|
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
Final |
|
CroydonPirates |
4 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
25 |
|
Herts Falcons |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
9 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
X |
26 |
The Division leaders Herts Falcons faced their nearest rival Croydon Pirates 2. Victory for the Falcons would make them divisional champions and secure the home advantage for the post season playoffs.
The first inning saw Croydon score 4 runs off of Falcon’s pitcher Paul Raybould. The Falcons batters got off to a shaky start, unable to hit Croydon’s fast Japanese pitcher Masa Ishi. Croydon continued to bat well for the next two innings. Their ability and experience showed as they scored a further 4, assisted by errors from the Falcons infield and outfield. By the end of the third inning things were looking bad for the Falcons. They failed to score and only three runners had managed to get on base. By the time Croydon had batted in the 4th the score was 13 runs to nothing. The Falcons needed to get a grip on the game before it slipped out of reach.
The Falcons 4th inning offence saw their batters come to life. As Ishi’s pitching became tired and more erratic, the falcons stepped up a gear and began to hit. Shunji Kakutani got a two base hit. He was backed up with further doubles from Andy Cornish and Lee Manning to score 6 runs.
The 5th Inning saw John Oliver pitching for the Falcons. Combined with good infield support, Croydon were held to just one run. Croydon struggled to find a relief pitcher for Ishi and the Falcon’s punished the weak pitching, scoring a huge 9 runs to take the lead 15 to 14. Suddenly the tight game everyone had expected from the two best teams in the division was in progress.
The 6th inning saw Croydon revive a little scoring 4 runs to the Falcons 2 to regain the lead 18 to 17. By the 7th Croydon began to exploit the Falcons pitching and they began to pull away. They had already scored 3 runs when a controversial foul ball decision gave them a further 3. The Falcons stepped up to the plate and matched them with strong hits from Oliver, DelBorrello, Naghar and Manning. Entering the 8th inning the score was 24 to 23 to the Falcons. Takashi Hirai took to the mound for the Falcons and limited Croydon to just one run. The Falcons middle order batters performed well, Kakutani scored in one run then Dimitrov’s hit gave the Falcons another two. The score now stood at 26 to 25 to the Falcons going into the 9th and final inning. All they needed to do was hang onto the lead for victory and they succeeded, Hirai’s excellent pitching and strong defense from the field meant that Croydon went empty handed for the first time in the game. The final out was made by right –fielder Rod Naghar. Victory and the divisional title was with the Falcons.
The Falcons will now have home advantage for the post season play-offs where it is likely they will face
Playing for the Falcons: A Cornish, P Raybould, J Del Borrello, J Oliver, S Kakutani, E Sierocinski, T Hirai, A Dimitrov, M Houchin, R Naghar, L Manning.
written by Jo Sierocinska