Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

7 September 20237 September 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Ravens face Cambridge Royals in Wild Card game. Winner will be off to Cardiff for Semi-Final.

On Sunday, Herts Ravens fans were anxiously following the game updates from around the Single-A League divisions. When the final out of the 2023 regular season was recorded and after some off-field BBF deliberations, the Ravens were confirmed as the fourth seed team for the Postseason.

Wins for the Cardiff Merlins, Tonbridge Bobcats and London Mustangs on the final day combined with a decision by the league to roll back the score of the earlier Ravens versus MK Bucks game which was suspended tied 5-5 in extra innings and has now been declared as a 4-3 Bucks win, meant that the Ravens dropped from second to fourth seed.

Single-A Postseason Seedings (Win-Loss %)

1^st Seed – Cardiff Merlins (.917) – Severn Pool Winner
2^nd Seed – Tonbridge Bobcats (.913) – South East Pool Winner
3^rd Seed – London Mustangs (.893) – South Central A Pool Winner
4^th Seed – Herts Ravens (.875) – South Central B Pool Winner
5^th Seed – Cambridge Royals (.625) – East of England Pool Winner

This implies that the Herts Ravens will have to go through a Wild Card game to earn the right to play in the Semi-Final. Their opponents will be the Cambridge Royals who are the fifth seed but the win-loss average in the different pools may not be the best indicator of the strength of these teams as there are no interleague games between the five pools and there may be a disparity in the strength of opponents in each pool.

As the higher seed, the Ravens will have home field advantage in this Wild Card Game so it will be played at their home field – Basing Hill Ballpark in north west London. First pitch is at 12pm. Admission is free and fans are advised to bring their own seating as the ballpark may not have enough seating capacity for everyone.

If the Ravens overcome the Royals, they will need to swiftly get on the M4 motorway to meet the Cardiff Merlins in the Semi-Final which will be played in Cardiff 24 hours later – a 300-mile round trip.

Fans who cannot see the game in person can follow update on the BBF website.

5 September 20238 September 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Youth Baseball League champions to be decided over the next two weeks

The 2023 Postseason Playoffs of the Herts Youth Baseball League start this Saturday. The finals of both the Under-15 and Under-11 divisions will be decided in a best-of-3 series.

In the Under-15 Championship Series the Herts Falcons U15 will come up against their old rivals the Herts Hawks U15. Game One was originally planned to be played at Basing Hill Ballpark but it has now been moved to Grovehill Ballpark to make room for the senior teams in the Single-A League Wild Card game between the Herts Ravens and the Cambridge Royals. Games Two and Three move to Basing Hill in the following week on Saturday, 16 September.

In the Under-11 Championship Series it will be a battle between Herts Falcons U11 and the Herts Londoners U11. The Falcons are an all star team of Hemel Hempstead-based U11 players while the Herts Londoners are an all star team of players based at the club’s Basing Hill branch in London. All three of their games will be played at Basing Hill Ballpark on 9 and 16 September.

Apart from winning the HYBL championships, the Herts youth baseball team coaches will also be assessing players for the 2023 BBF national youth baseball championships which will be played on 23 September at Farnham Park in Slough, and the Herts Futures Tournament on 30 September.

Boys and girls, from complete beginners to advanced players, can still register to play in these games as the season reaches its climax. Contact us for more details.

30 August 202330 August 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Cardinals need a win this Sunday to make the Playoffs

The Herts Cardinals are currently 4th in the Triple-A League standings. They face fifth-placed Bristol Badgers on Sunday knowing they will need to win one of the two games to stay ahead of them and qualify for the Playoffs.

Pos	Team	W	L	Pct	GB
1	Bears	19	6	0.760	0
2	Metros	18	8	0.692	1.5
3	Knights	18	9	0.667	2
4	Cardinals	13	12	0.520	6
5	Badgers	12	16	0.429	8.5
6	Pirates	11	16	0.407	9
7	Redbacks	10	17	0.370	10
8	Bucs	4	21	0.160	15
9	Lancers	0	0	0.000	6.5

The two teams have played each other twice so far this season when they met on Opening Day in Bristol. The Cardinals won both of those games but they were closely-fought encounters – 5-4 and 5-2.

The starting pitchers for the Herts team in those games were Tyler Cote and Stephen Wong and they faced Bristol’s starters Luke Claflin and Deivydas Trinkunas, respectively. Other potential starters for the Badgers are Nerius Tamosiunas and player-manager Rhodri Theaker.

**Roberto Hernandez is the Herts Cardinals’ home run leader this season (photo by Tony Small)**

The Cardinals will have home-field advantage and Herts fans can support them by coming to Basing Hill Ballpark this Sunday. First pitch is at 12pm. Admission is free.

Those who can’t be at the ballpark can follow the live updates on the BBF scoreboard webpage.

29 August 202330 August 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Ravens book Playoff ticket. Scores on Sunday will decide the seeding.

Two hard-fought wins for the Herts Ravens against the Herts Raptors on Sunday confirmed their place in the Single-A League Playoffs. Those were their final regular season games and the wins mean that they will finish top of their pool ahead of the Milton Keynes Bucks.

Pos	Team	W	L	Pct	GB
1	Ravens	21	3	0.875	0
2	Bucks 2	20	4	0.833	1
3	Redbacks A	8	14	0.370	12
4	Raptors	8	15	0.348	12.5
5	Eagles	1	22	0.063	19.5

The two teams were neck-and-neck all season long but the Ravens’ 19 consecutive wins were enough to win the race despite losing their first two games in Milton Keynes on Opening Day.

***Pitcher Nic Goetz will go into the postseason with a 2.52 ERA, 54 strikeouts and a 7-0 record***

The Herts Ravens now wait for the outcome of other games in the other pools this Sunday to find out their seeding and who they will face in the postseason.

Going into Sunday’s games they have the second best win-loss average among the first placed teams in the four Single-A League pools.

1^st Seed – Tonbridge Bobcats (.900) – South East
2nd Seed – Herts Ravens (.896) – South Central Pool B
3^rd Seed – London Mustangs (.885) – South Central Pool A
4^th Seed – Cambridge Royals – (.625) – East of England

If Tonbridge slip up against the Hurricanes, the Ravens will leap ahead of them.

***The Single-A League postseason format and schedule (photo by the BBF)***

To follow live updates on Sunday go to the BBF scoreboard webpage.

25 August 202312 September 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players have started registering for the 2023 Hunlock Series

The 2023 BBF season is approaching its climax but, whether your team makes it to the Playoffs or not, arguably the best part of the season is still to come.

Every year, after the end of the BBF season and just when the MLB postseason is about to start, players from Herts and other British baseball clubs – as well as overseas players – compete over several weeks in a tournament in memory of Herts Baseball Club’s number 36, the late Kyle Hunlock.

SERIES FORMAT

This is the 17th year of the Hunlock Series. In its inaugural year in 2006 two teams were involved, the Falcons and the Hawks. The format of the competition has evolved since then. The club has over 170 registered adult players this year and a considerable number of new players are expected to register to play in the Series. As players sign up over the next few weeks we will know how many teams will enter the Series this year.

SCHEDULE

It will be played over three Sundays on 1, 8 and 15 October. This is later than in previous years due to BBF adult and youth postseason playoffs being played over all four Sundays of September.

See last year’s Hunlock Series schedule and standings.

VENUES

Games will be played at two ballparks – Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead and Basing Hill Ballpark in London (both pictured above).

WHO CAN PLAY?

Any players aged 14 and over on 31 December 2023 are eligible to play in the Hunlock Series.

THE DRAFT

As in previous years, the teams will be selected by the team managers during the Hunlock Series Draft. Who will be the first round picks? How will Single-A league players and newcomers perform alongside NBL and Triple-A players?

Over the years we have seen how decisions made during the Draft can shape the outcome of the Series before a pitch has been thrown. The managers will have to make carefully calculated decisions if they are to put together a team which can compete for the Hunlock Series title, otherwise they face miserable few weeks.

With all of the club’s managers and coaching staff observing these games, players who have been pushing for promotion to a higher league team will have the perfect opportunity during the Hunlock Series to make a claim to play on the bigger stage in 2024.

NEW PLAYERS

The club has also received enquiries from many potential new members over the last few weeks and this event is the ideal opportunity for them to come and play and help them decide whether to join the club for the 2024 season.

HOW TO REGISTER

All Hunlock Series players will be drafted into teams. To be eligible for the Draft you will need to update your availability for ALL the Hunlock Series dates in the online Clubhouse by 7pm Monday, 18 September. If you miss the deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. You will still be eligible to play but will have to be assigned as a free agent after the Draft.

If you already have a Clubhouse account you can update availability for the Hunlock Series dates by logging on with your existing username and password. Click here to go to the Clubhouse.

If you do not have a Clubhouse account but wish to play in the Hunlock Series, please register here and select “Play Hunlock Series” in the membership category list. After registering you can log on and mark your availability.

ENTRY FEE

2023 Herts club members do not have to pay an entry fee as the Hunlock Series is part of their membership package. If you don’t have a Hunlock Series team shirt, you can buy one before your first game. The team shirt is expected to be priced at around £10. You can also exchange a team shirt if you are drafted in a different colour team.

New players or players from other clubs can play by paying the £24 entry fee which includes a free Hunlock Series shirt of the team which has drafted them.

ENQUIRIES FROM NEW PLAYERS

For more details about playing in the Hunlock Series, contact us.

13 August 202314 August 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons season ends with a dramatic game, decided in extra innings.

The Falcons played their final game of the 2023 National Baseball League season. It ended with yet another heartbreaking loss in extra innings but the team undoubtedly gave everything to end the season on a high as an audience from around the world watched the live stream on YouTube.

Their opponents were the London Capitals who were already guaranteed a place in the Playoffs having secured third place in the regular season standings behind the Mets and the Arrows.

A few days before the game the Falcons received the bad news from the British Baseball Federation that there are no available dates to re-schedule the two rained out games versus Sheffield Bruins and they will not be played. This implied that the team from Hemel Hempstead was eliminated.

The Caps were in control from start to finish in the first game of this doubleheader as starting pitcher Masa Hashiguchi was dominant again. This was his ninth win of the season giving him an impressive ERA of 3.69 for the year.

Capitals vs Falcons – game one box scores

With the Playoffs out of their reach, most teams would have started thinking about the off-season, but the Herts Falcons were not ready to pack their bags yet.

Starting on the mound for them was Alex Deacon and he had another quality start allowing only 3 runs over his 5 innings of work, striking out 6 batters. He was also among the top performers in the Herts offense, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI. Matt Moran, Phil Clark and Tyler Cote also contributed with 2 hits each. Cote was called-up from the club’s Triple-A team, the Herts Cardinals, and he impressed offensively and defensively.

The game was streamed live on YouTube thanks to the fantastic coverage by Journey Sports Media crew. Those who tuned in were invited to vote for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the game. Falcons player-manager, Cris Hiche, received the highest number of votes, closely followed by Alex Deacon. Hiche spectacular diving catch in centerfield to add to his outstanding batting performance (2-4, 2B) must have played a part when those votes were cast.

The visitors from Hertfordshire took a 6-3 lead into the final inning but the Capitals produced a dramatic comeback scoring 3 runs to take the game into extra innings.

The Falcons scored 2 in the top of the 8^th inning but the Londoners came back again. A triple from former Falcon, Will Zucker, and then a single by Pete Wiedmann drove in the 3 runs they needed to win with a final score of 9-8.

Capitals vs Falcons – game two box scores

This is proving to be the story of the season for the Herts Falcons. In fact this game was almost identical to the opening game of the season when the Capitals again came back to tie the game in the final inning and win it in extra innings.

The players and coaching staff will probably by disappointed to end the season 4 games back from the Playoff zone, but this was the first season back in the NBL for the Falcons and all those who saw them in action this season will agree that this young squad has an enormous potential. They will most certainly be climbing up the NBL standings in the coming years if they can realize that potential.

5 August 20237 August 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons’ game at Bruins postponed. Rain may have ended their NBL Playoff hopes.

Earlier this evening, the Herts Falcons received confirmation from the Sheffield Bruins that Sunday’s deciding game in the NBL Playoff race has been postponed due to weather and ground conditions at Thorpe Green Park in Sheffield.

Images coming in from Sheffield showed a waterlogged home plate and around one inch of standing water on the surface. Perhaps an MLB grounds crew would have been able to cope with this relatively easily, but most British clubs don’t have the staff to deal with such situations and, if the standing water on the grass is more widespread, that probably makes it impossible if the field does not drain well naturally after prolonged rain as most British baseball clubs do not have under-soil drainage.

video by Sheffield Bruins

If these two games cannot be rescheduled, mathematically, the Herts Falcons would be eliminated from the Playoff race. Even if the Falcons win their two remaining games away at the London Capitals and the Bruins lose theirs away at the Latin Boys. In that scenario the Bruins would have a Win-Loss % of .263 while the Falcons would end the season with .261 keeping the Bruins ahead of the Falcons by a mere .002.

Home run by Tetsuro Shinkawa in the Falcons vs Bruins game which was suspended back on June 18th and was meant to be resumed this Sunday

Herts Baseball Club has enquired with the British Baseball Federation to find out whether the games can be rescheduled before the NBL Playoffs which commence on Sunday, August 20th. The Sheffield Bruins already have four other games which were rained out earlier in the season and are not expected to be played so, fitting these two games into the calendar seems highly unlikely.

As things stand, the Herts Falcons have two more games remaining this season against the London Capitals to be played at 1pm and 4pm on Saturday, 12 August, at Finsbury Park in London.

2 August 20232 August 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

British youth baseball teams have started entering the 2023 Herts Futures Tournament

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that the 2023 Herts Futures Tournament will take place on Saturday, September 30th.

The Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) was first held in 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. The number of teams entering the tournament has been going up. The highest number of entries which we have managed to accommodate in previous years has been 21 teams. It will be interesting to see how many teams will enter this year. If the number continues to increase the club will have to consider ways of expanding the venue further.

The event brings together youth teams of various age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the best baseball venues in the UK. Grovehill Ballpark is the home of Herts Baseball Club. Over the years the venue has been selected to host high profile events such as the National Baseball Championships and Great Britain National Team events.

During the Herts Futures Tournament additional diamonds are added to cater for the different age groups.

This year’s edition is expected to cover the Under-15, Under-13, Under-11 and Under-8 age groups.

For more information about the event, how to enter your team in the Tournament or how players can join the Herts teams to play in the HFT, visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage or contact us.

24 July 202326 July 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts youth teams preparing for 2023 BBF National Championships. Will Zucker to manage the U18 team. New players can still join.

The BBF U18, U15, U13 and U11 national baseball championships will be played on Saturday, 16 September, at Farnham Park.

U18 team

***Will Zucker with the GB U18 national team in 2014***

In addition to its U15, U13 and U11 teams, Herts will also be entering a team to compete in the U18 national championship. The club has confirmed that the Herts Falcons U18 team will be managed by Will Zucker. In February 2021 he was elected as the club’s co-Director of Youth Baseball. Zucker is a product of the Herts youth baseball programme and went on to play for the club’s first team, the Herts Falcons, in the National Baseball League (NBL) and has also been selected by the Great Britain U18 and U23 national teams. He co-founded the Durham University Baseball programme and his work was recognised when he received the BSUK Young Coach of the Year Award in 2017.

The club’s best finish in the U18 national championships was as runner-up in 2013 when they beat the London Mets 6-4 in the semi-final and lost 6-9 in the final to the Cobham Cougars. Zucker was 16 years old and was the starting pitcher for the Herts Harriers in the final so this year he will have another shot at the U18 national title, this time as team manager.

***Mike Cresswell in NBL action for the Herts Falcons (photo by Will Zucker)***

His coaching staff will include Herts Falcons outfielder, Mike Cresswell, who will be familiar with many of the Herts U18 players, having coached them over the years and playing alongside a large number of U18 players this season with the Falcons in the National Baseball League.

Players who are aged 17 or under on 31 August 2023 who are interested to play for the Herts Falcons U18 team can contact the club for more details.

U15 and U13 teams

***Herts U13 manager Stephen Wong on the mound for Herts Cardinals (photo by Tony Small)***

The Herts U15 team will be managed by Nick Sanders who brings a wealth of experience from his time as a player and coach in Canada.

The U13 team will be managed by Stephen Wong who is also a pitcher with the Herts Cardinals and has experience of playing and coaching in Hong Kong and Japan.

The Herts youth coaching staff also includes Cory English, Daniel Rose, Joe Brown, John Kjorstad, Jordon Fox, Larry Peters, Martin Saluzzo, Mike Long, Philip Meyers and Aspi Dimitrov.

Starting this week, coach Stephen Wong will run a series of extra baseball sessions for the U15 and U13 teams as follows:

15:00-18:00 – Wed, 26 July, Grovehill Ballpark
10:00-13:00 – Sat, 29 July, Grovehill Ballpark
15:00-18:00 – Wed, 2 August, Grovehill Ballpark
10:00-13:00 – Sat, 5 August, Grovehill Ballpark
15:00-18:00 – Wed, 9 August, Grovehill Ballpark
10:00-13:00 – Sat, 12 August, Grovehill Ballpark
15:00-18:00 – Wed, 16 August, Grovehill Ballpark
10:00-13:00 – Sat, 19 August, Grovehill Ballpark
10:00-13:00 – Sat, 26 August, Grovehill Ballpark
15:00-18:00 – Wed, 30 August, Grovehill Ballpark

U11 team

The manager of the Herts U11 team will be confirmed in due course.

The Herts U11 players will take a few weeks break during the school summer holidays but they will back in training on Wednesday, 30 August (London branch) and Saturday, 2 September, (Hemel Hempstead branch).

HYBL Playoffs and Herts Futures Tournament

Herts youth players can also look forward to the Herts Youth Baseball League (HYBL) Playoffs on 9 and/or 23 September and the Herts Futures Tournament on 30 September, as the 2023 youth baseball season reaches its climax.

New players can still join the Herts teams

The youth teams welcomes boys and girls aged 6 to 17, from complete beginners to advanced players, with ballparks in Hemel Hempstead and in London. Contact us for more information.

17 July 202318 July 2023 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons stay ahead of Latin Boys but miss opportunity to close gap with Sheffield

The Falcons and the Latin Boys produced two dramatic games winning one game each to keep both teams in the National Baseball League Playoff race but the Sheffield Bruins may be the happiest after the weekend’s action without swinging a bat.

The Latin Boys took an early 2-0 lead but Herts fought back to make the score 5-2 with back-to-back home runs by Alex Deacon and Phil Clark, his fourth of the season.

This was Deacon’s best outing of the season on the mound. He struck out 7 batters over 6 innings and allowed only 4 hits and 2 runs of which only 1 was earned.

The team added 2 more runs in the fifth inning and Tomohiro Tamura pitched the last inning to seal a 7-3 win for Herts.

Game One Box scores Herts Falcons 7 Latin Boys 3

There was no time for celebration. They were about to face starting pitcher Jorge Gonzalez who pitched a complete game shutout the last time they faced him. The Falcons took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on a solo home run by third baseman Jack Warrington.

The Latin Boys hit back in the third inning with 2 runs to take the lead despite Michael Barrett, Dylan Lawler and Fraser Duggan turning a well-executed double play.

The visitors extended their lead to 5-1 in the fifth inning after a triple by Viktoras Ratkevicius. It could have been more if it wasn’t for a spectacular diving catch by Ben Sporleder at the wall.

It looked like the game was starting to run away from Herts but they rallied with 2 outs in the bottom of that inning. Jack Warrington hit his second home run of the game driving in Ben Sporleder who hit a single before him.

The Latin Boys squeezed another run in the top of the sixth inning to silence the home fans but that was only temporary as a 2-run double by catcher Alex Paterson brought Falcons to within a run going into the final inning.

After a rain delay, in the seventh and final inning the visitors added one more run on a sacrifice fly by Ratkevicius which meant that Herts were down 5-7. Despite Michael Barrett and Jack Warrington reaching base, starting pitcher Jorge Gonzalez shut the door striking out two batters to secure the win for the Latin Boys.

Game Two Box scores Herts Falcons 5 Latin Boys 7

Earlier in the day Sheffield Bruins’ home game versus the London Capitals was cancelled due to a waterlogged field so the gap in the NBL standings between them and the Herts Falcons remains at 4 games. The Falcons have a two-week rest. Their hope is that the Sheffield Bruins will stumble in their remaining 10 games of the season. If that happens, Herts Falcons can still qualify for the Playoffs if they can win their next two games which are away in Sheffield on 6 August and they may also need to win one or possibly both of their games away at the London Capitals on the final day of the season depending on the outcome of other games.

The decision of the British Baseball Federation on how and when to fit Sheffield’s 4 rained out games between now and 13 August will be critical in deciding who will finish in the top four places of the NBL.

An aerial view of waves crashing against a shore. — ***(photos by Richard Williams)***

An aerial view of a field. A road runs through the upper right corner. — ***(photos by Richard Williams)***

Fans on Sunday saw Herts Falcons’ final home game of the regular season which was part of the club’s NBL Pilot project which aims to grow the fan base and the number of spectators by providing a more immersive game day experience. Dacorum Deputy Mayor Cllr. Brenda Link was the guest of honour throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

After the game Herts co-General Manager, Aspi Dimitrov, said that “although this long-term project is in its early stages, attendance levels have been encouraging despite the team’s difficult start of the season. We reached a new audience who watched a baseball game for the first time in their lives at Grovehill Ballpark this year. On Sunday many of the fans stayed through the rain right to the end of the second game to support the team which is an indication that the club has managed to establish an emotional connection with fans. The players and the club are grateful for their support this season and let’s see if the Falcons can reward them by qualifying for the Playoffs, against all odds.”