OXFORD STAY TOP DESPITE BRAVE EAGLES EFFORT
While the Falcons were battling in the race for the National League playoffs, their club mates the Herts Eagles were trying to book an automatic place in the AAA National Championships. This was their final game of the season and they were facing the league-leading Oxford Kings. The Eagles needed to win both games to claim top spot. This first versus second match-up didn’t disappoint producing two very competitive and closely fought games.
Oxford came out on top with a 6-3 win in the first, but a 7-4 win for the Herts Eagles in the second means that Oxford still have work to do before they can book their automatic place in the AAA National Championships. Their last games of the season are this Sunday against the third-placed Bracknell Inferno. A sweep for Bracknell would allow the Eagles to go above them in first place.
HAWKS END SEASON ON A HIGH
2010 has been a difficult year in the AA League for the Herts Hawks. It has been a much stronger league then in previous years with three of the top AAA teams from 2009 choosing to drop down into the AA League, including the Richmond Knights, Poole Piranhas who won their respective AA Divisions.
The Hawks had picked up only 3 wins in 16 games before Sunday’s final games of the season. Their opponents were the Brentwood Stags. Manager Greg Bochan from St Albans, gave AA League debuts to several members of the Herts Raptors, which is the Single-A affiliate of Herts Baseball Club. One of the players was Will Belbin (pictured right) who sloted right into the team.
This proved to be the teams best results of the year. In the first game they won convincingly 9-1 and battled hard to clinch game two by a score of 13-11. Greg Bochan and Jeff Witter (pictured left) were the winning pitchers in game one and two, respectively. This meant that they ended the season in fourth place in their division with a .278 win-loss percentage which is slightly lower than the .350 for the Hawks last year, but it is a very good achievement given the strength of the AA League this season.
images courtesy of www.HP2photographic.com