Author: AspiDimitrov

by AspiDimitrov

11th-HOUR FALCONS RALLY TRIPS UP NATIONAL CHAMPS

No one knew what to expect in Sunday's showdown between the Herts Falcons – newcomers to the National Baseball League – and the reigning champion London Mets.

On Opening Day the Falcons swept the Croydon Pirates and, in doing so, made an assertive debut onto the national stage.  The Mets, on the other hand, suffered a surprise clubbing by the Richmond Flames in their first match-up.  So, who could predict the state of play in the UK's top-tier of baseball…?

From the first at-bat of Game One it looked like an uphill battle for Herts.  Mets leadoff man Callum Woods rocketed a fastball from Nic Goetz deep into the outfield for a triple and immediately scored on a sacrifice fly.  Goetz recovered and threw two fly outs to retire the side.  The Falcons answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the 1st, as Jason Greenberg and Kimiyoshi Saionji each worked a walk and crossed the plate on a pair of singles from Darrin Ward and Lin Yuchih.

The Mets kept pecking away at Goetz through the morning, scoring seven more runs by the sixth inning and leading the Falcons by a score of 8-4.  Herts sent the hard-throwing Dan Kerry to the mound in the top of the 7th for his Falcons pitching debut.  Kerry was unflappable.  Although he surrendered two walks, he also worked a fielder's choice and two swinging strikeouts, buckling the Mets batters with his late-breaking curve.

Kerry's work from the mound proved critical as the Falcons went to their last at-bat needing four runs to tie.  Kimiyoshi Saionji – hitless for the day as the clean-up designated hitter – led things off with another walk.  Kerry and Yuchih followed with walks of their own.  London relief pitcher Rob Anthony was struggling with his control, and the Falcons exhibited incredible patience at the plate.  But after a mound visit from the Mets manager, Anthony found some command and quickly earned a fly out and a strikeout to bring London within one out of a win.

But the Falcons weren't finished yet.  Short stop phenom Luis Goncalves came to the plate and smacked a two-out single, driving home two runs and brining the score to 8-6.  Kerry – the man of the hour – then drove his own single up the middle.  Yuchih scored easily from third base, and Goncalves was waved around third and slid hard across home plate just before the throw from centerfielder Ran Zeng.  Two runs were in and the game was tied.

A wild pitch moved Kerry to third, and then back-to-back walks from Greenberg and Andy Cornish loaded the bases as Sainoji returned to the plate for his second appearance of the inning.  The Falcons fans had been screaming with exuberance to this point, but fell silent as Saionji concentrated on the task at hand.  He quickly saw two strikes, but remained calm in the batters box, fouled off several pitches, took a few balls and watched the count go full.  A smooth, level swing from Saionji squeezed through the gap at second base and the winning run scored easily as the Falcons achieved an incredible 9-8 come-from-behind victory against all odds.

Kerry claimed the win in his first NBL appearance, and went 3-for-5 at the plate with two stolen bases.  Yuchih also had three hits, and Goncalves was 1-2 with two runs and 2 RBI.

The Mets, no doubt stung by that loss, came out firing in Game Two and Kyle Hickson smashed a two-run homer as the London side routed Herts 12-2, backed by a dominating pitching performance by Ernesto Bollufer, who gave up only three hits.

Despite the Game Two setback, the Falcons' Aspi Dimitrov reckons his side, with a record of 3-1 out of the gate, are raising a few eyebrows among the baseball fraternity.  “It was a big day for the club today with it being our home opener, and to beat such a strong team as the Mets is a fantastic achievement,” Dimitrov said.  Falcons Manager Greenberg was less surprised by (but just as proud of)his team's determination.  “It takes a lot of mettle to hit in those situations – with two outs and the tying or winning run on base.  Kimi and Dan were magnificent today, and it's because of fearless players like them that we'll continue to win games at this level.  Make no mistake about it: the Falcons don't plan to lay down for anyone.  We'll just get better and better.”

The other action scheduled for Sunday would have seen the Croydon Pirates (0-4) travel to the Bracknell Blazers (2-0), but the BBF gave dispensation for the game to be rescheduled for August to allow Croydon to rebuild their roster.

The Pirates have a bye week coming up, and will be using that time to hold trials as they aim to put together a squad that can challenge in the NBL.

Week 4 action on May 10 will see the Falcons (3-1) host the Richmond Flames (2-2), while the Blazers travel to the Mets (1-3).

Click for more photos from the Falcons vs. Mets series…

GAME ONE

London Mets at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
London Mets 1 0 2 1 3 1 0 8 9 0
Herts Falcons 2 0 0 0 0 2 5 9 11 3

Herts Falcons 9, London Mets 8
Herts Falcons London Mets
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Dan Kerry cf-p 5 2 3 2 Callum Woods ss-c 4 2 3 1
Jason Greenberg c 2 1 0 0 Ran Zeng cf 3 0 0 2
Andy Cornish lf 4 0 1 2 Rob Anthony 2b-p-ss 1 2 0 0
Kimiyoshi Saionji dh-rf 3 2 1 1 Kyle Hickson rf 4 1 2 1
Darrin Ward 1b 3 1 2 1 Jason Roberts p-lf 4 1 1 1
Lin Yuchih 2b 4 1 3 1 Carlos Diaz 1b-3b 4 0 1 0
Riley Fisher 3b 3 0 0 0 Jonathon Crammon lf 2 0 0 0
Aspi Dimitrov rf-cf 3 0 0 0 (b6) Reid Wilson 2b 1 0 0 0
Luis Goncalves ss 2 2 1 2 Martin Stabe 3b 2 0 0 0
Nick Goetz p 0 0 0 0 (b5) Josh Chetwynd 1b 0 0 0 0
          Tomas Bird 2b-c 1 1 1 0
          (b3) Carl Randall 2b-ss 3 1 1 1
TEAM TOTALS 29 9 11 9 TEAM TOTALS 29 8 9 6

E: Dan Kerry, Jason Greenberg, Darrin Ward. DP: London Mets 1, Herts Falcons 1. LOB:
London Mets 9, Herts Falcons 11. 2B: Callum Woods, Kyle Hickson. 3B: Callum Woods,
Carl Randall. SB: Dan Kerry(2), Luis Goncalves(2), Callum Woods, Carl Randall, Rob
Anthony. CS: Andy Cornish. SF: Ran Zeng(2).

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Nick Goetz 6.00 9 8 5 6 1
Dan Kerry W 1.00 0 0 0 2 2
London Mets            
Jason Roberts 5.67 7 4 4 7 9
Rob Anthony L 1.00 4 5 5 4 1

WP: Nick Goetz(2), Rob Anthony. T: 2:45. A: 89.
GAME TWO

London Mets at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
London Mets 4 1 0 3 2 2 12 13 0
Herts Falcons 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 3 0

London Mets 12, Herts Falcons 2
London Mets Herts Falcons
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Callum Woods 3b-p 4 1 2 3 Dan Kerry cf-p 3 0 0 1
Carl Randall 2b 3 1 2 1 Andy Cornish lf 2 0 0 0
(b4) Martin Stabe 2b-3b 1 0 0 0 Lin Yuchih 1b-rf 3 0 0 0
Rob Anthony ss 3 2 2 2 Darrin Ward p-1b 3 0 0 0
Jason Roberts lf 3 0 0 0 Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 3 0 1 0
(b5) Jonathon Crammon lf 1 0 0 0 Riley Fisher c 1 1 1 0
Kyle Hickson cf 4 3 3 3 Aspi Dimitrov rf-cf 1 0 0 0
Josh Chetwynd 1b 3 1 1 1 (b6) Jason Greenberg cf 1 0 1 0
Carlos Diaz dh 3 1 1 0 Nick Goetz 3b 1 1 0 0
(t6) Ran Zeng dh 1 0 0 0 Luis Goncalves ss 1 0 0 0
Reid Wilson rf 4 1 1 0
Rodolfo Matos c 1 2 1 0
Ernesto Balufer p-2b 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 31 12 13 10 TEAM TOTALS 19 2 3 1

DP: London Mets 1. LOB: London Mets 5, Herts Falcons 6. 2B: Josh Chetwynd. HR: Kyle
Hickson. SB: Kyle Hickson, Rob Anthony, Josh Chetwynd, Nick Goetz. SB: Aspi Dimitrov.

London Mets IP H R ER BB SO
Ernesto Balufer W 5.33 3 2 2 6 6
Callum Woods 0.67 0 0 0 0 1
Herts Falcons            
Darrin Ward L 4.00 10 9 7 1 1
Dan Kerry 2.00 3 3 3 2 3

HBP: by Dan Kerry (Rob Anthony). WP: Ernesto Balufer(2), Darrin Ward. Balk: Darrin
Ward. T: 2:40. A: 89.

by AspiDimitrov

Welcome to the Blog

Hello there,

I am Rob Jones, of the Herts Raptors. I have been with the club for six years, playing pretty much exclusively as an outfielder. Having finally won a Gold Glove last year, I am now trying out life as an infielder. That is the “Change” that this blog will be about. Of course, it'll also be about the team's ups and downs, the joys and frustrations of life as a small-time British baseball player, and probably a bit about the weather.  

by AspiDimitrov

KNIGHTS MASSACRE EAGLES

The Herts Eagles had a day to forget at Richmond, their record dropping to three wins and three losses after suffering a pair of defeats to the Richmond Knights.  The misery was compounded by three injuries on the day, with Mike Wakelam (hamstring) and Tim Elkins (dislocated fingers) both now likely to miss several games as they recover.

 

Game 1 was a blowout, with the Eagles caught half asleep for the second week in a row as Richmond chalked up 16 runs in the first two innings.  The only highlight of this game for Herts fans was the booming home run from Louis Hare hit to the deepest part of centerfield.

 

Game 2 was much tighter with the teams tied at 2-2 after 5 innings.  Unfortunately though several errors in the bottom of the sixth allowed Richmond to score three runs, which proved to be decisive in the 7 inning matchup.  Louis Hare was (again) the unfortunate pitcher taking the loss for the Eagles, despite conceding just 5 hits in the whole game, and contributing the team's only hit.

GAME 1

Herts Eagles at Richmond Knights
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Herts Eagles 0 2 0 3 0 5 4 4
Richmond Knights 4 12 0 1 0 17 14 1

Richmond Knights 17, Herts Eagles 5
Richmond Knights Herts Eagles
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
M. Mann pr-3b-rf 2 4 2 2 John Oliver 1b 3 0 1 2
Ryan Bird ss-1b 8 5 5 4 Tim Elkins lf 3 0 0 0
Rodney Rens rf 0 2 0 2 Lee Manning 3b 3 0 0 0
Jesus Gandara 2b 4 1 2 3 Louis Hare ss 2 2 1 1
Charles Pratt 3b-c 3 1 2 0 Dave Westfallen c 3 1 1 0
Dan Lally cf-p 6 2 1 2 Bart Schouwenaars rf 2 1 0 0
Nick Rolfe lf 3 2 2 0 Mike Wakelam p 1 0 0 0
(t4) Ade Orioye p 1 1 1 0
Dave Hamilton cf 0 0 0 0
Rodney Naghar 2b 2 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 26 17 14 13 TEAM TOTALS 20 5 4 3

E: Charles Pratt, Tim Elkins(2), Lee Manning(2). LOB: Herts Eagles 3, Richmond
Knights 4. 2B: Charles Pratt, Ryan Bird. HR: Louis Hare. SB: Ryan Bird(3), Rodney
Rens(3), Charles Pratt(2), Nick Rolfe(2), M. Mann, Dan Lally, Louis Hare(2), Dave
Westfallen(2). SF: Rodney Rens(2).

Richmond Knights IP H R ER BB SO
Dan Lally W 5.00 3 4 3 3 3
Marcos Osuna 0.00 1 1 1 0 0
Herts Eagles            
Mike Wakelam L 4.00 14 17 12 5 2

WP: Dan Lally, Mike Wakelam(4). T: 2:06. A: 34.

GAME 2

Herts Eagles at Richmond Knights
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Eagles 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 3
Richmond Knights 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 5 5 1

Richmond Knights 5, Herts Eagles 2
Richmond Knights Herts Eagles
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 p 3 0 0 0 John Oliver 1b 1 0 0 0
Player 2 c 3 0 0 0 Lee Manning 3b 3 0 0 0
Player 3 1b 2 0 0 0 Rodney Naghar 2b 4 1 0 0
Player 4 2b 3 1 1 0 Louis Hare p 3 0 1 0
Player 5 3b 2 1 0 0 Dave Westfallen ss 3 0 0 0
Player 6 ss 3 1 1 0 Bart Schouwenaars rf 3 0 0 0
Player 7 lf 3 1 1 0 Dave Hamilton cf 1 0 0 0
Player 8 cf 3 0 1 1 (t6) Tim Elkins cf 1 0 0 0
Player 9 rf 3 1 1 0 Kal Dimitrov c 3 0 0 0
Ade Orioye lf 2 1 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 25 5 5 1 TEAM TOTALS 24 2 1 0

E: Player 3, John Oliver, Lee Manning, Ade Orioye. LOB: Richmond Knights 5, Herts
Eagles 7. 2B: Player 8, Louis Hare. SB: Player 4(2), Player 1, Player 6, Player 7,
Player 9, Louis Hare, Lee Manning, Ade Orioye, Rodney Naghar, Dave Hamilton, Tim
Elkins.

Richmond Knights IP H R ER BB SO
Player 1 W 7.00 1 2 0 5 9
Herts Eagles            
Louis Hare L 6.00 5 5 0 3 4

HBP: by Player 1 (Dave Hamilton). . . . WP: Player 1, Louis Hare. PB: Player 2, Kal
Dimitrov(2). T: 2:06. A: 34.
by AspiDimitrov

HAWKS SWOOP ON PREY

After mounting monumental comebacks, only to come up short in the first two games of 2009, the Herts Hawks finally broke into the win column with a gritty performance reminiscent of the young Tampa Bay Rays.

 

The Hawks Manager, Marty Cullen, still missing some notable veteran talent, made some strategic call ups from the single A Herts Raptors. Rookies Nick Read and Matt Johnston did not disappoint. “They played out of their socks!” said Cullen after the game. “It won’t be long before these guys are playing at the highest level in our club”.  They weren’t the only rookies that helped the Hawks break out in Windsor. Ex Cricket stars Amit Odedra and Chris Wylie combined for 2 RBI, 2 runs and 4 stolen bases. Wylie also provided the play of the game with a diving stab to save a run and end an inning. The veterans provided the pop at the plate. Old timers Dave Baird, Marty Cullen and Paul Auchterlounie combined for more than half of the Hawks 11 hits and 5 of 8 runs scored.

 

As pleased as he was with the overall performance, Skipper Marty Cullen was quick to remind us of an old standard. “Pitching wins games, period. You can score 20 runs, but if you can’t hold them, you can’t win” That pitching came from an unlikely yet ever reliable source.  Anita Hoffman gave birth to their first child in the early hours of Saturday. Some 30 hours later, with what can only be described as a ‘newfound swagger’, Mark ‘the Daddy’ Hoffman strode to the mound and delivered the most inspired performance of his career.  Hurling a complete game, the Hoff surrendered only 3 earned runs on a measly 5 hits over 9 innings. He struck out a career high 12 batters. Most of whom were on last year’s AAA Windsor squad. When asked about the ‘H Train’s’ performance, Catcher Paul Auchterlounie said “I’ve never seen Mark better. This father stuff really agrees with him.”

 

The Hawks now look to take this momentum into a 3 game series with undefeated division rival Kent Mariners. Could this prove to be the turning point for the 1-2 Hawks?  They’ve tasted Bear blood. It’s time to head out to sea.

 

Herts Hawks at Windsor Bears
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Herts Hawks 0 1 2 1 2 1 0 1 0 8 11 1
Windsor Bears 1 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 7 5 1

Herts Hawks 8, Windsor Bears 7
Herts Hawks Windsor Bears
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Amit Odedra cf 5 0 1 1 Player 1 p-cf 1 3 0 0
Hunter Devine 2b 3 1 0 0 Player 2 c 4 0 0 1
Marty Cullen ss 4 3 2 0 Player 3 1b-3b 5 1 1 1
David Baird 1b 4 0 3 2 Player 4 2b 3 0 1 0
Mark Hoffman p 5 1 1 0 Player 5 3b-p 5 1 3 0
Paul Auchterlounie c 5 2 2 1 Player 6 ss 2 1 0 0
Nick Read lf 4 0 2 3 Player 7 lf 4 1 0 0
Chris Wylie 3b 3 1 0 1 Player 8 cf-1b 4 0 0 0
Matt Johnston rf 2 0 0 0 Player 9 rf 3 0 0 1
TEAM TOTALS 35 8 11 8 TEAM TOTALS 31 7 5 3

E: Marty Cullen, Player 5. LOB: Windsor Bears 9, Herts Hawks 9. 2B: Marty Cullen. SB:
Paul Auchterlounie(4), Chris Wylie(3), Nick Read(2), Marty Cullen, Hunter Devine,
Matt Johnston, Amit Odedra, Player 5(6), Player 6(4), Player 4(3), Player 1(3),
Player 3(2), Player 7.

Herts Hawks IP H R ER BB SO
Mark Hoffman W 9.00 5 7 3 11 12
Windsor Bears            
Player 5 6.00 7 5 4 5 6
Player 1 L 3.00 4 3 3 3 4

HBP: by Player 1 (Matt Johnston), by Mark Hoffman (Player 6). . . . . . . . PB: Paul
Auchterlounie(2), Player 2. T: 3:00. A: 38.
by AspiDimitrov

BAPTISM OF FIRE: DRAGONS SLAY RAPTORS

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, JON GAMBLE

 

Raptors took the field against the Richmond Dragons at Grovehill on Sunday with high hopes of continuing their unbeaten start to the 2009 season. These hopes took an early dive as the Dragons raced away to 7-0 lead in a first inning blitz. Aggressive base-stealing proved to be the Dragons stock-in-trade as they indicated an early intention to run away with everything not nailed down in Grovehill.

 

Dragons pitcher Per Nilsson Eklof came out breathing fire in the top of the second and made short work of the Raptors early batting order – sending the Raptors back to the field without scoring. The Dragons second inning picked up where the first left off – Raptors defence having no answer to the Dragons audacious display of base larceny.

 

Raptors managed to get a couple of runs on the board in the bottom of the second. But there was no stopping the torrent of runs coming from the Dragons who piled on the agony in the top of the sixth with another half dozen runs – taking them to an imposing 18-6 lead by the bottom of the third. The bottom of the third proved to be the highest scoring for the Raptors as the team showed that they knew how to steal a base or two with some aggressive running from Messrs Slater, Curtis and Dimitrov.

 

The Raptors managed to put a brake on the Dragons run rate through the middle innings. However,  the Raptors were unable to build a sustained rally in spite of the efforts of Pike, Jones and and Lewys in the bottom of the fourth. Ken Pike survived a heroic collision with the first base bag to bring home the bacon. Yet Eklof had still got some fire in his belly, closing the innings with a couple of  rally-breaking strikeouts.

 

At the bottom of the sixth, the Dragons led by a comfortable 22-10. Dragons relief pitcher Woo Kim proved to be no relief for the Raptors as he kept a clean sheet in the sixth inning. Liam Green made a confident debut as relief pitcher for the Raptors in the top of the seventh. It proved to be a baptism of fire. Unfortunately, a trio of Raptors outfield rookies learned the hard way that a ball is easier to field in front than behind – as a series of errors allowed the Dragons to run rampant – adding 12 runs to their total. The Raptors were put of their misery with a mercy finish at the bottom of the seventh. It was a day of hard lessons for the Raptors. They will have to wait for another chance to slay the Richmond Dragons.

 

 

Richmond Dragons at Herts Raptors
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Richmond Dragons 7 5 6 2 1 1 12 34 21 5
Herts Raptors 0 2 4 3 1 0 3 13 7 6

Richmond Dragons 34, Herts Raptors 13
Richmond Dragons Herts Raptors
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
John Wilkinson 3b 4 2 2 4 Ken Pike ss 2 1 0 0
Woo Kim 2b-p 7 3 3 1 (b4) Chris Brown rf-lf 2 2 2 1
Nick Hadley 1b-2b 4 4 1 2 Rob Jones 1b-ss 3 1 1 1
Stuart Hendry cf 7 4 4 2 Jonathon Lewys p-1b 5 3 2 2
Grant Bridge lf 7 5 4 1 Andrew Slater 3b 4 1 0 1
Allan Moffat ss 3 5 2 2 Paul Curtis 2b 4 1 1 1
Per Nilsson Eklof p-1b 5 5 3 4 (b6) Jon Gamble rf 1 0 0 0
John Walmsley c 4 4 2 2 Iwan Evans cf 2 1 0 0
Alvin Michael rf 3 1 0 0 (b6) Phil Hynes cf 0 0 0 0
(b5) Talha Akhtar rf 1 1 0 0 Ilya Dimitrov c 0 2 0 0
Robert Crouch lf 1 0 0 0
(t4) Phil Crooks lf-2b 2 0 0 0
Neil Brackley rf 2 0 0 0
(b4) Liam Green ss-rf-p 2 1 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 45 34 21 18 TEAM TOTALS 30 13 7 6

E: Per Nilsson Eklof(2), Allan Moffat, John Wilkinson, Alvin Michael, Andrew
Slater(2), Paul Curtis(2), Ilya Dimitrov, Phil Crooks. DP: Richmond Dragons 1. LOB:
Herts Raptors 7, Richmond Dragons 7. 2B: Allan Moffat(2), Per Nilsson Eklof, Woo Kim,
Jonathon Lewys, Chris Brown. HR: Per Nilsson Eklof, Stuart Hendry. SB: John
Walmsley(7), Stuart Hendry(4), Woo Kim(4), Grant Bridge(4), John Wilkinson(4), Allan
Moffat(4), Per Nilsson Eklof(2), Nick Hadley, Alvin Michael, Talha Akhtar, Jonathon
Lewys(5), Ilya Dimitrov(4), Rob Jones(3), Iwan Evans(2), Andrew Slater, Paul Curtis.
SF: Per Nilsson Eklof.

Richmond Dragons IP H R ER BB SO
Per Nilsson Eklof W 6.00 5 10 4 9 9
Woo Kim 1.00 2 3 2 0 1
Herts Raptors            
Jonathon Lewys L 6.00 13 22 10 13 11
Liam Green 1.00 8 12 8 2 3

HBP: by Per Nilsson Eklof (Rob Jones). , by Jonathon Lewys (Nick Hadley). . . , by
Per Nilsson Eklof (Andrew Slater). . . WP: Per Nilsson Eklof(7), Woo Kim, Jonathon
Lewys(6), Liam Green. PB: John Walmsley(7), Ilya Dimitrov(9). T: 3:51. A: 89.

by AspiDimitrov

BADGERS AND EAGLES SPLIT DOUBLE-HEADER

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, DAVE HAMILTON

 

The Herts Eagles' continued their impressive start to the season, fighting back to split their double-header with the Bristol Badgers in their home league debut at Grovehill on Sunday.

 

Herts second team's perfect start to the season came to an abrupt end in game one, conceding six soft runs in the second inning on a combination of bloop hits and fielding misjudgements – giving Bristol a lead that the home side never really looked like threatening.  An impressive hitting display from the visitors, spraying line drives around the outfield in the later innings added some padding to the score giving them a comfortable victory under the slaughter rule.  One of the few highlights for the Eagles were a pair of assists from center fielder Dan Kerry, who fired off two fantastic throws from his cannon of an arm to throw out runners at third and home.

 

Disappointed with their lacklustre performance, the Eagles were keen to bounce back in game two and impress the watching players from the Herts Falcons who were enjoying a week off.  A towering home run from Badgers first baseman Cook gave Bristol a first inning lead but the Eagles fought straight back, the first seven batters all reaching base to put Herts 4-1 in front.

 

With Eagles pitcher Mike Wakelam putting in another strong performance and limiting the Badgers to just three hits in five innings, the Eagles were able to take control by unleashing some power hitting of their own.  Back to back triples from Bart Schouwenaars and Rod Ariss, followed by a double by Lin Yuchih, helped five more runs cross the plate in the third inning to make it 9-2 and Schouwenaars then capped a three run fourth inning rally with an RBI double, after a huge triple to deep centerfield from Kerry and a double for Jamie Munn.

 

In this game the bottom of the Herts order (Casal, Munn and Schouwenaars) combined to go 8 for 12 with 6 rbi, demonstrating the strength of the team.  Some final inning jitters helped the Badgers halve the deficit to 12-8 but relief pitcher Dan Kerry finished the job, eventually striking out the side (as he had in the sixth) to seal victory for the Eagles.

 

Manager Dave Westfallen, whilst disappointed to register his first loss, was delighted by the way his players shrugged off the defeat and smashed their way to victory in game two, recapturing the spirit and aggression that had served them so well on Opening Day.  The Eagles now lie second in Pool 2 of the AAA league and visit Richmond next weekend.

 

GAME 1, 12:00pm Grovehill Ballpark

 

(Box scores of game one will be published shorty)

 

GAME 2, 2:30pm Grovehill Ballpark

Bristol Badgers at Herts Eagles
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bristol Badgers 1 0 1 2 0 0 4 8 4 3
Herts Eagles 4 0 5 3 0 0 0 12 16 3

Herts Eagles 12, Bristol Badgers 8
Herts Eagles Bristol Badgers
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Rod Ariss ss 5 2 2 1 T Hollies 3b 2 2 0 0
Lin Yuchih 2b 4 1 2 1 C Cook 1b 4 1 1 1
Riley Fisher c 2 1 0 0 J Bobadilla ss 3 1 2 2
Louis Hare 1b 3 1 1 1 L Ortiz lf 4 0 0 0
Dave Westfallen dh 3 1 2 1 JC Ortiz cf 3 2 1 0
(t6) Dave Hamilton cf 0 0 0 0 R Densey c 4 1 0 1
Dan Kerry cf-p 3 1 1 1 J Lansdowne p 1 1 0 0
Carlos Casal 3b 4 2 2 2 A Loreto rf 3 0 0 0
Jamie Munn lf 4 2 3 1 C Davis 2b 3 0 0 1
Bart Snavely rf 4 1 3 3
Mike Wakelam p 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 32 12 16 11 TEAM TOTALS 27 8 4 5

E: Jamie Munn(2), Rod Ariss, J Bobadilla, A Loreto, R Densey. LOB: Bristol Badgers 6,
Herts Eagles 7. 2B: Jamie Munn, Louis Hare, Lin Yuchih, Bart Snavely, J Bobadilla.
3B: Bart Snavely, Dan Kerry, Rod Ariss. HR: C Cook. SB: Carlos Casal(2), Rod Ariss,
Jamie Munn, Dave Westfallen, Lin Yuchih, T Hollies(3), A Loreto(2), J Lansdowne(2),
JC Ortiz, R Densey. CS: Carlos Casal, Jamie Munn, Bart Snavely. S: Dan Kerry.

Herts Eagles IP H R ER BB SO
Mike Wakelam W 5.00 3 4 2 3 4
Dan Kerry 2.00 1 4 1 5 6
Bristol Badgers            
J Lansdowne L 6.00 16 12 7 4 7

PB: Riley Fisher, R Densey(3). T: 2:49. A: 45.

 

by AspiDimitrov

HAWKS GO DOWN DESPITE A RESILIENT FIGHT-BACK

Report from Herts Baseball Newswire Correspondent, KAL DIMITROV

 

The Herts Hawks’ second game of the season was away at the Croydon Pirates III.  Irrespective of the not very encouraging weather forecast, it was a beautiful day for baseball. Unfortunately, the sun did not shine on the Hawks defence, neither were their bats very “warm” in the first half of the game.  Despite some crafty pitching by veteran Marty “I pitched in the Polo Grounds” Cullen, the Pirates’ big bats Woods and Ssali did some big damage, exacerbated by some defensive hiccups. 

In the top of the seventh inning, the Hawks were facing a 12-4 deficit. However, from the 6th inning onward, the Herts bats had started coming to life with some timely hitting, in particular a couple of big rips by Cullen and Boast and a massive double the other way by Paul Auchterlounie to bring in the runner from first.  Base-running was also adventurous, spurred on by the urgings of canny third-base coach and infielder-pitcher-outfielder extraordinaire the Motion Bochan – sometimes a tad too adventurous.

The closer the game became, the more the Hawks’ spirits were lifting, and Cullen made a shrewd move by picking Nick Russell from all other options that he had available in the bullpen.  Russell was outstanding, throwing strikes and getting out of jams, and would have been out of his two innings scot-free but for an outfield error. 

Despite the loss, the Hawks showed guts, and the all too-important quality of not giving up.  There are just a few things to rectify before we see the final product in action – defence, batting and base-running – but otherwise the Hawks are already showing the promise that they hinted at in spring training.

 

More images from the Hawks' game at Croydon

Herts Hawks at Croydon Pirates III
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Herts Hawks 0 1 0 0 1 2 2 4 2 12 11 7
Croydon Pirates III 3 0 2 2 0 5 0 2 0 14 16 7

Croydon Pirates III 14, Herts Hawks 12
Croydon Pirates III Herts Hawks
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
S Limn ss-c 6 2 4 0 Tim Grant ss 5 2 1 0
A Okada 2b 3 3 0 0 Nick Russell 3b-p 6 1 0 0
B Woods 3b 5 3 4 4 Marty Cullen p-3b 6 2 3 1
M Ford c-ss 4 1 3 3 Stuart Boast 1b 6 1 2 1
T Ssali p 5 3 2 2 Tim Elkins 2b 4 1 0 0
L Leboffe 1b 3 1 0 0 Kal Dimitrov rf-c 4 2 2 2
F Kucharski rf 5 0 0 1 Paul Auchterlounie c-cf 4 1 2 3
M George lf 4 0 1 0 (t8) Ilya Dimitrov cf 1 0 1 0
(t8) B Vickers lf 1 0 0 0 Chris Wylie lf 5 0 0 1
C Routledge cf 5 1 2 0 Ade Orioye cf-rf 2 2 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 41 14 16 10 TEAM TOTALS 43 12 11 8

E: S Limn(2), A Okada, B Woods, M Ford, T Ssali, L Leboffe, Tim Grant(2), Nick
Russell, Stuart Boast, Paul Auchterlounie, Chris Wylie, Ilya Dimitrov. LOB: Croydon
Pirates III 8, Herts Hawks 10. 2B: M Ford, Tim Grant, Paul Auchterlounie. 3B: B
Woods. HR: T Ssali. SB: A Okada(2), S Limn(2), C Routledge(2), L Leboffe, Tim
Grant(2), Kal Dimitrov(2), Stuart Boast, Chris Wylie, Ilya Dimitrov, Ade Orioye,
Marty Cullen, Paul Auchterlounie, Tim Elkins. CS: F Kucharski, Paul Auchterlounie.
SB: L Leboffe. SF: M Ford.

Croydon Pirates III IP H R ER BB SO
T Ssali W 9.00 11 12 6 3 11
Herts Hawks            
Marty Cullen L 6.00 12 12 6 2 4
Nick Russell 2.00 4 2 0 1 1

HBP: by T Ssali (Tim Grant). . . . . . , by T Ssali (Kal Dimitrov). , by T Ssali (Ade
Orioye). . WP: T Ssali(5), Marty Cullen. PB: M Ford, Paul Auchterlounie(2). Balk: T
Ssali. T: 3:28. A: 35.

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS BASEBALL’S GOT TALENT – LITTLE LEAGUE PLAYER MAKES DEBUT FOR HERTS RAPTORS

The 2009 season of the British Baseball League started in the best possible fashion for the members of Herts Baseball Club.  The Club sent four of its adult teams against tough opponents in the four respective leagues, and picked up five wins out of six games.  Everyone at the club was rightfully pleased, but there was one aspect on Opening Day which pleased everyone connected with the club, more than any of the wins.

 

This was the day when the first player coming out of the Herts Baseball Little League made an official debut with the adult teams.  14-years-old Liam Green has been involved with the Little League, the club’s youth programme, from its inception in June 2007 when boys and girls from Hertfordshire and the surrounding areas, started attending summer baseball camps at the club’s Grovehill Ballpark.

 

Liam went on to win the Herts Little League title playing for the Herts Yankees in the League’s inaugural season last year.  The Club has been very lucky to have very passionate, dedicated and hard-working boys and girls join the Little League over the last 2 years, and Liam is no different.  Many times after the adults end their home games last season, Liam, together with his younger brother, Lewis, and father, Lawrence, would come down to the Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead wait for the league games to end and they would practice various aspects of the game of baseball for hours until the sun goes down. 

 

Liam’s progress has been obvious for all to see and the Managers of the Herts adult teams have been following him closely.  With him becoming 14 this season and eligible for selection with the adults, the Managers decided that it was time to call him up to the Herts Raptors camp, the Club’s Single-A league team.  Last Sunday, he made his official debut for the Raptors in dramatic win against the London Marauders. 

 

The club hopes that this will be the first of many more male and female players coming through the Herts Baseball Little League to join the adult teams.  There already are several other very talented players who are also on the fringe of getting a call-up.  The transition of the players into adult baseball will be done gradually and they will continue to be full members of the Little League during this process.

 

The future is looking bright for baseball in Hertfordshire.  The club’s youngsters have already started their Spring Training in preparation for the 2009 league season.  New players are joining the league every week and it promises to be even bigger and better than 2008.

 

For more details about the Herts Baseball Little League and how to join or come to one of the open training sessions, please visit the official site.

by AspiDimitrov

AHOY! FALCONS SWEEP PIRATES IN NATIONAL LEAGUE DEBUT

Opening Day in British Baseball is never a sure-fire omen of what’s to come.  It’s early.  Teams are just regrouping after the long winter or rainy spring.  And, unlike the world of professional baseball, teams play just a handful of games each month – not exactly a sizeable sample set on which to base scientific speculation.

 

Nevertheless, the Falcons’ National League debut has given the Herts Baseball Club a surge of pride and optimism for the season to come.  By sweeping the Croydon Pirates and jumping out to a 2-0 start, the Falcons have quickly justified their off-season promotion to Britain’s top league of play and silenced any naysayers.

 

Manager Jason Greenberg reportedly came to Croydon bearing the Herts championship game ball from the 2008 Final 4, in which the Falcons bested Oxford 6-3 to take home the trophy.  It was that game – capping a magical 21-3 stroll through the AAA – that earned the Falcons advancement to the NBL.  Despite admonitions from select baseball insiders that Herts was “flying too high on waxen wings,” the Club’s Executive Committee voted unanimously to accept the BBF invitation.  Now entrenched at the game’s top level, the Falcons cannot be relegated to a lower league and will work over the months and years toward their first National Title.  It was this message that Greenberg carried with the championship game ball: the Falcons have earned their promotion and are here to stay.

 

 

Game One – 12:00
FALCONS 11, PIRATES 5

 

Herts sent crafty veteran Darrin Ward to the mound in game one.  Ward was magnificent, working out of several runners-on jams, and holding the Pirates scoreless with seven hits over six innings.

 

With an 11-0 lead in the bottom of the 7th, things seemed to slip away for Herts.  After striking out the leadoff batter, a quick series of three hits, a fielder’s choice and a walk (only Ward’s second of the day) allowed 5 Pirates to cross the plate.  All the runs scored with two outs, and that final out of the game was proving elusive.  Nevertheless, catcher Greenberg made a sharp throw down to second to catch a would-be base-stealer for the final out of the game.

 

Ward was easily the player of the game, with nine strikeouts in his first complete game of ’09.  At the plate, he smacked two doubles and had three hits overall with two runs batted in.  Rookies  Jamie Munn and Lin Yuchih had clutch hits in their Falcons debuts; Munn drove in two RBI with a hard single up the middle, while Lin was 2-4 with a double and an RBI.  2008 Falcons batting champion Kimiyoshi Saionji was 3-4 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI.

 

Game Two – 14:30
FALCONS 10, PIRATES 3

 

Hard-throwing Nic Goetz started Game Two for the Falcons.  The good dynamic between Goetz and catcher Andy Cornish was quickly apparent, as the two worked seamlessly to retire nine of the first ten Pirates to come to the plate.  Goetz worked both sides of the dish and changed speeds effectively to hold Croydon to one earned run on eight hits in the game.

 

Again, the Falcons defense shined.  Two spectacular double plays were turned in by rookie phenom Yuchih Lin – the first on a gutsy 5-4-3 move from the versatile Ward at third base, and the second on a hard-hit liner taken by Lin at the second base bag, doubling up a Pirate trying to dive back to safety.  Centerfielder Dan “Hollywood” Kerry made a signature all-out diving catch in centerfield, and right fielder Aspi Dimitrov made a spectacular run to cut down a deep down-the-line fly in the bottom of the 6th.  The Falcons outfield should prove one of the fastest and gutsiest in the National League.

 

Dimitrov was also sharp at the plate going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, and Cornish had a pair of doubles batting 3-for-5 with 4 RBI.

 

On Deck – National Champion London Mets
GROVEHILL, SUNDAY 3 MAY 12:00

 

Herts batted .352 on the day with eight doubles and thirteen stolen bases.  It was a complete reversal from the Herts Spring League, in which their bats were mostly silent and, for the most part, they failed to get runners into scoring position.  While the Falcons defense has always been strong, it was their offense that truly came alive on Sunday and just in time for their entrance onto the National stage.

The Herts organisation made a splash on opening day, winning 5 of its 6 games, with victories for the A Raptors, AAA Eagles and NBL Falcons.  Only a nail-biter 14-12 loss by the AA Hawks prevented a clean sweep.

 

The Falcons can enjoy their undefeated status for an extra week with an off-day this Sunday.  On May 3rd they face the reigning National League champion London Mets for the home opener in Grovehill.  No doubt, as the season plays out we’ll quickly have a better sense of how Herts will contend against the country’s top pitching… how their pitching will cope with Britain’s top batters.  But, for now, the Falcons are content to have proved that their promotion was no mistake.

 

 

GAME ONE BOX SCORE

Herts Falcons at Croydon Pirates
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Falcons 3 0 0 0 0 4 4 11 12 2
Croydon Pirates 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 13 8

Herts Falcons 11, Croydon Pirates 5
Herts Falcons Croydon Pirates
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Jamie Munn cf 4 1 1 2 Tim Ssali 2b 4 0 1 0
Lin Yuchih ss 4 1 2 1 Aki Okada lf 4 1 3 0
Andy Cornish rf 4 1 0 0 Jose Sosa ss 4 1 2 1
Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 4 3 3 1 Maikel Azcuy 3b 4 1 1 1
Darrin Ward p 4 1 3 2 Brett Woods 1b 3 1 2 0
Dan Kerry lf 4 2 1 1 Mike Ford c 3 1 1 0
Jason Greenberg c 4 2 1 1 C. Richie Limm cf 1 0 0 0
John Oliver 1b 4 0 0 1 (b4) Brandon Florence cf 3 0 2 2
Nick Goetz 3b 4 0 1 0 Jared Uys p 3 0 0 0
Frank Kucharski rf 2 0 1 0
(t6) Player name TBC rf 1 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 36 11 12 9 TEAM TOTALS 32 5 13 4

E: Lin Yuchih, John Oliver, Jose Sosa(4), Maikel Azcuy(3), Tim Ssali. DP: Croydon
Pirates 2. LOB: Herts Falcons 5, Croydon Pirates 8. 2B: Darrin Ward(2), Kimiyoshi
Saionji, Lin Yuchih, Jose Sosa. SB: Dan Kerry(2), Jason Greenberg(2), Lin Yuchih,
Andy Cornish, Darrin Ward, Kimiyoshi Saionji, Jamie Munn, Brett Woods(2), Maikel
Azcuy, Aki Okada. CS: Lin Yuchih, Brandon Florence.

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Darrin Ward W 7.00 13 5 4 2 9
Croydon Pirates            
Jared Uys L 7.00 12 11 5 1 9

WP: Jared Uys(3). T: 2:24. A: 55.

 

 

 

GAME TWO BOX SCORE

 

Herts Falcons at Croydon Pirates
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Falcons 0 4 0 2 2 1 1 10 13 2
Croydon Pirates 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 3 8 3

Herts Falcons 10, Croydon Pirates 3
Herts Falcons Croydon Pirates
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Jamie Munn lf 5 1 1 0 Tim c 4 0 2 0
Lin Yuchih 2b 5 1 2 1 Paul Stevens 1b-p 4 1 1 0
Andy Cornish c 5 0 3 4 Jose Sosa p-1b 3 0 1 1
Kimiyoshi Saionji dh 2 1 0 0 M. Asuya ss 3 0 0 0
Darrin Ward 3b 4 0 2 0 Brett Woods 3b 3 0 0 0
Dan Kerry cf 4 1 1 1 Brandon Florence cf 2 2 1 0
John Oliver 1b 3 2 1 1 F. Kucharski 2b 2 0 0 0
Lee Manning ss 4 2 1 0 (b7) Oscar Silva 2b 1 0 1 1
Aspi Dimitrov rf 3 1 2 2 G. Shepherd rf 2 0 1 0
(t7) Jason Greenberg pr-rf 0 1 0 0 (t6) Aki Okada rf 1 0 0 0
Nick Goetz p 0 0 0 0 Rod Stevenson lf 3 0 1 1
TEAM TOTALS 35 10 13 9 TEAM TOTALS 28 3 8 3

E: Lee Manning, Nick Goetz, Brett Woods, Brandon Florence, F. Kucharski. LOB: Croydon
Pirates 5, Herts Falcons 9. 2B: Andy Cornish(2), Darrin Ward, Lin Yuchih. 3B: Paul
Stevens. SB: Kimiyoshi Saionji, Dan Kerry, John Oliver, Jamie Munn. CS: Andy Cornish.

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Nick Goetz W 7.00 8 3 1 1 4
Croydon Pirates            
Jose Sosa L 5.00 9 8 5 3 5
Paul Stevens 2.00 4 2 2 0 2

HBP: by Jose Sosa (Kimiyoshi Saionji). . , by Paul Stevens (Kimiyoshi Saionji). . WP:
Nick Goetz. PB: Tim. T: 2:00. A: 55.

by AspiDimitrov

LATE RALLY NOT ENOUGH FOR HAWKS

Strong early innings from the Bisons left the Hawks trailing and their late rally was not quite enough.

Thames Valley Bisons at Herts Hawks
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Thames Valley Bisons 3 2 1 3 0 0 0 2 1 12 12 3
Herts Hawks 2 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 2 10 17 3

Thames Valley Bisons 12, Herts Hawks 10
Thames Valley Bisons Herts Hawks
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 p 3 4 2 2 Hunter Devine cf-2b 4 1 2 1
Player 2 c 4 2 2 1 Matt Johnston lf 5 0 0 0
Player 3 1b 5 1 1 0 Mark Hoffman p 4 2 3 0
Player 4 2b 4 3 3 0 David Baird 2b-c 3 4 2 0
Player 5 3b 3 0 1 3 Marty Cullen 1b 5 2 4 0
Player 6 ss 5 0 2 0 Stuart Boast 3b 5 0 3 5
Player 7 lf 4 0 0 0 Tim Grant ss 5 1 2 2
Player 8 cf 3 2 1 0 Chris Wylie rf 5 0 1 0
Player 9 rf 4 0 0 0 Ilya Dimitrov c-cf 4 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 35 12 12 6 TEAM TOTALS 40 10 17 8

E: Player 1, Player 3, Player 5, Marty Cullen(2), David Baird. LOB: Thames Valley
Bisons 5, Herts Hawks 7. 2B: Player 4, Hunter Devine. SB: Player 1(6), Player 3(2),
Player 4(2), Player 8(2), Player 2, Player 6, Player 5, Hunter Devine, David Baird,
Mark Hoffman, Marty Cullen, Tim Grant.

Thames Valley Bisons IP H R ER BB SO
Player 1 W 9.00 17 10 7 4 9
Herts Hawks            
Mark Hoffman L 9.00 12 12 9 9 14

WP: Mark Hoffman(4). T: 4:18. A: 43.