We are all playing to win, right? But if that can’t be guaranteed, surely the next thing we all want is a close game, a competitive game.
The Herts Raptors’ last four games have been decided by a total of 5 runs. My maths tells me that’s an average margin of 1.25 runs per game. That’s close. That’s competitive.
They managed to have one of the nail-biters end in their favour yesterday, as they took an 8-6 victory over the Richmond Dukes at Grovehill.
The main factor in that was a tremendous performance on the pitching mound by Abdul El-Hamri, who scattered 7 hits over 5 innings, and struck out 8. He kept the ball down in the zone more consistently than on previous showings, and with devastating effect.
The Raptors only took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth, showing spirit to rally after falling behind 5-1 early on. Michael Foyo drove in 2, and Dave Roberts picked up 2 hits. El-Hamri closed it out with a scoreless final inning – a groundout, a strikeout, and a flyout.
Game 2 of the double-header saw another cagey start, before Richmond capitalised on some walks to take a 5-1 lead again. But the Raptors rallied again to take the lead, with a 5-run inning keyed by a triple from catcher Nic Hine.
The Dukes retook the lead and as a very hot day in Hemel Hempstead drew to a close, Herts needed 2 to tie and 3 to win. They managed to push across Joe Spiers but couldn’t get the one more, and Richmond took the 8-7 win.
There was similar last gasp drama over at Basing Hill, where the Herts Eagles in Single-A were facing the Finchley Capybaras (who had got the better of the Raptors in those two tight games last week).
The Eagles were out of the gate quickly in the first, keeping the top half scoreless with a double play by Bex Williams, then racking up 5 runs with hits from Jacob Coyne and Chakradari Baiya. Frequent base-stealing, and good outfield work by Andres Hoyos, all added up to a quality team performance.
Finchley fought back, briefly taking the lead and tying it in the final inning. But Herts were able to secure the victory, with Danny Chan taking the pitching win.
Game 2 was a tougher experience, as some new pitchers experimented. But the Eagles had taken a split, and won their second game of the year.
In Double-A, the Herts Hawks fought off a rally by the Essex Archers to win Game 2 by a score of 15-14 and secure a share of their double-header. Ben Peters got the pitching win, striking out 7 across 3 1/3 innings – and backed himself up with 4 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Giuseppe Basilea also went 2-3 and scored 2.
Game 1 was also a squeaker, with Herts leading until the middle of the fourth – with Riley Manning and Sebastian Greenberg among those chipping in – and Essex then rallying ahead. With 2 out in the bottom of the sixth, Ben Peters drove in 2. But the Archers managed to close the door to hang on for victory.
On a weekend of splits, the Herts Ravens notched up another win against Formosa Islanders. Darrin Ward pitched a complete game in the 12-8 win, with Sony Lama driving in 4 runs. They are now 2-6 on the season. The Herts Harriers had a tough trip to the league-leading Cambridge Lancers, where they were swept.