by Duncan Hoyle
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Game 1, Herts 7 Richmond 13
The 2012 London International Tournament started with a loss for Herts to a mixed Richmond side. Theo Scheepers was on the mound for Herts and held Richmond to 13 after 4 innings. Despite some good hitting from Rob Crouch and Ken Pike, incuding a 3 RBI double from Pike Herts fell short. Joseph Osborne Brade was impressive in his first appearence at first base.
Game 2, Croydon 11 Herts 1
With the rain tipping down for the duration of this game, the playing surface resembled a muddy farmyard rather than a baseball diamond. Adam Landau – Smithers, with his tiny strike zone was able to extract a walk and get round to score in the first. Ken Pike pitched for the duration of the 5 innings and looks to have regained some pitching form.
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Game 1, Herts 3 Guildford 5
Reagan Wood was impressive on the mound to shut out the AA Guildford Mavericks for the first 2 innings. Herts opened up a 3 run lead but Guildford came back in the bottom of the 3rd to score 5 and clinch the victory.
Game 2, Essex Redbacks 27 Herts 2
The AAA Redbacks who had lost their 2 fixtures on the Saturday found themselves in the Frank Brady Cup which they would go on to win by hammering Herts. The Redbacks where simpy leagues ahead the Single A Herts Team. Litte leaguer Callum Vangundy made his debut on the mound from the full distance, and he pitched very well. Sadly he wasnt backed up by his visibly tired fielders who made numberous errors in defence.
Overall a tough tournament for Herts. However there where some good performances along the way and the experience of playing against good teams should be beneficial for the rookies and youth teamers who represented Herts. The guys who made the trip to Croydon to represent the club shoud be proud of their efforts.
A big thankyou to Herts one supporter and scorer Maureen Scheepers who showed real dedication in watcing the team all weekend!
Squad: Michael Cresswell, Rob Crouch, Duncan Hoyle, Adam Landau-Smithers, Kieran Manning, Joseph Osborne-Brade, Ken Pike, Simon Roberts, Theo Scheepers, Adrian Smithers, Ryan Turtill, Keanu Wood, Reagan Wood, Callum Vangundy.