Category: Headlines

by AspiDimitrov

THE KIDS ARE BACK. NEW SEASON OF THE HERTS BASEBALL LITTLE LEAGUE STARTS THIS SATURDAY

This Saturday, 16 May, young baseball players from all around Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas will be heading down to Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.  The occasion is the start of the 2009 Herts Baseball Little League season.

 

In keeping with baseball tradition, the Opening Day of the Little League season will be a festive occasion.  Everything that is expected on Opening Day will be featured, from the singing of the national anthem to the hot dogs. 

 

Last year the season was officially opened by the Mayor of the Borough of Dacorum, Councillor Mrs. Carol Green, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch with impressive authority.  This year’s guests of honour will be members of the emergency services and this would give the young Herts baseball players a chance to show their gratitude to the men and women who work tirelessly helping us in the most extreme and challenging circumstances.  Members of Herts Baseball Club who are raising funds for the British Heart Foundation will also be taking part in the event as part of their fundraising campaign.

 

The opening ceremony will commence at 12pm and it will be followed by the first Little League games of 2009. 

 

The Herts Baseball youth programme has made tremendous strides since its inception in the summer of 2007.  It has grown into one of the largest baseball youth programmes in the country and its players have already had enormous success, including winning the MLB PlayBall  AA winners’ trophy in 2008 and finishing as runners-up in the Herts Futures Tournament last September defeating some of the best baseball teams in Great Britain. 

 

The talent of the Herts Baseball Little League players has not gone unnoticed and the GB National Team programme has already invited several of them to the GB U-13 National Team.

 

Last year’s inaugural season ended in a dramatic three-way tie between the Cubs, Red Sox and the Yankees and an extra week of playoff games were required to determine the eventual champions, the Herts Yankees.  Who will win it this time around?

 

Since last season, over £10,000 has been invested in developing the baseball facilities at Grovehill Ballpark thanks to a grant from the National Lottery.  It is already becoming an impressive sporting venue which is packed with baseball events for youth and adult teams from March until October.  The members of Herts Baseball Club have been working hard over the last 12 months to raise additional funds for the development of Grovehill Ballpark and these are scheduled to be invested later in the year.

 

Don’t miss the 2009 Little League Opening Day.  Boys and girls aged between 5 and 14+ can join the Herts Baseball Little League at any time.  For more details visit www.hertslittleleague.com

by AspiDimitrov

EXTRA INNINGS DRAMA IN NORTH LONDON

Having already seen the Falcons and Raptors chalk up amazing victories with last-inning heroics this season, it was the turn of the Eagles to add their own chapter on Sunday with an unbelievable 25-17 extra innings victory over the Sidewinders in Enfield.

 

While the home team cycled through a number of players in the marathon encounter, Herts stuck with the same nine men throughout – displaying the determination and team spirit that are symptomatic of all levels of Herts baseball.  … (full report and box scores to follow shortly)

by AspiDimitrov

RAPTORS 12 BRACKNELL BLAZERS II 23

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, KEN PIKE

 

The Raptors travelled to Bracknell to face the Blazers II knowing it would be a tough showdown with the opposition fielding three team GB cadets in their line up. With this in mind the brave young Raptors squad put fear aside and produced their best performance of the year.

 

Some commanding pitching from Jon Lewys was the trademark of the game as he went the full nine innings showing an ever increasing confidence on the mound. His command of the strike zone was a further step in his development and improvement. Jon is looking to be a star of the team by the end of the season both as a glove, a bat and an arm.

 

Backing Jon up in the field was no easy task though with Bracknell hitting some powerful shots around the park, including one home run to left field. Never the less, some amazing plays kept the scores within reach including a spectacular sliding catch from Rob Jones to close out an inning.

 

The batting performances of the day came from player-manager Andrew Slater with two double RBIs, and Steve Nippress who nearly cleared the boundary himself for the Raptors but fell only a couple of yards short of the first HR of his career. The team did well over all racking up 12 runs against two powerful pitchers.

 

Comedy moment as well as dedication and bravery in the face of overwhelming odds awards go to Iwan Evans who decided to steal home on a passed ball at third. Beaten to the bag by a mile Iwan went for an acrobatic avoidance of the tag resulting in his legs being higher than his head. Result: one out, an injured hip (to add to his arm) and a mouthful of dirt. Luckily our Jackie Chan wannabe was walking again after a brief respite and is sure to be playing next week, even if he is sporting a bruised ego and gluteous maximus.

 

Returning from an injured right shoulder Ken Pike was forced to take the field earlier than the coach wanted due to the third inning injury of new starter Jeff Witter. As is always the way in such matters the very first hit of the inning went straight to Ken. As was, it ended up in his glove and produced an out at first. Sadly, half an inning later and he was on the ground again having attempted a throw to home plate. After moving to first base he managed to finish the game, and he assures us his arm will be ready next week.

 

Sadly, despite the team’s bravery and effort, the damage had been done early on and the Raptors were fighting to come back from a 10 run deficit after two innings. The end result of a 12 -23 loss does them credit having kept the gap to 11 by the end of the game. They can still hold their heads high knowing they avoided the mercy rule against a team likely to be a league higher next year.

Herts Raptors at Bracknell Blazers II
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Raptors 0 0 2 2 0 4 4 12 6 1
Bracknell Blazers II 5 5 0 2 6 5 0 23 22 2

Bracknell Blazers II 23, Herts Raptors 12
Bracknell Blazers II Herts Raptors
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 p-rf 4 2 3 2 Rob Jones cf 1 3 1 0
Player 2 c 6 2 3 0 Ilya Dimitrov ss 0 3 0 0
Player 3 1b 4 2 1 0 Jonathon Lewys p 1 2 1 1
Player 4 2b 3 1 1 2 Andrew Slater c 4 1 2 2
(t5) Sub 1 2b 1 2 1 0 Steve Nippress 2b 4 0 1 2
Player 5 3b 4 4 3 2 Ken Pike 1b-2b 4 0 1 1
Player 6 ss 2 3 2 2 Phil Crooks lf 3 1 0 0
(b5) Sub 3 ss 1 2 1 0 Iwan Evans 3b 2 1 0 0
Player 7 lf 4 1 1 0 Neil Brackley rf 3 1 0 0
(t5) Sub 2 cf 1 2 1 0
Player 8 cf-lf 6 1 4 2
Player 9 rf-p 4 1 1 1
TEAM TOTALS 40 23 22 11 TEAM TOTALS 22 12 6 6

E: Player 2, Player 3, Steve Nippress. LOB: Herts Raptors 7, Bracknell Blazers II 11.
2B: Player 5, Player 6, Player 9, Steve Nippress, Ken Pike. 3B: Player 6. SB: Player
1(5), Player 3(4), Player 5(3), Sub 1(3), Player 9(2), Player 8(2), Sub 3(2), Player
2, Player 6, Player 4, Player 7, Sub 2, Rob Jones(3), Ilya Dimitrov(3), Andrew
Slater(2), Jonathon Lewys, Iwan Evans, Ken Pike, Neil Brackley, Phil Crooks. CS: Iwan
Evans.

Bracknell Blazers II IP H R ER BB SO
Player 1 W 6.00 4 8 7 12 9
Player 9 1.00 2 4 4 3 2
Herts Raptors            
Jonathon Lewys L 6.00 22 23 23 10 2

HBP: by Jonathon Lewys (Player 9). . . . , by Jonathon Lewys (Player 3). , by Player
1 (Ken Pike). , by Player 9 (Rob Jones). WP: Player 1. T: 4:00. A: 34.
Herts Raptors – Top of the 1st:
Rob Jones walked, batted forward to 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd.
Ilya Dimitrov walked, stole 2nd.
Andrew Slater struck out swinging.
Steve Nippress struck out looking.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Bracknell Blazers II – Bottom of the 1st:
Player 1 singled, batted forward to home.
Player 2 singled, batted forward to home.
Player 3 singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
Player 4 flied out, 1 RBI.
Player 5 walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
Player 6 walked, batted forward to home.
Player 7 flied out.
Player 8 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, 1 RBI.
Player 9 hit by pitch, batted forward to 2nd.
Player 1 walked, 1 RBI.
Player 2 popped out.
5 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Herts Raptors – Top of the 2nd:
Ken Pike grounded out.
Phil Crooks grounded out.
Iwan Evans grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Bracknell Blazers II – Bottom of the 2nd:
Player 3 popped out.
Player 4 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
Player 5 struck out looking.
Player 6 doubled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
Player 7 singled, batted forward to home.
Player 8 singled, batted forward to 3rd, stole home.
Player 9 walked, batted forward to 3rd, stole home, 1 RBI.
Player 1 singled, stole 2nd, 1 RBI.
Player 2 singled.
Player 7 popped out.
5 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Raptors – Top of the 3rd:
Neil Brackley popped out.
Rob Jones singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
Ilya Dimitrov walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
Jonathon Lewys walked, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd.
Andrew Slater singled, stole 2nd.
Steve Nippress struck out looking.
Ken Pike struck out looking.
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Bracknell Blazers II – Bottom of the 3rd:
Player 8 popped out.
Player 9 doubled, stole 3rd.
Player 1 walked, stole 2nd.
Player 2 struck out looking.
Player 3 popped out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Raptors – Top of the 4th:
Phil Crooks walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to 3rd, stole home.
Iwan Evans walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to
home.
Neil Brackley struck out swinging.
Rob Jones walked, advanced to 2nd on error, tagged out going to 3rd.
Ilya Dimitrov reached on interference, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
Jonathon Lewys singled, advanced to 2nd on error.
2 runs, 1 hit, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Bracknell Blazers II – Bottom of the 4th:
Player 4 popped out.
Player 5 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
Player 6 tripled, stole home, 1 RBI.
Player 7 reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
Player 8 popped out.
Player 9 popped out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Raptors – Top of the 5th:
Steve Nippress walked, picked off.
Ken Pike doubled, stole 3rd.
Phil Crooks struck out looking.
Iwan Evans popped out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Bracknell Blazers II – Bottom of the 5th:
Player 1 singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, stole home.
Player 2 walked, advanced to 2nd on error, tagged out going to 3rd.
Player 3 hit by pitch, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
Sub 1 singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, stole home.
Player 5 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
Sub 3 singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
Sub 2 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
Player 8 singled.
Player 9 popped out.
Player 1 popped out.
6 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Raptors – Top of the 6th:
Neil Brackley walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
Rob Jones walked, batted forward to home.
Ilya Dimitrov walked, batted forward to home.
Jonathon Lewys walked, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
Andrew Slater struck out swinging.
Steve Nippress struck out swinging.
Ken Pike hit by pitch, 1 RBI.
Phil Crooks struck out swinging.
4 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Bracknell Blazers II – Bottom of the 6th:
Player 2 singled, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
Player 3 popped out.
Sub 1 walked, batted forward to home.
Player 5 doubled, batted forward to home, 2 RBI.
Sub 3 walked, batted forward to home.
Sub 2 walked, batted forward to home.
Player 8 singled, batted forward to 2nd, 1 RBI.
Player 9 popped out.
Player 1 walked.
Player 2 popped out.
5 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Raptors – Top of the 7th:
Iwan Evans walked, stole 2nd, caught trying to steal 3rd.
Neil Brackley struck out swinging.
Rob Jones hit by pitch, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
Ilya Dimitrov walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
Jonathon Lewys walked, batted forward to home.
Andrew Slater singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home, 2 RBI.
Steve Nippress doubled, 2 RBI.
Ken Pike struck out swinging.
4 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Bracknell Blazers II – Bottom of the 7th:
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
by AspiDimitrov

11th-HOUR FALCONS RALLY TRIPS UP NATIONAL CHAMPS

No one knew what to expect in Sunday's showdown between the Herts Falcons – newcomers to the National Baseball League – and the reigning champion London Mets.

On Opening Day the Falcons swept the Croydon Pirates and, in doing so, made an assertive debut onto the national stage.  The Mets, on the other hand, suffered a surprise clubbing by the Richmond Flames in their first match-up.  So, who could predict the state of play in the UK's top-tier of baseball…?

From the first at-bat of Game One it looked like an uphill battle for Herts.  Mets leadoff man Callum Woods rocketed a fastball from Nic Goetz deep into the outfield for a triple and immediately scored on a sacrifice fly.  Goetz recovered and threw two fly outs to retire the side.  The Falcons answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the 1st, as Jason Greenberg and Kimiyoshi Saionji each worked a walk and crossed the plate on a pair of singles from Darrin Ward and Lin Yuchih.

The Mets kept pecking away at Goetz through the morning, scoring seven more runs by the sixth inning and leading the Falcons by a score of 8-4.  Herts sent the hard-throwing Dan Kerry to the mound in the top of the 7th for his Falcons pitching debut.  Kerry was unflappable.  Although he surrendered two walks, he also worked a fielder's choice and two swinging strikeouts, buckling the Mets batters with his late-breaking curve.

Kerry's work from the mound proved critical as the Falcons went to their last at-bat needing four runs to tie.  Kimiyoshi Saionji – hitless for the day as the clean-up designated hitter – led things off with another walk.  Kerry and Yuchih followed with walks of their own.  London relief pitcher Rob Anthony was struggling with his control, and the Falcons exhibited incredible patience at the plate.  But after a mound visit from the Mets manager, Anthony found some command and quickly earned a fly out and a strikeout to bring London within one out of a win.

But the Falcons weren't finished yet.  Short stop phenom Luis Goncalves came to the plate and smacked a two-out single, driving home two runs and brining the score to 8-6.  Kerry – the man of the hour – then drove his own single up the middle.  Yuchih scored easily from third base, and Goncalves was waved around third and slid hard across home plate just before the throw from centerfielder Ran Zeng.  Two runs were in and the game was tied.

A wild pitch moved Kerry to third, and then back-to-back walks from Greenberg and Andy Cornish loaded the bases as Sainoji returned to the plate for his second appearance of the inning.  The Falcons fans had been screaming with exuberance to this point, but fell silent as Saionji concentrated on the task at hand.  He quickly saw two strikes, but remained calm in the batters box, fouled off several pitches, took a few balls and watched the count go full.  A smooth, level swing from Saionji squeezed through the gap at second base and the winning run scored easily as the Falcons achieved an incredible 9-8 come-from-behind victory against all odds.

Kerry claimed the win in his first NBL appearance, and went 3-for-5 at the plate with two stolen bases.  Yuchih also had three hits, and Goncalves was 1-2 with two runs and 2 RBI.

The Mets, no doubt stung by that loss, came out firing in Game Two and Kyle Hickson smashed a two-run homer as the London side routed Herts 12-2, backed by a dominating pitching performance by Ernesto Bollufer, who gave up only three hits.

Despite the Game Two setback, the Falcons' Aspi Dimitrov reckons his side, with a record of 3-1 out of the gate, are raising a few eyebrows among the baseball fraternity.  “It was a big day for the club today with it being our home opener, and to beat such a strong team as the Mets is a fantastic achievement,” Dimitrov said.  Falcons Manager Greenberg was less surprised by (but just as proud of)his team's determination.  “It takes a lot of mettle to hit in those situations – with two outs and the tying or winning run on base.  Kimi and Dan were magnificent today, and it's because of fearless players like them that we'll continue to win games at this level.  Make no mistake about it: the Falcons don't plan to lay down for anyone.  We'll just get better and better.”

The other action scheduled for Sunday would have seen the Croydon Pirates (0-4) travel to the Bracknell Blazers (2-0), but the BBF gave dispensation for the game to be rescheduled for August to allow Croydon to rebuild their roster.

The Pirates have a bye week coming up, and will be using that time to hold trials as they aim to put together a squad that can challenge in the NBL.

Week 4 action on May 10 will see the Falcons (3-1) host the Richmond Flames (2-2), while the Blazers travel to the Mets (1-3).

Click for more photos from the Falcons vs. Mets series…

GAME ONE

London Mets at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
London Mets 1 0 2 1 3 1 0 8 9 0
Herts Falcons 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 9 11 3

Herts Falcons 9, London Mets 8
Herts Falcons London Mets
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Dan Kerry cf-p 5 2 3 2 Callum Woods ss-c 4 2 3 1
Jason Greenberg c 2 1 0 0 Ran Zeng cf 3 0 0 2
Andy Cornish lf 4 0 1 2 Rob Anthony 2b-p-ss 1 2 0 0
Kimiyoshi Saionji dh-rf 3 2 1 1 Kyle Hickson rf 4 1 2 1
Darrin Ward 1b 3 1 2 1 Jason Roberts p-lf 4 1 1 1
Lin Yuchih 2b 4 1 3 1 Carlos Diaz 1b-3b 4 0 1 0
Riley Fisher 3b 3 0 0 0 Jonathon Crammon lf 2 0 0 0
Aspi Dimitrov rf-cf 3 0 0 0 (b6) Reid Wilson 2b 1 0 0 0
Luis Goncalves ss 2 2 1 2 Martin Stabe 3b 2 0 0 0
Nick Goetz p 0 0 0 0 (b5) Josh Chetwynd 1b 0 0 0 0
          Tomas Bird 2b-c 1 1 1 0
          (b3) Carl Randall 2b-ss 3 1 1 1
TEAM TOTALS 29 9 11 9 TEAM TOTALS 29 8 9 6

E: Dan Kerry, Jason Greenberg, Darrin Ward. DP: London Mets 1, Herts Falcons 1. LOB:
London Mets 9, Herts Falcons 11. 2B: Callum Woods, Kyle Hickson. 3B: Callum Woods,
Carl Randall. SB: Dan Kerry(2), Luis Goncalves(2), Callum Woods, Carl Randall, Rob
Anthony. CS: Andy Cornish. SF: Ran Zeng(2).

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Nick Goetz 6.00 9 8 5 6 1
Dan Kerry W 1.00 0 0 0 2 2
London Mets            
Jason Roberts 5.67 7 4 4 7 9
Rob Anthony L 1.00 4 5 5 4 1

WP: Nick Goetz(2), Rob Anthony. T: 2:45. A: 89.
GAME TWO

London Mets at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
London Mets 4 1 0 3 2 2 12 13 0
Herts Falcons 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 0

London Mets 12, Herts Falcons 2
London Mets Herts Falcons
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Callum Woods 3b-p 4 1 2 3 Dan Kerry cf-p 3 0 0 1
Carl Randall 2b 3 1 2 1 Andy Cornish lf 2 0 0 0
(b4) Martin Stabe 2b-3b 1 0 0 0 Lin Yuchih 1b-rf 3 0 0 0
Rob Anthony ss 3 2 2 2 Darrin Ward p-1b 3 0 0 0
Jason Roberts lf 3 0 0 0 Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 3 0 1 0
(b5) Jonathon Crammon lf 1 0 0 0 Riley Fisher c 1 1 1 0
Kyle Hickson cf 4 3 3 3 Aspi Dimitrov rf-cf 1 0 0 0
Josh Chetwynd 1b 3 1 1 1 (b6) Jason Greenberg cf 1 0 1 0
Carlos Diaz dh 3 1 1 0 Nick Goetz 3b 1 1 0 0
(t6) Ran Zeng dh 1 0 0 0 Luis Goncalves ss 1 0 0 0
Reid Wilson rf 4 1 1 0
Rodolfo Matos c 1 2 1 0
Ernesto Balufer p-2b 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 31 12 13 10 TEAM TOTALS 19 2 3 1

DP: London Mets 1. LOB: London Mets 5, Herts Falcons 6. 2B: Josh Chetwynd. HR: Kyle
Hickson. SB: Kyle Hickson, Rob Anthony, Josh Chetwynd, Nick Goetz. SB: Aspi Dimitrov.

London Mets IP H R ER BB SO
Ernesto Balufer W 5.33 3 2 2 6 6
Callum Woods 0.67 0 0 0 0 1
Herts Falcons            
Darrin Ward L 4.00 10 9 7 1 1
Dan Kerry 2.00 3 3 3 2 3

HBP: by Dan Kerry (Rob Anthony). WP: Ernesto Balufer(2), Darrin Ward. Balk: Darrin
Ward. T: 2:40. A: 89.

by AspiDimitrov

KNIGHTS MASSACRE EAGLES

The Herts Eagles had a day to forget at Richmond, their record dropping to three wins and three losses after suffering a pair of defeats to the Richmond Knights.  The misery was compounded by three injuries on the day, with Mike Wakelam (hamstring) and Tim Elkins (dislocated fingers) both now likely to miss several games as they recover.

 

Game 1 was a blowout, with the Eagles caught half asleep for the second week in a row as Richmond chalked up 16 runs in the first two innings.  The only highlight of this game for Herts fans was the booming home run from Louis Hare hit to the deepest part of centerfield.

 

Game 2 was much tighter with the teams tied at 2-2 after 5 innings.  Unfortunately though several errors in the bottom of the sixth allowed Richmond to score three runs, which proved to be decisive in the 7 inning matchup.  Louis Hare was (again) the unfortunate pitcher taking the loss for the Eagles, despite conceding just 5 hits in the whole game, and contributing the team's only hit.

GAME 1

Herts Eagles at Richmond Knights
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Herts Eagles 0 2 0 3 0 5 4 4
Richmond Knights 4 12 0 1 0 17 14 1

Richmond Knights 17, Herts Eagles 5
Richmond Knights Herts Eagles
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
M. Mann pr-3b-rf 2 4 2 2 John Oliver 1b 3 0 1 2
Ryan Bird ss-1b 8 5 5 4 Tim Elkins lf 3 0 0 0
Rodney Rens rf 0 2 0 2 Lee Manning 3b 3 0 0 0
Jesus Gandara 2b 4 1 2 3 Louis Hare ss 2 2 1 1
Charles Pratt 3b-c 3 1 2 0 Dave Westfallen c 3 1 1 0
Dan Lally cf-p 6 2 1 2 Bart Schouwenaars rf 2 1 0 0
Nick Rolfe lf 3 2 2 0 Mike Wakelam p 1 0 0 0
(t4) Ade Orioye p 1 1 1 0
Dave Hamilton cf 0 0 0 0
Rodney Naghar 2b 2 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 26 17 14 13 TEAM TOTALS 20 5 4 3

E: Charles Pratt, Tim Elkins(2), Lee Manning(2). LOB: Herts Eagles 3, Richmond
Knights 4. 2B: Charles Pratt, Ryan Bird. HR: Louis Hare. SB: Ryan Bird(3), Rodney
Rens(3), Charles Pratt(2), Nick Rolfe(2), M. Mann, Dan Lally, Louis Hare(2), Dave
Westfallen(2). SF: Rodney Rens(2).

Richmond Knights IP H R ER BB SO
Dan Lally W 5.00 3 4 3 3 3
Marcos Osuna 0.00 1 1 1 0 0
Herts Eagles            
Mike Wakelam L 4.00 14 17 12 5 2

WP: Dan Lally, Mike Wakelam(4). T: 2:06. A: 34.

GAME 2

Herts Eagles at Richmond Knights
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Eagles 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 3
Richmond Knights 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 5 5 1

Richmond Knights 5, Herts Eagles 2
Richmond Knights Herts Eagles
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 p 3 0 0 0 John Oliver 1b 1 0 0 0
Player 2 c 3 0 0 0 Lee Manning 3b 3 0 0 0
Player 3 1b 2 0 0 0 Rodney Naghar 2b 4 1 0 0
Player 4 2b 3 1 1 0 Louis Hare p 3 0 1 0
Player 5 3b 2 1 0 0 Dave Westfallen ss 3 0 0 0
Player 6 ss 3 1 1 0 Bart Schouwenaars rf 3 0 0 0
Player 7 lf 3 1 1 0 Dave Hamilton cf 1 0 0 0
Player 8 cf 3 0 1 1 (t6) Tim Elkins cf 1 0 0 0
Player 9 rf 3 1 1 0 Kal Dimitrov c 3 0 0 0
Ade Orioye lf 2 1 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 25 5 5 1 TEAM TOTALS 24 2 1 0

E: Player 3, John Oliver, Lee Manning, Ade Orioye. LOB: Richmond Knights 5, Herts
Eagles 7. 2B: Player 8, Louis Hare. SB: Player 4(2), Player 1, Player 6, Player 7,
Player 9, Louis Hare, Lee Manning, Ade Orioye, Rodney Naghar, Dave Hamilton, Tim
Elkins.

Richmond Knights IP H R ER BB SO
Player 1 W 7.00 1 2 0 5 9
Herts Eagles            
Louis Hare L 6.00 5 5 0 3 4

HBP: by Player 1 (Dave Hamilton). . . . WP: Player 1, Louis Hare. PB: Player 2, Kal
Dimitrov(2). T: 2:06. A: 34.
by AspiDimitrov

HAWKS SWOOP ON PREY

After mounting monumental comebacks, only to come up short in the first two games of 2009, the Herts Hawks finally broke into the win column with a gritty performance reminiscent of the young Tampa Bay Rays.

 

The Hawks Manager, Marty Cullen, still missing some notable veteran talent, made some strategic call ups from the single A Herts Raptors. Rookies Nick Read and Matt Johnston did not disappoint. “They played out of their socks!” said Cullen after the game. “It won’t be long before these guys are playing at the highest level in our club”.  They weren’t the only rookies that helped the Hawks break out in Windsor. Ex Cricket stars Amit Odedra and Chris Wylie combined for 2 RBI, 2 runs and 4 stolen bases. Wylie also provided the play of the game with a diving stab to save a run and end an inning. The veterans provided the pop at the plate. Old timers Dave Baird, Marty Cullen and Paul Auchterlounie combined for more than half of the Hawks 11 hits and 5 of 8 runs scored.

 

As pleased as he was with the overall performance, Skipper Marty Cullen was quick to remind us of an old standard. “Pitching wins games, period. You can score 20 runs, but if you can’t hold them, you can’t win” That pitching came from an unlikely yet ever reliable source.  Anita Hoffman gave birth to their first child in the early hours of Saturday. Some 30 hours later, with what can only be described as a ‘newfound swagger’, Mark ‘the Daddy’ Hoffman strode to the mound and delivered the most inspired performance of his career.  Hurling a complete game, the Hoff surrendered only 3 earned runs on a measly 5 hits over 9 innings. He struck out a career high 12 batters. Most of whom were on last year’s AAA Windsor squad. When asked about the ‘H Train’s’ performance, Catcher Paul Auchterlounie said “I’ve never seen Mark better. This father stuff really agrees with him.”

 

The Hawks now look to take this momentum into a 3 game series with undefeated division rival Kent Mariners. Could this prove to be the turning point for the 1-2 Hawks?  They’ve tasted Bear blood. It’s time to head out to sea.

 

Herts Hawks at Windsor Bears
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Herts Hawks 0 1 2 1 2 1 0 1 0 8 11 1
Windsor Bears 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 7 5 1

Herts Hawks 8, Windsor Bears 7
Herts Hawks Windsor Bears
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Amit Odedra cf 5 0 1 1 Player 1 p-cf 1 3 0 0
Hunter Devine 2b 3 1 0 0 Player 2 c 4 0 0 1
Marty Cullen ss 4 3 2 0 Player 3 1b-3b 5 1 1 1
David Baird 1b 4 0 3 2 Player 4 2b 3 0 1 0
Mark Hoffman p 5 1 1 0 Player 5 3b-p 5 1 3 0
Paul Auchterlounie c 5 2 2 1 Player 6 ss 2 1 0 0
Nick Read lf 4 0 2 3 Player 7 lf 4 1 0 0
Chris Wylie 3b 3 1 0 1 Player 8 cf-1b 4 0 0 0
Matt Johnston rf 2 0 0 0 Player 9 rf 3 0 0 1
TEAM TOTALS 35 8 11 8 TEAM TOTALS 31 7 5 3

E: Marty Cullen, Player 5. LOB: Windsor Bears 9, Herts Hawks 9. 2B: Marty Cullen. SB:
Paul Auchterlounie(4), Chris Wylie(3), Nick Read(2), Marty Cullen, Hunter Devine,
Matt Johnston, Amit Odedra, Player 5(6), Player 6(4), Player 4(3), Player 1(3),
Player 3(2), Player 7.

Herts Hawks IP H R ER BB SO
Mark Hoffman W 9.00 5 7 3 11 12
Windsor Bears            
Player 5 6.00 7 5 4 5 6
Player 1 L 3.00 4 3 3 3 4

HBP: by Player 1 (Matt Johnston), by Mark Hoffman (Player 6). . . . . . . . PB: Paul
Auchterlounie(2), Player 2. T: 3:00. A: 38.
by AspiDimitrov

BAPTISM OF FIRE: DRAGONS SLAY RAPTORS

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, JON GAMBLE

 

Raptors took the field against the Richmond Dragons at Grovehill on Sunday with high hopes of continuing their unbeaten start to the 2009 season. These hopes took an early dive as the Dragons raced away to 7-0 lead in a first inning blitz. Aggressive base-stealing proved to be the Dragons stock-in-trade as they indicated an early intention to run away with everything not nailed down in Grovehill.

 

Dragons pitcher Per Nilsson Eklof came out breathing fire in the top of the second and made short work of the Raptors early batting order – sending the Raptors back to the field without scoring. The Dragons second inning picked up where the first left off – Raptors defence having no answer to the Dragons audacious display of base larceny.

 

Raptors managed to get a couple of runs on the board in the bottom of the second. But there was no stopping the torrent of runs coming from the Dragons who piled on the agony in the top of the sixth with another half dozen runs – taking them to an imposing 18-6 lead by the bottom of the third. The bottom of the third proved to be the highest scoring for the Raptors as the team showed that they knew how to steal a base or two with some aggressive running from Messrs Slater, Curtis and Dimitrov.

 

The Raptors managed to put a brake on the Dragons run rate through the middle innings. However,  the Raptors were unable to build a sustained rally in spite of the efforts of Pike, Jones and and Lewys in the bottom of the fourth. Ken Pike survived a heroic collision with the first base bag to bring home the bacon. Yet Eklof had still got some fire in his belly, closing the innings with a couple of  rally-breaking strikeouts.

 

At the bottom of the sixth, the Dragons led by a comfortable 22-10. Dragons relief pitcher Woo Kim proved to be no relief for the Raptors as he kept a clean sheet in the sixth inning. Liam Green made a confident debut as relief pitcher for the Raptors in the top of the seventh. It proved to be a baptism of fire. Unfortunately, a trio of Raptors outfield rookies learned the hard way that a ball is easier to field in front than behind – as a series of errors allowed the Dragons to run rampant – adding 12 runs to their total. The Raptors were put of their misery with a mercy finish at the bottom of the seventh. It was a day of hard lessons for the Raptors. They will have to wait for another chance to slay the Richmond Dragons.

 

 

Richmond Dragons at Herts Raptors
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Richmond Dragons 7 5 6 2 1 1 12 34 21 5
Herts Raptors 0 2 4 3 1 0 3 13 7 6

Richmond Dragons 34, Herts Raptors 13
Richmond Dragons Herts Raptors
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
John Wilkinson 3b 4 2 2 4 Ken Pike ss 2 1 0 0
Woo Kim 2b-p 7 3 3 1 (b4) Chris Brown rf-lf 2 2 2 1
Nick Hadley 1b-2b 4 4 1 2 Rob Jones 1b-ss 3 1 1 1
Stuart Hendry cf 7 4 4 2 Jonathon Lewys p-1b 5 3 2 2
Grant Bridge lf 7 5 4 1 Andrew Slater 3b 4 1 0 1
Allan Moffat ss 3 5 2 2 Paul Curtis 2b 4 1 1 1
Per Nilsson Eklof p-1b 5 5 3 4 (b6) Jon Gamble rf 1 0 0 0
John Walmsley c 4 4 2 2 Iwan Evans cf 2 1 0 0
Alvin Michael rf 3 1 0 0 (b6) Phil Hynes cf 0 0 0 0
(b5) Talha Akhtar rf 1 1 0 0 Ilya Dimitrov c 0 2 0 0
Robert Crouch lf 1 0 0 0
(t4) Phil Crooks lf-2b 2 0 0 0
Neil Brackley rf 2 0 0 0
(b4) Liam Green ss-rf-p 2 1 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 45 34 21 18 TEAM TOTALS 30 13 7 6

E: Per Nilsson Eklof(2), Allan Moffat, John Wilkinson, Alvin Michael, Andrew
Slater(2), Paul Curtis(2), Ilya Dimitrov, Phil Crooks. DP: Richmond Dragons 1. LOB:
Herts Raptors 7, Richmond Dragons 7. 2B: Allan Moffat(2), Per Nilsson Eklof, Woo Kim,
Jonathon Lewys, Chris Brown. HR: Per Nilsson Eklof, Stuart Hendry. SB: John
Walmsley(7), Stuart Hendry(4), Woo Kim(4), Grant Bridge(4), John Wilkinson(4), Allan
Moffat(4), Per Nilsson Eklof(2), Nick Hadley, Alvin Michael, Talha Akhtar, Jonathon
Lewys(5), Ilya Dimitrov(4), Rob Jones(3), Iwan Evans(2), Andrew Slater, Paul Curtis.
SF: Per Nilsson Eklof.

Richmond Dragons IP H R ER BB SO
Per Nilsson Eklof W 6.00 5 10 4 9 9
Woo Kim 1.00 2 3 2 0 1
Herts Raptors            
Jonathon Lewys L 6.00 13 22 10 13 11
Liam Green 1.00 8 12 8 2 3

HBP: by Per Nilsson Eklof (Rob Jones). , by Jonathon Lewys (Nick Hadley). . . , by
Per Nilsson Eklof (Andrew Slater). . . WP: Per Nilsson Eklof(7), Woo Kim, Jonathon
Lewys(6), Liam Green. PB: John Walmsley(7), Ilya Dimitrov(9). T: 3:51. A: 89.

by AspiDimitrov

BADGERS AND EAGLES SPLIT DOUBLE-HEADER

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, DAVE HAMILTON

 

The Herts Eagles' continued their impressive start to the season, fighting back to split their double-header with the Bristol Badgers in their home league debut at Grovehill on Sunday.

 

Herts second team's perfect start to the season came to an abrupt end in game one, conceding six soft runs in the second inning on a combination of bloop hits and fielding misjudgements – giving Bristol a lead that the home side never really looked like threatening.  An impressive hitting display from the visitors, spraying line drives around the outfield in the later innings added some padding to the score giving them a comfortable victory under the slaughter rule.  One of the few highlights for the Eagles were a pair of assists from center fielder Dan Kerry, who fired off two fantastic throws from his cannon of an arm to throw out runners at third and home.

 

Disappointed with their lacklustre performance, the Eagles were keen to bounce back in game two and impress the watching players from the Herts Falcons who were enjoying a week off.  A towering home run from Badgers first baseman Cook gave Bristol a first inning lead but the Eagles fought straight back, the first seven batters all reaching base to put Herts 4-1 in front.

 

With Eagles pitcher Mike Wakelam putting in another strong performance and limiting the Badgers to just three hits in five innings, the Eagles were able to take control by unleashing some power hitting of their own.  Back to back triples from Bart Schouwenaars and Rod Ariss, followed by a double by Lin Yuchih, helped five more runs cross the plate in the third inning to make it 9-2 and Schouwenaars then capped a three run fourth inning rally with an RBI double, after a huge triple to deep centerfield from Kerry and a double for Jamie Munn.

 

In this game the bottom of the Herts order (Casal, Munn and Schouwenaars) combined to go 8 for 12 with 6 rbi, demonstrating the strength of the team.  Some final inning jitters helped the Badgers halve the deficit to 12-8 but relief pitcher Dan Kerry finished the job, eventually striking out the side (as he had in the sixth) to seal victory for the Eagles.

 

Manager Dave Westfallen, whilst disappointed to register his first loss, was delighted by the way his players shrugged off the defeat and smashed their way to victory in game two, recapturing the spirit and aggression that had served them so well on Opening Day.  The Eagles now lie second in Pool 2 of the AAA league and visit Richmond next weekend.

 

GAME 1, 12:00pm Grovehill Ballpark

 

(Box scores of game one will be published shorty)

 

GAME 2, 2:30pm Grovehill Ballpark

Bristol Badgers at Herts Eagles
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bristol Badgers 1 0 1 2 0 0 4 8 4 3
Herts Eagles 4 0 5 3 0 0 0 12 16 3

Herts Eagles 12, Bristol Badgers 8
Herts Eagles Bristol Badgers
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Rod Ariss ss 5 2 2 1 T Hollies 3b 2 2 0 0
Lin Yuchih 2b 4 1 2 1 C Cook 1b 4 1 1 1
Riley Fisher c 2 1 0 0 J Bobadilla ss 3 1 2 2
Louis Hare 1b 3 1 1 1 L Ortiz lf 4 0 0 0
Dave Westfallen dh 3 1 2 1 JC Ortiz cf 3 2 1 0
(t6) Dave Hamilton cf 0 0 0 0 R Densey c 4 1 0 1
Dan Kerry cf-p 3 1 1 1 J Lansdowne p 1 1 0 0
Carlos Casal 3b 4 2 2 2 A Loreto rf 3 0 0 0
Jamie Munn lf 4 2 3 1 C Davis 2b 3 0 0 1
Bart Snavely rf 4 1 3 3
Mike Wakelam p 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 32 12 16 11 TEAM TOTALS 27 8 4 5

E: Jamie Munn(2), Rod Ariss, J Bobadilla, A Loreto, R Densey. LOB: Bristol Badgers 6,
Herts Eagles 7. 2B: Jamie Munn, Louis Hare, Lin Yuchih, Bart Snavely, J Bobadilla.
3B: Bart Snavely, Dan Kerry, Rod Ariss. HR: C Cook. SB: Carlos Casal(2), Rod Ariss,
Jamie Munn, Dave Westfallen, Lin Yuchih, T Hollies(3), A Loreto(2), J Lansdowne(2),
JC Ortiz, R Densey. CS: Carlos Casal, Jamie Munn, Bart Snavely. S: Dan Kerry.

Herts Eagles IP H R ER BB SO
Mike Wakelam W 5.00 3 4 2 3 4
Dan Kerry 2.00 1 4 1 5 6
Bristol Badgers            
J Lansdowne L 6.00 16 12 7 4 7

PB: Riley Fisher, R Densey(3). T: 2:49. A: 45.

 

by AspiDimitrov

HAWKS GO DOWN DESPITE A RESILIENT FIGHT-BACK

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, KAL DIMITROV

 

The Herts Hawks’ second game of the season was away at the Croydon Pirates III.  Irrespective of the not very encouraging weather forecast, it was a beautiful day for baseball. Unfortunately, the sun did not shine on the Hawks defence, neither were their bats very “warm” in the first half of the game.  Despite some crafty pitching by veteran Marty “I pitched in the Polo Grounds” Cullen, the Pirates’ big bats Woods and Ssali did some big damage, exacerbated by some defensive hiccups. 

In the top of the seventh inning, the Hawks were facing a 12-4 deficit. However, from the 6th inning onward, the Herts bats had started coming to life with some timely hitting, in particular a couple of big rips by Cullen and Boast and a massive double the other way by Paul Auchterlounie to bring in the runner from first.  Base-running was also adventurous, spurred on by the urgings of canny third-base coach and infielder-pitcher-outfielder extraordinaire the Motion Bochan – sometimes a tad too adventurous.

The closer the game became, the more the Hawks’ spirits were lifting, and Cullen made a shrewd move by picking Nick Russell from all other options that he had available in the bullpen.  Russell was outstanding, throwing strikes and getting out of jams, and would have been out of his two innings scot-free but for an outfield error. 

Despite the loss, the Hawks showed guts, and the all too-important quality of not giving up.  There are just a few things to rectify before we see the final product in action – defence, batting and base-running – but otherwise the Hawks are already showing the promise that they hinted at in spring training.

 

More images from the Hawks' game at Croydon

Herts Hawks at Croydon Pirates III
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Herts Hawks 0 1 0 0 1 2 2 4 2 12 11 7
Croydon Pirates III 3 0 2 2 0 5 0 2 0 14 16 7

Croydon Pirates III 14, Herts Hawks 12
Croydon Pirates III Herts Hawks
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
S Limn ss-c 6 2 4 0 Tim Grant ss 5 2 1 0
A Okada 2b 3 3 0 0 Nick Russell 3b-p 6 1 0 0
B Woods 3b 5 3 4 4 Marty Cullen p-3b 6 2 3 1
M Ford c-ss 4 1 3 3 Stuart Boast 1b 6 1 2 1
T Ssali p 5 3 2 2 Tim Elkins 2b 4 1 0 0
L Leboffe 1b 3 1 0 0 Kal Dimitrov rf-c 4 2 2 2
F Kucharski rf 5 0 0 1 Paul Auchterlounie c-cf 4 1 2 3
M George lf 4 0 1 0 (t8) Ilya Dimitrov cf 1 0 1 0
(t8) B Vickers lf 1 0 0 0 Chris Wylie lf 5 0 0 1
C Routledge cf 5 1 2 0 Ade Orioye cf-rf 2 2 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 41 14 16 10 TEAM TOTALS 43 12 11 8

E: S Limn(2), A Okada, B Woods, M Ford, T Ssali, L Leboffe, Tim Grant(2), Nick
Russell, Stuart Boast, Paul Auchterlounie, Chris Wylie, Ilya Dimitrov. LOB: Croydon
Pirates III 8, Herts Hawks 10. 2B: M Ford, Tim Grant, Paul Auchterlounie. 3B: B
Woods. HR: T Ssali. SB: A Okada(2), S Limn(2), C Routledge(2), L Leboffe, Tim
Grant(2), Kal Dimitrov(2), Stuart Boast, Chris Wylie, Ilya Dimitrov, Ade Orioye,
Marty Cullen, Paul Auchterlounie, Tim Elkins. CS: F Kucharski, Paul Auchterlounie.
SB: L Leboffe. SF: M Ford.

Croydon Pirates III IP H R ER BB SO
T Ssali W 9.00 11 12 6 3 11
Herts Hawks            
Marty Cullen L 6.00 12 12 6 2 4
Nick Russell 2.00 4 2 0 1 1

HBP: by T Ssali (Tim Grant). . . . . . , by T Ssali (Kal Dimitrov). , by T Ssali (Ade
Orioye). . WP: T Ssali(5), Marty Cullen. PB: M Ford, Paul Auchterlounie(2). Balk: T
Ssali. T: 3:28. A: 35.

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS BASEBALL’S GOT TALENT – LITTLE LEAGUE PLAYER MAKES DEBUT FOR HERTS RAPTORS

The 2009 season of the British Baseball League started in the best possible fashion for the members of Herts Baseball Club.  The Club sent four of its adult teams against tough opponents in the four respective leagues, and picked up five wins out of six games.  Everyone at the club was rightfully pleased, but there was one aspect on Opening Day which pleased everyone connected with the club, more than any of the wins.

 

This was the day when the first player coming out of the Herts Baseball Little League made an official debut with the adult teams.  14-years-old Liam Green has been involved with the Little League, the club’s youth programme, from its inception in June 2007 when boys and girls from Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas, started attending summer baseball camps at the club’s Grovehill Ballpark.

 

Liam went on to win the Herts Little League title playing for the Herts Yankees in the League’s inaugural season last year.  The Club has been very lucky to have very passionate, dedicated and hard-working boys and girls join the Little League over the last 2 years, and Liam is no different.  Many times after the adults end their home games last season, Liam, together with his younger brother, Lewis, and father, Lawrence, would come down to the Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead wait for the league games to end and they would practice various aspects of the game of baseball for hours until the sun goes down. 

 

Liam’s progress has been obvious for all to see and the Managers of the Herts adult teams have been following him closely.  With him becoming 14 this season and eligible for selection with the adults, the Managers decided that it was time to call him up to the Herts Raptors camp, the Club’s Single-A league team.  Last Sunday, he made his official debut for the Raptors in dramatic win against the London Marauders. 

 

The club hopes that this will be the first of many more male and female players coming through the Herts Baseball Little League to join the adult teams.  There already are several other very talented players who are also on the fringe of getting a call-up.  The transition of the players into adult baseball will be done gradually and they will continue to be full members of the Little League during this process.

 

The future is looking bright for baseball in Hertfordshire.  The club’s youngsters have already started their Spring Training in preparation for the 2009 league season.  New players are joining the league every week and it promises to be even bigger and better than 2008.

 

For more details about the Herts Baseball Little League and how to join or come to one of the open training sessions, please visit the official site.