Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, DAVE HAMILTON
The Herts Hawks halted their four game losing streak last weekend with a solid 10-7 win over the Brentwood Stags in their AA league match-up in Hemel Hempstead.
Showing no signs of the defensive frailties that had hampered their efforts in recent games, the Hawks built an early lead which they never lost, controlling the game throughout.
Pitcher John Oliver starred for the home side, conceding just three (unearned) runs in the six innings he pitched, and also reaching base four times in five attempts when batting, scoring two of the Herts runs. With manager Carlos Casal scoring four runs and stand-in Pete Kikel contributing a run-scoring triple, the heart of the line-up contributed more than enough offense to guide the Hawks to victory.
Backed up by stellar defense in the infield, the Stags didn't mount a serious challenge until the late innings, coming back from a 5-0 deficit to make it 9-7 in the eighth inning. An insurance run in the bottom half of the inning helped settle any jitters in the Hawks camp though and a full stretch running catch from their defensive replacement in the outfield sealed the victory.
Buoyed by their return to form, the next target for the Hawks will be a return to a .500 winning percentage as they visit Northampton for their next game.
| Brentwood Stags at Herts Hawks | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Brentwood Stags | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 5 |
| Herts Hawks | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 2 |
| Herts Hawks 10, Brentwood Stags 7 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Hawks | Brentwood Stags | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Ross Asquith lf | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Sean B c | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Tim Elkins rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ronnie S 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| John Oliver p-1b | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | John R cf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Carlos Casal 3b | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | CJ Evans 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Peter Kikel 1b-3b | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | Sheldon S ss | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Paul Auchterlounie cf-c | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Andy S lf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dave Westfallen c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Steve T rf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nick Russell 2b-cf | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Mike J 3b | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Goncalves ss | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Jeff A p | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kal Dimitrov b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Stuart Boast b-p | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| (b6) Rob Jones b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Humberto Goncalves b-2b | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| (b6) Jonathon Lewys b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Dave Hamilton b-rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| (b6) Jake Kikel b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 39 | 10 | 13 | 6 | TEAM TOTALS | 33 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
| E: Carlos Casal, Peter Kikel, Sheldon S(3), CJ Evans, Sean B. LOB: Herts Hawks 10, Brentwood Stags 10. 2B: Carlos Casal, Sheldon S, Ronnie S. 3B: Peter Kikel. SB: Carlos Casal(2), Ross Asquith(2), Luis Goncalves(2), Nick Russell(2), Humberto Goncalves(2), Paul Auchterlounie, Sheldon S(2), Ronnie S, Sean B, CJ Evans, John R, Mike J, Jeff A. |
| Herts Hawks | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| John Oliver W | 6.00 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| Stuart Boast | 3.00 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Brentwood Stags | ||||||
| Jeff A L | 8.00 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 8 |
| HBP: by Stuart Boast (John R). . . PB: Paul Auchterlounie(3), Dave Westfallen. T: 3:00. A: 60. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 1st: Sean B flied out. Ronnie S lined out. John R walked, stole 2nd. CJ Evans walked. Sheldon S grounded out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 1st: Ross Asquith grounded out. Tim Elkins lined out. John Oliver walked, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on error. Carlos Casal walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to home on error. Peter Kikel singled, advanced to 3rd on error. Paul Auchterlounie reached on error. Dave Westfallen lined out. 2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 2nd: Andy S reached on error, advanced to 2nd on passed ball. Steve T popped out. Mike J popped out. Jeff A struck out looking. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 2nd: Nick Russell singled, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, stole home. Luis Goncalves walked, stole 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd. Ross Asquith reached on fielder's choice, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error. Tim Elkins struck out swinging. John Oliver flied out. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 3rd: Sean B struck out looking. Ronnie S walked, stole 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd. John R walked, batted forward to 2nd. CJ Evans singled. Sheldon S flied out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 3rd: Carlos Casal grounded out. Peter Kikel flied out. Paul Auchterlounie reached on error, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to home on wild pitch. Dave Westfallen reached on dropped 3rd strike w/error, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch. Nick Russell struck out looking. 1 run, 0 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 4th: Andy S walked, forced out at 2nd. Steve T flied out. Mike J flied out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 4th: Luis Goncalves grounded out. Ross Asquith grounded out. Tim Elkins grounded out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 5th: Jeff A singled, batted forward to 2nd. Sean B flied out. Ronnie S flied out. John R singled. CJ Evans grounded out. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 5th: John Oliver singled, forced out at 2nd. Carlos Casal reached on dropped 3rd strike w/error, stole 2nd, batted forward to home. Peter Kikel tripled, 1 RBI. Paul Auchterlounie walked, stole 2nd. Dave Westfallen struck out looking. Nick Russell struck out looking. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 6th: Sheldon S walked, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, advanced to home on error. Andy S singled, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home. Steve T struck out looking. Mike J reached on dropped 3rd strike w/error, stole 2nd, batted forward to home. Jeff A walked, batted forward to 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd. Sean B singled, 1 RBI. Ronnie S flied out, 1 RBI. 3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 6th: Luis Goncalves singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home. Ross Asquith singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home. Dave Hamilton grounded out, 1 RBI. John Oliver walked, batted forward to home. Carlos Casal doubled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI. Stuart Boast singled, batted forward to 3rd, 2 RBI. Paul Auchterlounie grounded out. Humberto Goncalves singled, stole 2nd. Nick Russell grounded out. 4 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 7th: John R hit by pitch, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, batted forward to home. CJ Evans walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home. Sheldon S doubled, stole 3rd, batted forward to home, 2 RBI. Andy S struck out swinging. Steve T grounded out, 1 RBI. Mike J bunted foul on 2nd strike. 3 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 7th: Luis Goncalves flied out. Ross Asquith struck out looking. Dave Hamilton grounded out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 8th: Jeff A singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, tagged out going to home. Sean B walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home. Ronnie S doubled, batted forward to 3rd. John R grounded out, 1 RBI. CJ Evans grounded out. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 8th: John Oliver singled, batted forward to 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd. Carlos Casal singled, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home. Stuart Boast singled, batted forward to 3rd. Paul Auchterlounie struck out looking. Humberto Goncalves singled, stole 2nd, 1 RBI. Nick Russell flied out. 1 run, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB. |
| Brentwood Stags – Top of the 9th: Sheldon S popped out. Andy S grounded out. Steve T walked. Mike J flied out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB. |
| Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 9th: 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. |