The first round of the 2008 Kyle Hunlock Series was a validation of the free-market draft system, and an affirmation of the depth and unity of the Herts Baseball Club.
In an intense, fiercely contested day of baseball in which no runaway victors emerged, it quickly became apparent that the three Hunlock squads are well-balanced and full of surprises. By the end of play each team had secured one win and suffered one loss, and the standings remained dead-even heading into next Sunday's final-round qualifying matches.
Many of the players remarked how evenly matched were the Red Roosters, Blue Dogs and Black Widows. These three teams – selected in Thursday's Live Hunlock Draft – are comprised of pitchers, catchers and fielders, sluggers and liners, and 2008 season Raptors, Hawks and Falcons. Speculation abounds as to which team sports the more dominant pitching staff, stronger offensive lineup or tighter defense. But everyone agrees that the Herts Baseball Club is surprisingly 'deep' in every facet, and this intra-club competition bodes well for Herts' 2009 regular season prospects.
Some of the most impressive plays of the day came from 2008 Raptors. Rookie Jamie Munn connected for his first Herts hit (a convincing 3 RBI stroke) and former Raptors shortstop Rod Ariss went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. Speedster Rob Jones was 2-for-4 scoring 4 runs. Andrew Slater, Ilya Dimitrov, Mark Hoffman and rookie James Roberts all connected for solid hits up the middle against Falcons Championship pitcher Darrin Ward. Roosters manager Hunter Devine crushed the ball all day long, and turned the series web gem from deep in the hole at second base.
GAME ONE
| Herts Black Widows at Herts Blue Dogs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Herts Black Widows | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 1 |
| Herts Blue Dogs | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 10 | 2 |
| Herts Blue Dogs 13, Herts Black Widows 8 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Blue Dogs | Herts Black Widows | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Rob Jones rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Luis Goncalves ss-p | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Rodney Naghar 2b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Atsuari Ariga 2b | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Darrin Ward p-1b | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Aspi Dimitrov p-cf | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Dave Westfallen c | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Marty Cullen 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Greg Bochan 3b | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Mark Houchin 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| (t0) Steve Nippress cf-1b | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Kal Dimitrov c | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| John Oliver 1b-cf-p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Lee Manning cf-ss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Paul Auchterlounie cf | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Arnold Longboy lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Ariss ss | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Jamie Munn rf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Tim Elkins lf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 20 | 13 | 10 | 9 | TEAM TOTALS | 23 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
| E: John Oliver(2), Marty Cullen. LOB: Herts Blue Dogs 4, Herts Black Widows 4. 2B: Rod Ariss, Tim Elkins. SB: Rod Ariss(2), Darrin Ward(2), Dave Westfallen(2), Tim Elkins, Greg Bochan, Rob Jones, Luis Goncalves. CS: Rodney Naghar. |
| Herts Blue Dogs | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Darrin Ward W | 3.00 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| John Oliver | 2.00 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| Herts Black Widows | ||||||
| Aspi Dimitrov L | 3.00 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| Luis Goncalves | 1.00 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
WP: Aspi Dimitrov(3). PB: Kal Dimitrov(5). T: 2:00. A: 68.
NOTE: Game Two (Red Roosters @ Black Widows) was not officially scored.
GAME THREE
| Herts Blue Dogs at Herts Red Roosters | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Herts Blue Dogs | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 8 |
| Herts Red Roosters | 6 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 13 | 8 |
| Herts Red Roosters 15, Herts Blue Dogs 11 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Red Roosters | Herts Blue Dogs | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Hunter Devine 2b | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | Rob Jones cf | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Nick Russell cf-lf | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Rodney Naghar 2b | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Cornish ss-c | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Darrin Ward p-1b | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Jason Greenberg c-ss | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | John Oliver 1b-p-rf | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Kerry 3b-cf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Dave Westfallen ss | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Peter Kikel p-3b | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Paul Auchterlounie c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Slater 1b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Greg Bochan 3b | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ilya Dimitrov lf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Tim Elkins lf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| (t4) Mark Hoffman p | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Steve Nippress rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Roberts rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | (b3) Rod Ariss rf-p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 30 | 15 | 13 | 11 | TEAM TOTALS | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 |
| E: Hunter Devine(5), Andy Cornish, Jason Greenberg, Andrew Slater, Dave Westfallen(2), Paul Auchterlounie(2), John Oliver, Rodney Naghar, Greg Bochan, Rod Ariss. LOB: Herts Red Roosters 4, Herts Blue Dogs 8. 2B: Andy Cornish, Tim Elkins, Darrin Ward. SB: Andy Cornish(3), Hunter Devine, Ilya Dimitrov, Rob Jones(2), Darrin Ward, John Oliver, Rodney Naghar, Dave Westfallen. |
| Herts Red Roosters | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Peter Kikel W | 3.67 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Mark Hoffman | 1.33 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Herts Blue Dogs | ||||||
| Darrin Ward L | 3.00 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| John Oliver | 0.67 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Rod Ariss | 0.33 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
HBP: by Darrin Ward (James Roberts). . WP: Mark Hoffman, Darrin Ward. PB: Andy
Cornish, Paul Auchterlounie(3). T: 2:00. A: 68.