RAPTORS POST ANOTHER WIN AGAINST ARROWS

It was an epic duel between two teams who have rapidly built a fierce rivalry. The first time Herts Raptors and Essex Arrows 2 faced off this year, Arrows mounted a dramatic ninth inning comeback to steal the win; the next time it was Herts who piled on the runs in the final stages. This time around the two sides traded blows all the way to the ninth inning before the Hertfordshire club emerged 19-16 winners.

Herts had a shaky start, walking batters and giving up a run, but they escaped from a bases loaded jam and put up five runs of their own with a steady stream of singles. Slowly, the men in black ate into that lead and — with the help of a couple of fielding errors — they led 7-5 by the middle of the fourth.

Then the Raptors sparkplug Hunter Devine reached into his bag of tricks to help get the home side rolling again. He hit a double down the third base line and as the outfield throw flew past him at second he raced on for what we will call — in sprit — an inside the park home run. Jim Hyde then did his usual trick of making great contact and his ground-rule double tied the scores.

But this was to be a game of ebb and flow, full of momentum shifts. Arrows promptly grabbed back the lead by batting around in the top of the fifth and scoring six runs; then Raptors pulled back four. Jake Kikel threw up his first zero of the day at a crucial time, and then helped his own cause with a hit and a run as Raptors again tied the game. Jake gave way to ace reliever Mark Hoffman, who was able to slow down the Arrows offense, and give his team a chance to win.

Going into the bottom of the eighth, Essex led 16-14 and we were getting into the final act of the drama — could Raptors pull it off? A crowd was gathering on the sidelines now, other Herts players had brought their families and their voices to urge on the club's rookie team. Hunter Devine got things started again before Andy Ringrose and Jon Lewys chipped in, and Rob Jones hit his most bizarre RBI of the year, with a half-volley to third base to bring in the Raptors final insurance run.

Mark Hoffman and the Raptors defence then closed out the game in emphatic style. No Arrows batters reached base, and the victory was secure. It was a second win for the team, their second win over Essex Arrows, and a sweet win that showed a growing maturity.