The Herts Ravens and the Herts Cardinals now know what September holds for them as they enter the British Baseball Federation (BBF) post-season.
In the Triple-A league, the Cardinals’ 15-9 record put them in the first round of wildcard playoffs. They claimed victory over the Long Eaton Storm on Sunday September 1st because their opponents could not muster a full team and had to forfeit.
The next hurdle is the Essex Saxons, who they face on Saturday September 7th at Finsbury Park. First pitch is at 11am. The two teams split their season series, so look evenly matched.
If they win that, the Cardinals leap straight back into action at 2 o’clock that afternoon at the same venue, facing the London Metros. We are cheering them on all the way!
The Herts Ravens of Single-A ended their regular season with two narrow defeats by the MK Bucks, their closest challenger in their division all year. The two teams split their series of games over the season but the Ravens had locked up the division and take the number 2 seed nationally based on their 15-3 record.
Last year, they had to clock up the miles to play back-to-back playoff games, the last of them in Cardiff.
But in 2024, the Ravens’ seeding means they go straight into the final weekend. On Saturday September 21st they will be the home team in semi-final 1 at Farnham Park. They would be the home team for the final there the next day if they win through, so we are already anticipating some walk-off drama!
Elsewhere in Single-A, the Herts Buzzards closed their regular season with victory in a high-scoring hit-fest against the Essex Redbacks. The teams shared out 30 hits between them, and the Buzzards ended with a 14-13 win and a pitching victory for Declan Carlean.
The Herts Eagles ended with a tough visit to Finsbury Park. They played well, but an injury and admin issues led to an unsatisfactory final day.
There is plenty of activity at Grovehill Ballpark throughout September for anyone wanting to get their baseball fix. Our excellent facilities and fields allow us to host games for a range of other teams – and volunteers are always welcome to help us put on the events!
There were a final round of NBL games there on September 1st, as they wrapped up their regular season and decided playoff placings. Essex Arrows secured the league title. On September 7/8th there are quarter finals for the Single-A and Double-A leagues, and then a further fixture on the 15th.
Our youth players have also returned to action, after the separate summer camps which ran during July and August (which, we are delighted to say, attracted some new talent to the club).
There is training at both Basing Hill and Grovehill on August 31st, with activity combined at Basing Hill the following week. This is all building up to the Youth Baseball National Championships (YNBCs) at Farnham Park. The U-10s and U-12s are there on September 14th, with the U-15s and U-18s following up on September 21st.
