Going into the sixth inning and trailing 5-2 the Herts Falcons stunned their playoff rivals Croydon by scoring nine runs in the last two innings of the game. This incredible comeback keeps the Falcons firmly in the race for the postseason playoffs.
The Herts Falcons went into their double-header against the Croydon Pirates knowing that a sweep would put them in pole position for the playoffs, but on the other hand if they were to lose both games, their chances of postseason glory would virtually disappear. Croydon faced a similar predicament which gave this game a postseason feel.
Croydon took the lead in the second inning after a solo homerun by Maikel Azcuy. Herts came back with two runs of their own in the third inning but Croydon regained the lead again in the bottom of the inning. Going into the bottom of the fifth with the game finely poised at 3-2 Jose Sosa delivered a devastating blow by driving the ball over the left field wall with the bases loaded for a grand slam. This took the game beyond the Falcons.
This meant that the second game of the double header became “must-win” for the visitors from Hertfordshire. They started aggressively taking an early lead on an infield single by Marty Cullen which glanced off the glove of the pitcher allowing Luis Goncalves to come home. Croydon bounced right back and after 5 innings they had a commanding 5-2 lead. Their lead could have been even bigger if it wasn’t for some incredible defensive plays including a spectacular diving catch by left fielder Marc Martinez. With only two innings remaining the Falcons produced one of the comebacks of the season. They first tied the game scoring 3 runs in the sixth which included a 2-run double by Carlos Casal. Falcons starting pitcher, Nic Goetz, was still going strong on the mound and he retired the Pirates quickly in the bottom of the sixth to keep the game tied at 5-5. In the seventh Herts continued their onslaught. The offensive pressure was too much for the Pirates to take as six more runs came in.
Despite Croydon putting runners on second and third with nobody out in the final inning, Goetz held on allowing only one run to come in. That one run may have appeared to be nothing more than a consolation for the Pirates, but it could have huge implications if Croydon and Herts end the regular season with identical win-loss records. In that situation the League’s tie-break rules would come into effect. In their head-to-head encounters Croydon and Herts each have 2 wins and 2 losses, which means that the tie would have to be broken by looking at who has conceded the lowest number of runs in the games between Croydon and Herts. Thanks to that consolation run Croydon would jump above Herts as they have conceded 1 run less than them after Sunday’s epic games.
This may prove to be decisive, but at the same time it may actually be a blessing in disguise as the Falcons now know their task very clearly. They need to win three out of their remaining four games and this would guarantee their place in the playoffs. After their incredible comeback win, the Falcons have the momentum with them. Next up for them is a home clash with rivals Essex. Can they do it?
Images courtesy of www.HP2photographic.com
GAME 1 BOX SCORES
| Herts Falcons at Croydon Pirates | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Herts Falcons | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Croydon Pirates | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 1 |
| Croydon Pirates 8, Herts Falcons 2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croydon Pirates | Herts Falcons | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| H Player 1 1b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | GONCALVES Luis ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| H Player 2 2b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | CASAL Carlos 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| H Player 3 cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | GREENBERG Jason c | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| H Player 4 3b | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | DEAL Brandon rf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| H Player 5 ss | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | CULLEN Marty 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| H Player 6 c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | KIKEL Peter p | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| H Player 7 lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | MARTINEZ Marc cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| H Player 8 rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | DIMITROV Aspi lf | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| H Player 9 p | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | (b6) GANSTER Alex lf-3b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GOETZ Nic 3b | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| (b6) SNAVELY Bart 3b-lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 23 | 8 | 5 | 7 | TEAM TOTALS | 23 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| E: H Player 5, CASAL Carlos, KIKEL Peter. DP: Herts Falcons 2. LOB: Croydon Pirates 3, Herts Falcons 4. 2B: H Player 5. HR: H Player 5, H Player 4. SB: H Player 6, H Player 8. CS: CASAL Carlos. |
| Croydon Pirates | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| SSALI Tim 9 W | 7.00 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Herts Falcons | ||||||
| KIKEL Peter L | 6.00 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| HBP: by KIKEL Peter (H Player 8). . T: 1:53. A: 39. |
GAME 2 BOX SCORES
| Herts Falcons at Croydon Pirates | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Herts Falcons | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 2 |
| Croydon Pirates | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 13 | 6 |
| Herts Falcons 11, Croydon Pirates 6 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Falcons | Croydon Pirates | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| GONCALVES Luis c | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | H Player 1 1b | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| CASAL Carlos 2b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | H Player 2 2b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| GREENBERG Jason dh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | H Player 3 cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (t5) KIKEL Peter dh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | (b6) H Sub 1 cf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GANSTER Alex 3b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | H Player 4 3b | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| DEAL Brandon ss | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | (b7) H Sub 2 pr | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| CULLEN Marty 1b | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | H Player 5 p | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| DIMITROV Aspi rf | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | H Player 6 c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SNAVELY Bart cf | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | H Player 7 lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MARTINEZ Marc lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | H Player 8 rf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| GOETZ Nic p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | H Player 9 ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 32 | 11 | 7 | 6 | TEAM TOTALS | 34 | 6 | 13 | 5 |
| E: GANSTER Alex(2), H Player 5(3), H Player 9(2), H Player 2. LOB: Herts Falcons 7, Croydon Pirates 8. 2B: CASAL Carlos, H Player 5, H Player 9, H Player 4. SB: DEAL Brandon(2), GONCALVES Luis, DIMITROV Aspi, MARTINEZ Marc, H Player 5, H Player 8. |
| Herts Falcons | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| GOETZ Nic W | 7.00 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| Croydon Pirates | ||||||
| H Player 5 L | 7.00 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| HBP: by H Player 5 (GREENBERG Jason). . . . , by H Player 5 (GANSTER Alex). , by H Player 5 (MARTINEZ Marc). . WP: GOETZ Nic, H Player 5(2). T: 2:12. A: 39. |