In Division One the success story of the Falcons’ second team continued with a win at the Brentwood Stags 13-7. Another solid performance by Paul Raybould on the mound to pick up his fourth win of the season. This is the team’s third consecutive win, which keeps them in third place and in touch with second placed Havering.
League action resumes on 17 July when Falcons 2 take on the Richmond Riverdogs.
Following last weekend's heroic come-back, the Herts Falcons' second team met the Richmond Riverdogs, who before the start of the day were bottom in the Division 1 (South-North) table with a record of 9 loses and no wins. The game turned out to be anything but a foregone conclusion, the visitors from Richmond came out determined to end their winless record this year and took an early 7-2 lead. A good fight back from the Falcons put them right back in the game, only to lose momentum in the 6th and 7th inning when the Riverdogs delivered hammer blows to take a 22-17 lead.
However, for a second week running Falcons 2 showed great courage to come back and win the game in the bottom of the 9th (23-22). Pitcher, Paul Raybould, was awarded the Win after some solid work as a reliever in the final 2 innings. The winning run was driven in by 14 year old Short Stop, Peter Kikel who has been a revolution in his rookie year for the club.
Falcons 2 take a well deserved break next Sunday, 26th June, so the attention turns to Falcons who play a double header at home against the Cityslick Sidewinders in a 'must win' relegation battle, in the prestigious British Baseball Premier League.
The fans who attended this game received great value for money in a game that had everything – big hits, great fielding and pitching, heated arguments, an ejection, and a fantastic come-back that can easily compare to
Falcons 2 looked dead and buried, trailing 14-3 in the 6th inning.
Nothing seemed to be going right for the team as the visitors from
That seemed to fire up the Falcons as they produced one of the best come-backs in Falcons' history, winning the game 20-16.
The team is now in 3rd place in the standings and will welcome the Richmond Riverdogs at home next Sunday 19th June
Falcons 2nd team again came up short against a strong Havering team, whom they had lost to on the opening day of the season. They went down 33 – 10 at home, but look to gain another win next week as they travel to local rivals Essex Arrows.
Falcons 2nd team again came up short against a strong Havering team, whom they had lost to on the opening day of the season. They went down 33 – 10 at home, but look to gain another win next week as they travel to local rivals Essex Arrows.
The Herts Falcons 1st team managed to halt their losing streak at 5 games, temporarily, as they took the first game of a doubleheader against the Oxford Kings 11 – 8.
It was a battling performance, as the Falcons were down 7 – 3 early in the game, but starting pitcher Takashi Hirai settled down and held the Kings scoreless through the remainder of his time on the mound at the end of the 5th inning. Some timely hitting throughout the order, and good baserunning helped the Falcons to chip away at the deficit, as for once they weren’t relying on the long ball power hitting of
Liam Bath came in to pitch the 6th and 7th innings and, after a slow start walking the first batter and hitting the second one he faced, he started throwing strikes. Some continued good fielding allowed him to close out the game, with
So the Falcons gained another win, and aimed to continue into the 2nd game.
The 2nd game was a classic, in baseball terms. Two ace pitchers, mostly dominating the opposing hitters, a solo home run from the Falcons Denison, and a game decided by just 1 run.
In the first inning, a bloop hit into shallow outfield by Kim Saionji followed by a stolen base, put him into scoring position.
This was looking to be enough, as
Then in the 5th inning it all went south for the Falcons again, as the Kings scored 5 runs to take the lead, starting with a bases clearing 3 RBI double by the 1st baseman that sailed over the left fielders head.
Next week the Falcons are back at home, with a double header against Croydon Pirates 2, who were promoted with them from division 1.
After last week's disappointing loss to
The Arrows beat
The Falcons batting was impressive with Ross Asquith getting 2 hits in 4 at bats and scored 4 runs, Todd Nightingale hitting 3 singles and a double and driving in 4 runs, and Eddie Sierocinski who collected 2 hits, 3 runs and stole 3 bases. Special mention should also go to Peter Kikel who scored twice, collected 3 base on balls, and stole 4 bases.
In the bottom of the 7th inning, the Falcons came to bat needing just 4 runs to win the game on the Slaughter Rule (10 run difference). With 1 out, Ross Asquith dropped a perfect bunt to get safely to 1st base and then stole 2nd and 3rd. Substitute Rob Jones, in his first at bat, then singled to right field driving in Ross. Todd Nightingale then drilled a double to the outfield. Next up was Kal Dimitrov and he hit a clutch single and Rob scored. Then came Alex Casey having his first at bat of the game and on the first pitch he saw, hit a towering fly ball over the left-fielders head for a double and Todd scored. Still with just one out and Kal on 3rd base, up stepped Bruce Durrea. Almost immediately, Bruce pounded a fly ball base hit to right field for Kal to score the game winning run.
The final score was Essex 16 – Falcons 26. Had it not been for some untimely mistakes in the field, the Falcons could have won the game more comfortably.
Next Sunday sees the Falcons at home again to play Havering.
Following last Sunday's resounding 29-6 victory over
Although the Falcons attempted to keep the game close and were only losing
Next Sunday the Falcons 2 host the Essex Arrows 2 who are the only team to beat
The Herts Falcons 1st team gave a good account of themselves as they travelled to take on the best that the
Game 1 started with the Falcons scoring 2 runs in the 1st inning from a John Oliver single, but the Monarchs showed why they won last year as they plugged starter Takashi Hirai for 3 home runs in their half of the 1st inning. A scoreless 2nd gave the Falcons a little more confidence, and they plated 2 more runs in the 3rd, courtesy of a 2-run home run from power man Jim Denison, and 1 more in the 4th to make it a close 6 – 5 score after 4 ½ innings. However,
Game 2 saw one of the best, if not the best, pitchers in the division start on the mound for
Although they lost, it was a memorable day for the Falcons to run the champions so close, and to score more runs than any team have so far this season against the Monarchs is a big positive.
They have a week off next Sunday before travelling to
The recent growth in popularity of British baseball is not only responsible for the creation of the Herts Falcons' second team, but
On Sunday, the Falcons 2 travelled to
The Falcons got off to an early 2-0 lead and were 6-1 up after 2 innings. They continued to pile on the runs as the game progressed until the game was called after 7 innings on the Slaughter Rule with the Falcons 29-6 ahead.
This Sunday sees the Falcons 2 at home (Grovehill Playing Field,