This was a day which didn’t really start the way the Herts Hawks wanted it to. But it ended exactly as they had planned, and they advanced to the Division 4 final.
Herts did actually score first on this occasionally grey day at Grovehill. Andrew Fulford came home on a balk by the Bracknell Phoenix pitcher in the first inning. But rather than build on the hits and steals which helped them score, the Hawks put themselves in a hole by committing errors for the third inning in a row.
Liam Sinclair opened the third with a double for the visitors. A single followed but then runners advanced on throwing errors, and batters reached on fielding errors. This was not Hawks baseball — and the top chunk of the Phoenix batting order scored four runs.
An attempted rally was quickly undermined by a pickoff, too. But Darrin Ward was still dealing on the mound for Herts, the defense got back in sync to turn a double play, and you felt the simmering potential of a Hawks fightback.
A run was clawed back in the bottom of the fourth, with Mike Cresswell leading off with a walk and coming around to score. And in the fifth things really got going. Harry McMenamin tore it up, just like last week, and Fulford chipped in too, helping to chase the Bracknell starting pitcher.
Cresswell smartly scored the go ahead run on a ground-out and Herts were now protecting a 5-4 lead entering the sixth. A well-timed strikeout by Ward, and some tighter infield defense kept things clean. Solid outfield catches from Lee Dunn and Anu Rangajith meant contact from Bracknell bats didn’t lead to damage.
Herts tacked on insurance runs in the seventh and eighth — Cresswell again, and Josh Grant. That meant that once Ward’s gem was wrapped up after 115 pitches, it was time to make a change and close it out.
Rangajith took to the pitching mound. Sinclair worked a full count and a walk for Bracknell. Cole, the top of the order, got ahead 2-0.
But Rangajith felt unhittable as he found his zone and he fought back for the K. Sharply, catcher Andrew Fulford broke out his cannon arm to nab the runner straying off first. Two down and a killer blow.
Three more pitches. All over. 7-4 the final score.
Herts Hawks had dominated their division through the regular season, and were too much for Leeds last week. But this was a true test, coming from behind for a full 9-inning win stretching to more than 3 hours.
Darrin Ward claimed the W and the MVP, 4 Ks and just 2 earned runs over 8 innings. Mike Cresswell didn’t make an out all day, while McMenamin went 3-for-4 and stole four bags. But this was, one again, a team win.
The Hawks move on to Farnham Park next weekend for the final. They face Plymouth Outlaws, after their 6-3 win over the Cambridge Royals.