On Sunday the Herts Eagles 2013 BBF season was completed with a double header against Leicester at Grovehill Ballpark.
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Amazingly the Eagles have not lost a game to the weather this year, despite the amount of fixtures being increased to 14 and last year’s swimming pool of a season still in the memory, which has meant the season has been completed relatively early.
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And fittingly the day was a great day of Single-A baseball, with both sides fielding the majority of their sides with youngsters and rookie players, with the two games being split with one win each.
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In the first game Ben Marques showed a lot of class and composure to record his first career pitching win to get the Eagles off to a great start on the day, while in the second Leicester showed character to hit back and win despite Manny Banson playing his heart out for the Eagles to get on base every one of his 5 at bats.
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There is no doubt this season has been a tough learning curve for the Eagles. However a 4 – 10 win-loss record is something to be pleased with when you consider over 70% of the Eagles roster has been made up of rookie players in their first full season of baseball, and it looks as though they will finish only 2 or 3 wins off the playoff zone. There have been some great performances, both as a team and individually. The shock victory over the Eagles sister team and Farnham Park playoff-bound Raptors will live long in the memory of the Eagles who played that day, and the sheer jubilation of coming back from the dead to beat local rivals Milton Keynes was also a highlight that spoke volumes for the enthusiasm and character of the Eagles.
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Individually, there has been numerous good displays from the Eagles. Youngsters Mike Cresswell, Charlie Day, Adam Landau Smithers and Jamie Lang have all had excellent seasons and have displayed a superb attitude throughout. Added to the enthusiasm of club favourites Manny Banson and Tomasz Kosak, the experience of Rob Jones, feared slugger Adrian Smithers, the dependable Texan, Serge Plata, the eager Chetan Shah, and Will Belbin, who has had his best season to date, there have been a lot of positives to take from the season. Late season signings Chris Eley and Rob Gibson have also showed enormous potential in the short time they have been with the club.
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After 2 years in the Eagles hot seat, manager Duncan Hoyle will be standing down to focus on his playing career. But whoever takes over will go into the job with the knowledge that they will have a strong foundation to build upon, with hopefully a new intake of promising players to add to the clubs growth. It is very pleasing to see a total of 7 of last year’s Eagles currently playing a part in the Raptors and Hawks play off push and the hope is that this year’s Eagles will soon start to progress through the Herts organisation.
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There is still the end of season stats to look forward to, with scorer and umpire Joseph Osborne-Brade currently working hard to get the winners of the respective batting and pitching awards announced. A special mention should be made to Joseph, currently battling hard to return from a serious injury for his dedication in supporting the Eagles this season.