Herts Blue Jays            
Nickolas Martinez 5.00 1 0 0 2 10
Zachary Longboy L 1.00 3 6 5 3 1

HBP: by Marty Cullen Jr (Kieran Manning). . . T: 1:55. A: 89.

RED SOX SURVIVE CUBS’ LATE RALLY TO WIN BRONZE

In a day of incredible come backs, the Cubs almost pulled off a classic come-from-behind win of their own.  Their brave effort came just short as they went down 6-5 to the Red Sox in the Bronze Medal Game.

 

During the regular season the two teams were very equally-matched having won 3 games each, so this was their seventh meeting of the season and was the equivalent of a sudden-death Game 7 in a best-of-7 series.

 

The Sox jumped in front 5-0 in the first inning.  4 of those runs came after 2 RBI doubles from both Liam Green and rookie Mariana Casal playing only her third game in the Little League.  The Cubs were refusing to throw in the towel, and started chipping away at the Red Sox’ lead.  Keanu Wood (1-1) and Eddie Smith (0-1) may have been the youngest members of the Cubs, but they delivered giant blows driving in 3 runs.  That brought the Cubs to within 3 runs going into the final inning.

 

Red Sox starting pitcher, Carlos Casal Jr, had allowed only 2 hits up to that point, but in the final inning the Cubs managed to find other ways to get on base.  Aggressive base-running forced the Red Sox to commit several errors which allowed 2 runs in and made the score 6-5.  The Cubs’ were somehow staying alive with two outs.  They even managed to put the tying run in scoring position, but their luck ran out right at the end.  The Red Sox held on to clinch the bronze medal sparking wild celebrations with champagne cork flying high up in the air.  Even the Cubs joined in the celebrations with both teams ending up completely drenched.

 

Red Sox Catcher, Michael Davis, was voted as the MVP of the 2009 Bronze Medal Game.

 

Red Sox Managers, Nick White and Carlos Casal, praised their players: “Everyone worked as a team and that’s how baseball games are won”.  Kal Dimitrov, standing in as Cubs Manager for Atso Ariga, was positive despite the defeat: “The Cubs should be very proud.  They have had a fantastic season and showed great resilience fighting right to the end.”

 

Yankees are Champions After Remarkable Come From Behind Win (Read more)

 

More images from the Herts Baseball Little League Finals.


 

Herts Cubs at Herts Red Sox
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 R H E
Herts Cubs 0 1 2 2 5 2 2
Herts Red Sox 5 1 0 0 6 3 1

Herts Red Sox 6, Herts Cubs 5
Herts Red Sox Herts Cubs
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Adam White 2b 1 1 0 0 Nicolas Carlean cf 3 0 0 0
Michael Davis c 0 1 0 1 Drew Mayhew 1b 1 2 0 0
Carlos Casal Jr p 1 1 0 0 Alex Ringrose p 1 2 0 0
Liam Green 1b 2 1 2 2 Adam Smith c 2 1 0 0
Theo Longboy 3b 1 1 0 0 Declan Carlean ss 3 0 1 0
Connor Caffrey ss 0 0 0 0 Mitchell Procter 2b 1 0 0 0
Mariana Casal rf 2 0 1 2 Eddie Smith lf 1 0 0 1
Jacob Strange lf 0 1 0 0 Keanu Wood 3b 1 0 1 2
Alexander Deacon cf 2 0 0 0 Bai Frisby rf 2 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 9 6 3 5 TEAM TOTALS 15 5 2 3

E: Carlos Casal Jr, Drew Mayhew, Declan Carlean. LOB: Herts Red Sox 8, Herts Cubs 8.
2B: Liam Green, Mariana Casal, Declan Carlean.

Herts Red Sox IP H R ER BB SO
Carlos Casal Jr W 4.00 2 5 3 8 6
Herts Cubs            
Alex Ringrose L 1.33 3 6 4 9 3

HBP: by Carlos Casal Jr (Keanu Wood). , by Carlos Casal Jr (Alex Ringrose). T: 1:35.
A: 89.

FALCONS SLIDE CONTINUES, DROP TWO TO METS

Report from BBF Correspondent Simon Fitzjohn:

The London Mets kept up their relentless pace atop the NBL standings, but were made to work hard by the Herts Falcons in an entertaining doubleheader. London emerged victorious by scores of 7-2 and 4-3. Reed Wilson was the hero in game one, pitching another dominating game to frustrate the Herts hitters. Game two was much tighter though, with the Mets needing two passed balls, a stolen base and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth to rally from a 3-2 deficit.

The Mets' Alex Pike said: “Reed pitched to perfection in the first game and I cannot ask for more than that. Game two was far closer but we still came through. Pressure means nothing to these guys and they always find a way to win. We are going to be missing quite a few of these guys in the play-offs so we need to try out a few new faces, but they are stepping up well.”

For Herts' manager Jason Greenberg it was a case of what might have been. He said: “In the first game we came up with only one hit, so no surprises in the result there. Game two we could have won and we are very disappointed. Even so I am very pleased that it was a game against the Mets that we controlled from the first inning. The day is getting closer where we beat this team and it is not considered an upset.”

More images from the Falcons' visit to the London Mets

GAME ONE


Herts Falcons at London Mets
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Falcons 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 1 3
London Mets 1 0 2 0 1 3 0 7 6 2

London Mets 7, Herts Falcons 2
London Mets Herts Falcons
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 3b 3 1 0 0 Luis Goncalves ss 4 0 0 0
Player 2 ss 3 2 0 0 Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 2 0 0 0
Player 3 lf 3 1 0 0 Lin Yuchih 3b 2 0 0 0
Player 4 c 4 1 1 4 Darrin Ward 1b 3 0 0 0
Player 5 dh 4 0 1 1 Jason Greenberg c 3 0 1 0
Player 6 1b 2 0 1 1 Dan Kerry lf 3 1 0 0
(t7) Sub 1 1b 0 0 0 0 Aspi Dimitrov rf 1 0 0 0
Player 7 cf 3 0 0 0 (t7) Carlos Casal rf 1 1 0 0
Player 8 2b 3 1 3 0 Nick Goetz p 2 0 0 0
(t7) Sub 4 2b 0 0 0 0 (t7) Lee Manning p 0 0 0 0
Player 9 rf 2 1 0 0 Jamie Munn cf 3 0 0 0
(t7) Sub 6 rf 0 0 0 0
Sub 16 p 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 27 7 6 6 TEAM TOTALS 24 2 1 0

E: Player 2, Sub 16, Lin Yuchih(2), Aspi Dimitrov. LOB: Herts Falcons 5, London Mets
7. 2B: Player 4, Player 5, Player 6, Player 8. SB: Player 2(3), Player 3, Player 1,
Carlos Casal.

London Mets IP H R ER BB SO
Sub 16 W 7.00 1 2 0 3 9
Herts Falcons            
Nick Goetz L 6.00 6 7 2 3 1

HBP: by Nick Goetz (Player 2). . . . . , by Sub 16 (Kimiyoshi Saionji), by Nick Goetz
(Player 9). . WP: Sub 16. PB: Player 4(4), Jason Greenberg. T: 1:45. A: 97.


GAME TWO


Herts ALL at Template Team
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts ALL 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 3 3
Template Team 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 4 5 3

Template Team 4, Herts ALL 3
Template Team Herts ALL
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 ss 3 1 2 1 Luis Goncalves ss 3 1 1 1
Player 2 lf-2b 3 1 1 2 Kimiyoshi Saionji rf 4 0 0 0
Player 3 3b 2 0 0 0 Lin Yuchih 1b 3 0 0 0
(b4) Sub 4 3b 1 0 0 0 Darrin Ward p 3 0 0 0
Player 4 dh 2 0 0 1 Dan Kerry cf 3 0 0 0
Player 5 cf 3 0 1 0 Lee Manning c 2 1 0 0
Player 6 c 3 0 0 0 Carlos Casal 2b 3 1 2 0
(t7) Sub 6 lf 0 0 0 0 Nick Goetz 3b 2 0 0 0
Player 7 2b 1 0 0 0 Jamie Munn rf 3 0 0 0
(b5) Sub 1 2b-c 1 0 0 0
Player 8 rf 1 1 0 0
(b5) Sub 2 rf 1 0 0 0
Player 9 1b 2 1 1 0
Sub 16 p 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 23 4 5 4 TEAM TOTALS 26 3 3 1

E: Player 1(2), Player 3, Luis Goncalves, Carlos Casal, Nick Goetz. DP: Herts ALL 2.
LOB: Template Team 2, Herts ALL 6. 2B: Player 1, Player 5. SB: Player 2, Luis
Goncalves(2), Carlos Casal, Lee Manning. SF: Player 4.

Template Team IP H R ER BB SO
Sub 16 W 7.00 3 3 0 4 5
Herts ALL            
Darrin Ward L 6.00 5 4 3 0 0

WP: Sub 16(2). PB: Player 6(3), Lee Manning(2). T: 15:15. A: 98.

RAPTORS GRILL MARAUDERS

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, JON GAMBLE

 

The Herts Raptors travelled to Finsbury Park on a grey Sunday afternoon with hopes of edging their way closer to the season play-offs. For the London Marauders it has been a long season as they went into the game still without a single win. The barbecue sizzles in the background.

 

The Herts team came out of the pits firing on all cylinders. Nippy base-stealing and a willingness to take advantage of some erratic pitching  quickly put four runs on the board. The Marauders were unable to respond as sharp fielding by the Raptors – including their first double-play of the day – made short work of the early London batting order. Perrie Sherman, returning from international pitching duties in Belgium, was looking at home in the catcher's box.

 

The Raptors made the most of some not-so-sharp fielding errors to add a further four runs in the top of the second. However, debut pitcher Jeff Witter appeared to take a liking to his new job for the Raptors – restricting the Marauders to only one run in reply.

 

The top of the third inning turned into a walkfest for the Raptors as a combination of sound hitting, wild pitching and aggressive base stealing piled on the runs. Someone famously said that there is no defence against a walk. For the London Marauders this was the hard lesson of the day. The Raptors base-stealing operation was working like a high-octane machine but uncontrolled pitching was also making it too easy to get batters round.

 

By the end of the decisive third inning, the Marauders have been grilled to order – as the Raptors lead stretches to 20-2. The Marauders were never able to get a serious rally going. This was largely the result of the disciplined pitching performance of Jeff Witter backed up by a very tidy fielding display from the rest of the Raptors – in which Iwan Evans, Andrew Slater and Paul Curtis should all get special mention. The Raptors improvement in the fielding department – including another crisp double play in the bottom of the fourth – was the hallmark of the game.

 

Of the three contests between these two sides this season, this was the most one-sided. The London Marauders are a genial side who play the game in the proper spirit, while the hospitality at Finsbury Park sets the standard for convivial sportsmanship. For the Marauders the road to baseball success surely lies through solving the pitching riddle. It is a puzzle that the Raptors have also struggled with throughout the season. Jeff Witter's economical performance on Sunday suggest that they have gone a some way towards solving it.

 


 

Herts Raptors at London Marauders
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Raptors 4 4 12 0 0 3 1 24 8 2
London Marauders 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 6 4 5

Herts Raptors 24, London Marauders 6
Herts Raptors London Marauders
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Iwan Evans cf 6 5 3 3 Player 1 p 4 1 1 0
Ilya Dimitrov ss 2 4 0 1 Player 2 c 3 2 1 0
Andrew Slater 1b 6 4 2 3 Player 3 1b 1 2 0 0
Jonathon Lewys 3b 3 2 1 2 Player 4 2b 3 0 0 2
Paul Curtis 2b 2 2 1 0 Player 5 3b 2 1 0 0
Perrie Sherman c 2 1 0 2 Player 6 ss 4 0 1 0
Jeff Witter p 5 0 0 1 Player 7 lf 3 0 0 0
Robert Crouch lf 5 3 1 0 Player 8 cf 1 0 1 0
Jon Gamble rf 1 3 0 0 Player 9 rf 3 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 32 24 8 12 TEAM TOTALS 24 6 4 2

E: Paul Curtis, Perrie Sherman, Player 4(2), Player 5(2), Player 6. DP: Herts Raptors
2. LOB: London Marauders 6, Herts Raptors 12. 2B: Iwan Evans, Player 6. SB: Andrew
Slater(4), Jonathon Lewys(4), Ilya Dimitrov(4), Iwan Evans(3), Robert Crouch(3), Paul
Curtis(2), Perrie Sherman, Player 3(4), Player 5(3), Player 2(3), Player 1(2). SF:
Jonathon Lewys, Player 4.

Herts Raptors IP H R ER BB SO
Jeff Witter W 7.00 4 6 3 9 5
London Marauders            
Player 1 L 7.00 8 24 9 23 5

HBP: by Player 1 (Ilya Dimitrov). . , by Player 1 (Jon Gamble). . . . WP: Jeff
Witter(3), Player 1(9). PB: Player 2(7). T: 3:15. A: 98.

WOLFHOUNDS TAMED BY HERTS ALL STARS

The Herts Little League All Stars faced their first ever international competition this past Saturday when they hosted an All Star team from southern Ireland in a 7 inning friendly game at ‘the hill’.

With the Herts Little League only in its 2nd season, the question on everyone’s lips was, “can they compete at a higher level?”

The Herts All Stars answered……………………and answered LOUDLY!

From the first pitch, all pre-game jitters seemed to disappear behind the determined game faces of Herts. Starting pitcher, Marty Cullen Jr retired the first 5 batters via the strikeout and didn’t allow a hit in his 3 innings on the mound recording 8 strikeouts. Pitcher Nick Martinez came in and continued the domination recording 5 strikeouts and no hits in 2 strong innings. Assistant coach Arnie Longboy said after the game, “pitching wins games, and we might have the best one two punch in the British youth system right now”. Relievers Mikito Ariga and Zach Longboy also combined for 3 strong innings allowing only 1 run in the rout providing further evidence of the depth in the Herts bullpen.

At the plate, the Herts bats came alive knocking in 25 runs with every Herts batter reaching base via the hit. Doubles and triples were the flavour of the day against a good Irish pitching staff. Herts batters had a record 14 extra base hits including a monster home run to deep center by newcomer Jamie Dix.

Manager Marty Cullen had this to say after the win, “It’s all about preparation. These kids have worked so hard, and it really showed today. I’m so proud of how they came together as a team. They did everything right. For me, this was a prep game for the BBF championships and I saw exactly what I wanted to see.”

The day itself was a tremendous success as the legendary Herts fans came out in droves, soaking up the atmosphere (as well as a record number of hot dogs and donuts). The Irish Wolfhounds also enjoyed the hospitality displayed by Herts and their supporters despite the tough loss. The Irish Manager said, “All credit to Herts. They put on a great event and they play hard. We would definitely come back.”

Next stop…….the BBF Youth Championships. Do the Herts All Stars have what it takes to bring home the Gold? I’m willing to bet that there are a few teams around the Country nervously asking that same question.

 

View More Images from the first youth international game at Grovehill Ballpark