Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Ravens keep playoff hopes alive

Mike Cattermole had a good game for the Ravens pitching a complete game without any earned runs (photo by Will Baxter)

The Herts Ravens have kept their hopes of qualifying for the AAA League playoffs alive after splitting their doubleheader with the Richmond Knights.

BBF AAA League (Game1): Herts Ravens 7 Richmond Knights 6 (click to view box scores)

The Ravens went into the game looking to extend their 4-game winning streak. Manager Carlos Casal was on the DL and Louis Hare was once again in charge of the team. He led by example producing yet another outstanding pitching performance, but Richmond made it difficult putting together 5 hits and scoring 5 runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-2 lead. It seemed like the game was out of reach for Herts but they somehow managed to reproduce the incredible comeback from the game at Oxford 7 days ago. Dace Westfallen, Jonathon Lewys, Gilberto Medina and Aspi Dimitrov each came through with a hit to put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position, but there were two outs and all the pressure fell on the young shoulders of first baseman, Kyle Lloyd-Jones. The Great Britain Under-19 National Team player drove a bullet through the infield to bring in two runs giving the Ravens a 7-6 lead. He went 3-for-4 with 4 RBI in that game.

Louis Hare kept his composure and closed the game in the bottom of the final inning in a dramatic come-from-behind win for Herts.

BBF AAA League (Game2): Herts Ravens 5 Richmond Knights 2 (click to view box scores)

The Ravens were unable to keep the momentum going in the second game. Richmond pitcher, Julio Malpica, had an outstanding game allowing only 2 runs on 3 hits. Matt Spaulding had two of those hits and Kal Dimitrov had the other for Herts.

2 runs could have been enough for the Ravens as Mie Cattermole pitched a gem of a game. He allowed only 6 hits and no earned runs. It was only the defensively shaky third and fourth inning which cost Herts dearly.

The two runs in the sixth inning reduced Richmond’s lead to 5-2 and the stage was set for another dramatic Ravens comeback, but it wasn’t to be. Malpica held on for the win.

After this round of games, the Ravens are in sixth place. The odds are against them but their good run has given them a hope of reaching the playoffs. They are 4 games back on the playoff places with 12 games to play. They will need to win 2 out of every 3 games between now and the end of the regular season to stand a chance. They have won 6 of the last 10 so they are more less on track, but need to maintain that momentum.

Update: 24 hours after the game the Ravens received the bad news that pitcher Louis Hare has fractured his elbow in two places playing football. It is uncertain how long it would take for him to return to action. Initial estimates suggest between 3 and 6 weeks as a minimum, but could be as long as 3 months. The one positive is that it is not his throwing arm so he may be able to return as a pitcher with another batter batting for him as a designated hitter.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Herts Ravens 2 Richmond Knights 5 – BBF AAA League

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

 

Richmond Knights 5, Herts Ravens 2
Richmond Knights Herts Ravens
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Y. Saito ss 3 0 1 0 SPAULDING Matt rf 3 1 2 0
P. Lane 3b 3 0 0 1 CATTERMOLE Mike p 2 0 0 0
J. Malpica p 3 1 0 0 LLOYD-JONES Kyle 1b 3 0 0 0
P. Igoe 1b 3 0 1 1 LEWYS Jonathon c 2 0 0 1
H. Luoma lf 3 0 1 0 HARE Louis ss 3 0 0 0
B. Yap rf 3 1 0 0 WESTFALLEN Dave 3b 3 0 0 0
C. Snider cf 3 0 1 0 MEDINA Gilberto 2b 3 0 0 0
C. Pratt c 3 1 1 0 DIMITROV Ilya cf 3 0 0 0
J. Irving 2b 3 2 1 0 DIMITROV Kal lf 3 1 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 27 5 6 2 TEAM TOTALS 25 2 3 1

 

E: P. Lane, WESTFALLEN Dave(3), LLOYD-JONES Kyle. DP: Herts Ravens 1. LOB: Richmond
Knights 4, Herts Ravens 4. SB: Y. Saito(2), P. Igoe, C. Pratt, J. Irving, B. Yap,
HARE Louis, SPAULDING Matt. CS: H. Luoma. SF: LEWYS Jonathon.

 

Richmond Knights IP H R ER BB SO
J. Malpica W 7.00 3 2 1 0 8
Herts Ravens
CATTERMOLE Mike L 6.00 6 5 0 0 2

 

HBP: by J. Malpica (CATTERMOLE Mike). . WP: J. Malpica(4), CATTERMOLE Mike(2). PB: C.
Pratt, LEWYS Jonathon(2). T: 1:35. A: 34.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 1st:
SPAULDING Matt singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch.
CATTERMOLE Mike struck out swinging.
LLOYD-JONES Kyle struck out swinging.
LEWYS Jonathon grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 1st:
Y. Saito singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
P. Lane lined out.
J. Malpica grounded out.
P. Igoe grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 2nd:
HARE Louis grounded out.
WESTFALLEN Dave grounded out.
MEDINA Gilberto struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 2nd:
H. Luoma reached on error, batted forward to 3rd.
B. Yap bunted out.
C. Snider grounded out.
C. Pratt grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 3rd:
DIMITROV Ilya struck out swinging.
DIMITROV Kal grounded out.
SPAULDING Matt struck out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 3rd:
J. Irving singled, stole 2nd, advanced to home on error.
Y. Saito flied out.
P. Lane flied out.
J. Malpica reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch,
batted forward to home.
P. Igoe singled, stole 2nd, 1 RBI.
H. Luoma grounded out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 4th:
CATTERMOLE Mike struck out.
LLOYD-JONES Kyle reached on dropped 3rd strike WP, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch.
LEWYS Jonathon popped out.
HARE Louis flied out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 4th:
B. Yap reached on dropped 3rd strike PB, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, advanced
to home on wild pitch.
C. Snider flied out foul.
C. Pratt singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, advanced to home on
error.
J. Irving reached on fielder’s choice, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to
3rd on error, batted forward to home.
Y. Saito reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
P. Lane grounded out, 1 RBI.
J. Malpica flied out foul.
3 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 5th:
WESTFALLEN Dave grounded out.
MEDINA Gilberto popped out.
DIMITROV Ilya popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 5th:
P. Igoe grounded out.
H. Luoma singled, caught trying to steal 2nd.
B. Yap struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 6th:
DIMITROV Kal singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to home.
SPAULDING Matt singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, advanced to home
on error.
CATTERMOLE Mike hit by pitch, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to 3rd on
error.
LLOYD-JONES Kyle struck out swinging.
LEWYS Jonathon sacrifice flied, 1 RBI.
HARE Louis reached on error, stole 2nd.
WESTFALLEN Dave flied out foul.
2 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 6th:
C. Snider singled, advanced to 2nd on error, tagged out going to 3rd.
C. Pratt hit into double play.
J. Irving grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 7th:
MEDINA Gilberto grounded out.
DIMITROV Ilya grounded out.
DIMITROV Kal flied out foul.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Herts Ravens 7 Richmond Knights 6 – BBF AAA League

Herts Ravens at Richmond Knights
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Ravens 0 1 1 0 0 1 4 7 11 1
Richmond Knights 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 6 10 2

 

Herts Ravens 7, Richmond Knights 6
Herts Ravens Richmond Knights
ab r h bi ab r h bi
SPAULDING Matt rf 4 0 0 0 P. Lane 3b-1b 4 1 1 0
CATTERMOLE Mike 3b 5 0 1 0 J. Malpica 2b 4 0 1 0
WESTFALLEN Dave c 4 2 1 0 D. Igoe c 3 1 1 0
LEWYS Jonathon lf 4 1 2 0 H. Luoma rf 4 2 1 1
HARE Louis p 3 1 1 0 A. Webb cf 3 0 1 1
MEDINA Gilberto ss 4 1 2 1 (b7) H Sub 2 cf 1 0 0 0
DIMITROV Aspi 2b 3 2 1 2 A. Moffat 1b 1 0 1 0
DIMITROV Ilya cf 3 0 0 0 (t3) H Sub 1 ss 2 0 2 2
LLOYD-JONES Kyle 1b 4 0 3 4 C. Snider lf 2 1 0 0
C. Abouchar 3b-ss 3 1 1 0
J. Irving p 3 0 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 34 7 11 7 TEAM TOTALS 30 6 10 4

 

E: MEDINA Gilberto, P. Lane, J. Malpica. LOB: Richmond Knights 5, Herts Ravens 10.
SB: DIMITROV Aspi, H. Luoma.

 

Herts Ravens IP H R ER BB SO
HARE Louis W 7.00 10 6 5 2 2
Richmond Knights
J. Irving L 7.00 11 7 5 4 4

 

PB: D. Igoe. T: 1:50. A: 34.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 1st:
SPAULDING Matt lined out.
CATTERMOLE Mike grounded out.
WESTFALLEN Dave reached on error, forced out at 2nd.
LEWYS Jonathon reached on fielder’s choice.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 1st:
P. Lane grounded out.
J. Malpica grounded out.
D. Igoe popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 2nd:
HARE Louis walked, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, batted forward to home.
MEDINA Gilberto popped out.
DIMITROV Aspi popped out.
DIMITROV Ilya walked, batted forward to 3rd.
LLOYD-JONES Kyle singled, 1 RBI.
SPAULDING Matt flied out.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 2nd:
H. Luoma grounded out.
A. Webb grounded out.
A. Moffat singled.
C. Snider grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 3rd:
CATTERMOLE Mike struck out swinging.
WESTFALLEN Dave reached on error, batted forward to home.
LEWYS Jonathon singled, batted forward to 3rd.
HARE Louis singled, batted forward to 2nd.
MEDINA Gilberto singled, 1 RBI.
DIMITROV Aspi popped out.
DIMITROV Ilya flied out.
1 run, 3 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 3rd:
C. Abouchar grounded out.
J. Irving grounded out.
P. Lane grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 4th:
LLOYD-JONES Kyle struck out swinging.
SPAULDING Matt popped out.
CATTERMOLE Mike singled.
WESTFALLEN Dave struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 4th:
J. Malpica singled, forced out at 2nd.
D. Igoe reached on fielder’s choice, advanced to 2nd on error, forced out at 3rd.
H. Luoma reached on error, batted forward to home.
A. Webb reached on fielder’s choice, tagged out going to 2nd.
H Sub 1 singled, 1 RBI.
1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 5th:
LEWYS Jonathon grounded out.
HARE Louis grounded out.
MEDINA Gilberto grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 5th:
C. Snider walked, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on throw.
C. Abouchar singled, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on throw, batted forward
to home.
J. Irving popped out.
P. Lane singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on
throw.
J. Malpica struck out swinging.
D. Igoe walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on throw, batted forward to
home.
H. Luoma singled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
A. Webb singled, batted forward to 2nd, 1 RBI.
H Sub 1 singled, 1 RBI.
C. Snider grounded out.
5 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 6th:
DIMITROV Aspi walked, batted forward to home.
DIMITROV Ilya grounded out.
LLOYD-JONES Kyle singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, 1 RBI.
SPAULDING Matt popped out.
CATTERMOLE Mike grounded out.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 6th:
C. Abouchar grounded out.
J. Irving singled, tagged out going to 2nd.
P. Lane struck out looking.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 7th:
WESTFALLEN Dave singled, batted forward to home.
LEWYS Jonathon singled, batted forward to home.
HARE Louis flied out.
MEDINA Gilberto singled, batted forward to home.
DIMITROV Aspi singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home, 2 RBI.
DIMITROV Ilya grounded out.
LLOYD-JONES Kyle singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, 2 RBI.
SPAULDING Matt walked.
CATTERMOLE Mike struck out looking.
4 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Richmond Knights – Bottom of the 7th:
J. Malpica grounded out.
D. Igoe singled, forced out at 2nd.
H. Luoma reached on fielder’s choice, stole 2nd.
H Sub 2 popped out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Young Eagles go down in battle with Old Timers

Will Duncan Hoyle be the 2013 Herts Eagles Home Run Champion after he picked up an inside-the-park-homerun against the Old Timers?

BBF A-League, Old Timers 28 Herts Eagles 17

Report by Michael Cresswell

After last week’s defeat by the Herts Raptors, the Eagles were determined to come back with a win and their opposition was the Old Timers who were also coming to Grovehill from a defeat.

The Old Timers record was misleading as they were currently 1-6 but with every game coming close and only losing by 5 to the Milton Keynes Coyotes the previous week the Eagles had to be at their best. The Eagles would also be missing their manager Duncan Hoyle so taking over today was Joseph Osbourne-Brade who would be making his managerial debut.

Starting on the mound for the Eagles would be Mike Cresswell who was making his first start as the starting pitcher while the experienced Tony Smyth would be taking the mound for the Old Timers.

The game started with a shaky few pitches from Mike Cresswell but found his groove after the first by striking out the side in the 2nd. On the batting side, the Eagles were getting on base with a lovely extra base hit from Serge Plata and other hits from Tom Kosak, Jamie Lang, Will Belbin and the ever reliable Adrian Smithers but unfortunately were stranding them on base. By the third inning however the runs were coming through for the Eagles and the game was a very close 7-5.

As the game progressed through the innings the Eagles were suffering still from leaving men on base however the Old Timers were slowly gaining runs making it 19-5 in the top of the 6th. But the bottom of the 6th showed the Eagles were not going to die out and with hits from nearly everyone including Duncan Hoyle (Who had arrived by the 6th) and a very strong hit to the fence from James Holt, the Eagles were generating runs and swinging the momentum into their favour, bringing it back to 19-10.

After pitching 6 innings, giving up 15 earned runs and striking out 8 batters, Mike Cresswell’s day was done on the mound and Jamie Lang came into relief for the Eagles and pitched a great first inning, only giving up one run and still keeping the momentum going for the Eagles. The 7th inning was almost a repeat of the previous, with more hits and another walk to the tally of Adam Landau-Smithers who came around to score, the game was 20-14 meaning this game would go on to at least another inning of enjoyment for both teams.

The 8th inning started with a strong amount of runs for the Old Timers with hits from Hector Correa-Amundarain, Billy Gibney and Richard Turpin helping them to score more runs to solidify their lead. The Eagles were determined to still score runs however with even more hits from Jamie Lang and Serge Plata who had great days at plate, but the game included something which has not happened to the Eagles this season. With Plata and Lang on base, Duncan Hoyle managed to hit an impressive inside the park home run to deep center field, making him currently the HR leader of the Eagles. However it was just not enough runs to keep the game going and the Eagles were beaten by the Old Timers with a score of 28-17.

The game was played with full enjoyment from both teams and though the Eagles may have left many on base, the error count was very low and everyone had a great day. Also a special thanks goes to Joseph Osbourne-Brade not only for managing in his debut but for also umpiring the entire game fairly and very well.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Cardinals hit back-to-back homers, but lose to London Sports. Impressive pitching debut for 8-year-old Josh Jones in U14 League

This tough fastball by pitcher Kenjo was sent over the right field wall by Alex Guthrie for a home run

London Sports travelled to Grovehill Ballpark and secured two convincing wins against the Herts Cardinals in the BBF U14 League, however Herts almost turned the second game on its head. London Sports had brought on their flame-throwing side-arm pitcher, Kenjo, and initially that put the Cardinals batters on the defensive, but they decided not to feel sorry for themselves and exploded in the bottom of the third. First 10-year-old Aaron Witter got a hold of a fastball to drive it over the outfield wall in left-centerfield for the first home run of his career in the U14 League. The next batter was Alex Guthrie and he launched the ball the opposite way deep over the right field wall close to the foul pole to make it back-to-back home runs and to put Herts back in the game.

London Sports pitcher, Kenjo, had his revenge an inning later when he launched a homerun of his own to left field.

8-year-old Josh Jones made his debut on the mound in the U14 league and he impressed allowing only 3 earned runs in 3 innings, striking out 4 and walking only 3. It is not a coincidence that the Great Britain coaching staff monitored him carefully during the recent European Big League Tour at the Soccer Dome.

Ben Jones is also making excellent progress with the bat. He batted 3-for-4 over the two games. Two of the hits were in game one when Jones was the only Herts batter to get a hit against the talented London Sports starting pitcher, Landon Thomas.

BBF U14 League (Game 1): London Sports 15 Herts Cardinals 0 (click to view box scores)

BBF U14 League (Game 2): London Sports 18 Herts Cardinals 6 (click to view box scores)

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: London Sports 18 Herts Cardinals 6 – BBF U14 League

London Sports  at Herts Cardinals U14
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
London Sports 3 5 2 5 2 1 18 12 0
Herts Cardinals U14 1 1 2 2 0 0 6 6 6

 

London Sports 18, Herts Cardinals U14 6
London Sports Herts Cardinals U14
ab r h bi ab r h bi
V Player 1 rf 3 2 1 1 Aaron Witter ss 3 2 2 1
V Player 2 3b 3 2 1 0 Alex Guthrie 3b-cf 4 1 1 1
V Player 3 ss 4 3 1 0 Oliver Durer 2b 3 0 0 0
V Player 4 cf 4 4 1 2 Ben Jones c-3b 2 0 1 1
V Player 5 1b 4 3 2 1 Christian Lynch lf 3 0 1 0
V Player 6 lf 5 1 2 1 Josh Jones rf-p 0 2 0 0
V Player 7 2b 2 1 1 1 Adam White 1b 3 0 0 0
V Player 8 c 3 1 2 1 James Roberts cf-c 3 1 1 2
V Player 9 p 3 1 1 1 Alex Deacon 3b-p-rf 3 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 31 18 12 8 TEAM TOTALS 24 6 6 5

 

E: Aaron Witter(3), Alex Guthrie(2), Oliver Durer. DP: Herts Cardinals U14 1. LOB:
Herts Cardinals U14 4, VISITOR Opponent Team 10. 2B: V Player 4, V Player 5, V Player
7, V Player 9. HR: V Player 1, Aaron Witter, Alex Guthrie. SB: V Player 6(2), V
Player 7, V Player 9, V Player 2, V Player 4, Aaron Witter(2).

 

London Sports IP H R ER BB SO
V Player 9 W 6.00 6 6 5 4 9
Herts Cardinals U14
Josh Jones 3.00 8 8 3 3 4
Alex Deacon L 2.33 4 10 5 10 2

 

WP: V Player 9(6), Alex Deacon(6), Josh Jones(4). PB: V Player 8, James Roberts(5).
T: 2:10. A: 45.
VISITOR Opponent Team – Top of the 1st:
V Player 1 walked, advanced to 2nd on error, forced out at 3rd.
V Player 2 struck out swinging.
V Player 3 reached on error, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on throw,
advanced to home on error.
V Player 4 reached on fielder’s choice, advanced to 2nd on throw, advanced to 3rd on
error, advanced to home on wild pitch.
V Player 5 walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced
to home on wild pitch.
V Player 6 reached on error, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch.
V Player 7 walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch.
V Player 8 walked.
V Player 9 flied out.
3 runs, 0 hits, 3 errors, 3 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 1st:
Aaron Witter walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, batted forward to home.
Alex Guthrie flied out.
Oliver Durer lined out.
Ben Jones singled, 1 RBI.
Christian Lynch grounded out.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
VISITOR Opponent Team – Top of the 2nd:
V Player 1 walked, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on wild pitch.
V Player 2 walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, tagged out
going to home.
V Player 3 singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to
home on throw.
V Player 4 reached on fielder’s choice, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to
3rd, advanced to home on wild pitch.
V Player 5 singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to home.
V Player 6 grounded out.
V Player 7 walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, advanced to
home on error.
V Player 8 singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on error, 1 RBI.
V Player 9 walked, advanced to 2nd on error.
V Player 1 reached on error.
5 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 2nd:
Josh Jones walked, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch,
batted forward to home.
Adam White struck out swinging.
James Roberts grounded out, 1 RBI.
Alex Deacon grounded out.
1 run, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
VISITOR Opponent Team – Top of the 3rd:
V Player 2 walked, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, advanced to home on wild pitch.
V Player 3 grounded out.
V Player 4 walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home.
V Player 5 struck out swinging.
V Player 6 singled, stole 2nd, 1 RBI.
V Player 7 struck out swinging.
2 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 3rd:
Aaron Witter hit solo home run, 1 RBI.
Alex Guthrie hit solo home run, 1 RBI.
Oliver Durer struck out swinging.
Ben Jones grounded out.
Christian Lynch struck out swinging.
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
VISITOR Opponent Team – Top of the 4th:
V Player 8 walked, forced out at 2nd.
V Player 9 hit into double play.
V Player 1 hit solo home run, 1 RBI.
V Player 2 singled, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to 3rd on passed ball,
batted forward to home.
V Player 3 walked, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, batted forward to home.
V Player 4 doubled, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, batted forward to home, 2 RBI.
V Player 5 ground rule doubled, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home, 1
RBI.
V Player 6 reached on error, batted forward to 3rd.
V Player 7 doubled, 1 RBI.
5 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 4th:
Josh Jones walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch,
batted forward to home.
Adam White struck out swinging.
James Roberts singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to 3rd, advanced
to home on wild pitch, 1 RBI.
Alex Deacon grounded out.
Aaron Witter struck out swinging.
2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
VISITOR Opponent Team – Top of the 5th:
V Player 8 singled, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, batted forward to home.
V Player 9 ground rule doubled, stole 3rd, advanced to home on wild pitch, 1 RBI.
V Player 1 flied out.
V Player 2 flied out.
V Player 3 grounded out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 5th:
Alex Guthrie struck out swinging.
Oliver Durer struck out swinging.
Christian Lynch singled, batted forward to 2nd.
Josh Jones walked.
Adam White flied out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
VISITOR Opponent Team – Top of the 6th:
V Player 4 struck out swinging.
V Player 5 struck out swinging.
V Player 6 singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to home on wild pitch.
V Player 7 walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch.
V Player 8 struck out swinging.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 6th:
James Roberts struck out swinging.
Alex Deacon grounded out.
Aaron Witter singled, stole 2nd.
Alex Guthrie struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: London Sports 15 Herts Cardinals 0 – BBF U14 League

London Sports U14 at Herts Cardinals U14
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 R H E
London Sports U14 5 0 5 5 15 7 0
Herts Cardinals U14 0 0 0 0 0 2 4

 

London Sports U14 15, Herts Cardinals U14 0
London Sports U14 Herts Cardinals U14
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Gray Koyanagi ss 1 1 0 0 Alex Deacon ss 2 0 0 0
Jarred Martin 3b 3 3 3 1 James Roberts lf 2 0 0 0
Hudson Koyanagi lf 3 1 0 0 Ben Jones c 2 0 2 0
Landon Thomas p 1 3 1 0 Alex Guthrie 3b 2 0 0 0
Coleman Bohn c 2 3 2 3 Christian Lynch 2b 1 0 0 0
Gabe Nafiski 1b 2 2 0 0 Oliver Durer cf 1 0 0 0
(t4) V Sub 1 1b 1 1 1 1 Adam White 1b 1 0 0 0
Joseph Perez 2b 0 1 0 0 Aaron Witter p 1 0 0 0
Quinton Link rf 1 0 0 1 Josh Jones b 0 0 0 0
Angus Kaplan cf 3 0 0 2
TEAM TOTALS 17 15 7 8 TEAM TOTALS 12 0 2 0

 

E: Alex Guthrie(2), Alex Deacon, Aaron Witter. DP: London Sports U14 1. LOB: Herts
Cardinals U14 4, London Sports U14 4. 2B: Jarred Martin(3), Coleman Bohn. SB: Jarred
Martin(2), Gabe Nafiski.

 

London Sports U14 IP H R ER BB SO
Landon Thomas W 4.00 2 0 0 4 4
Herts Cardinals U14
Aaron Witter L 2.33 7 15 8 7 3

 

HBP: by Aaron Witter (Gray Koyanagi), by Aaron Witter (Landon Thomas). . . . WP:
Landon Thomas, Aaron Witter(7). PB: Ben Jones. T: 1:30. A: 45.
London Sports U14 – Top of the 1st:
Gray Koyanagi hit by pitch, batted forward to home.
Jarred Martin doubled, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
Hudson Koyanagi struck out swinging.
Landon Thomas hit by pitch, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to home.
Coleman Bohn doubled, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to home on wild pitch, 2 RBI.
Gabe Nafiski reached on error, stole 2nd, advanced to home on wild pitch.
Joseph Perez walked.
5 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 1st:
Alex Deacon grounded out.
James Roberts grounded out.
Ben Jones singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch.
Alex Guthrie struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
London Sports U14 – Top of the 2nd:
Quinton Link struck out swinging.
Angus Kaplan grounded out.
Gray Koyanagi popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 2nd:
Christian Lynch struck out swinging.
Oliver Durer walked, forced out at 2nd.
Adam White hit into double play.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
London Sports U14 – Top of the 3rd:
Jarred Martin ground rule doubled, stole 3rd, advanced to home on error.
Hudson Koyanagi reached on error, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild
pitch, batted forward to home.
Landon Thomas singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to 3rd, advanced
to home on wild pitch.
Coleman Bohn singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to home on error, 1 RBI.
Gabe Nafiski reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to 3rd on wild
pitch, batted forward to home.
Joseph Perez walked, batted forward to 3rd.
Quinton Link walked, batted forward to 2nd.
Angus Kaplan grounded out, 1 RBI.
5 runs, 3 hits, 3 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 3rd:
Aaron Witter walked, forced out at 2nd.
Alex Deacon flied out.
James Roberts reached on fielder’s choice, batted forward to 2nd, tagged out after
over running base.
Ben Jones singled.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
London Sports U14 – Top of the 4th:
Jarred Martin doubled, stole 3rd, advanced to home on wild pitch.
Hudson Koyanagi struck out swinging.
Landon Thomas walked, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, batted forward to home.
Coleman Bohn walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to home.
V Sub 1 singled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
Joseph Perez walked, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on passed ball.
Quinton Link walked, batted forward to 2nd, 1 RBI.
Angus Kaplan grounded out, 1 RBI.
5 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Cardinals U14 – Bottom of the 4th:
Alex Guthrie struck out swinging.
Christian Lynch walked, batted forward to 3rd.
Oliver Durer struck out swinging.
Adam White walked, forced out at 2nd.
Aaron Witter reached on fielder’s choice.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Ravens sweep leaders to cause biggest upset in AAA League season so far

Herts Ravens starting pitcher Louis Hare is now 2-0 for the season

Despite picking up two wins 7 days ago, the Herts Ravens were still languishing in the bottom end of the standings when they travelled to Oxford to face the AAA League leaders. The odds were stacked heavily against the Ravens and not even the most optimistic Herts fans would have predicted the eventual outcome of this Sunday’s doubleheader.

AAA League (Game1) Herts Ravens 6 Oxford Kings 4 (click to view box scores)

Manager Carlos Casal was unable to travel with the team after he aggravated his knee injury in the closing moments of last week’s game with the Leones. He had given his instructions to stand-in manager Louis Hare and one of those instructions was Hare to start on the mound in game 1. His last pitching outing was outstanding securing a 5-2 win against the red-hot Badgers. The team would need a similar performance to stay in the game and Louis Hare did not disappoint. Despite finding himself 4-1 down after 3 innings he shut the Kings out putting zeros in the next 4 innings.

Inside-the-park homerun by Xavier Gonzalez got the energy back into the Herts Ravens (photo by Will Baxter)

Time was running out and he needed some run-support. It came in the form of a 2-out inside the park home run by shortstop Xavier Gonzalez. That fired up the whole team. In the sixth inning they produced a big rally once again with two outs. Hits from Carlos Velazco-Carus (1-3, 2RBI, SB), Vassil Botev (1-4, SB) and again Xavier Gonzalez (3-4, 3RBI, HR, SB) contributed to a 4-run inning to give Herts a 6-4 lead.

Louis Hare, with solid support from his defence, shut the door on the Kings to secure a very satisfying come-from-behind win.

Liam Green shutout the Kings today (photo by Will Baxter)

AAA League (Game2) Herts Ravens 13 Oxford Kings 0 (F/5) (click to view box scores)

17-year-old Liam Green was the starting pitcher for Herts in the second game. The youngster from Hemel Hempstead has grown up with the Herts Baseball organisation from the age of 11 and he is now starting to add control to go along with his very strong arm. One-after-another the Oxford batters struggled to make any kind of solid contact. Any pitches which they managed to put in play were picked up by a Ravens defence which was outstanding the whole day. The team committed only 1 error in the first game of the day and no errors in the second game.

Oxford were also solid defensively committing only 1 error, but a combination of 10 hits and 9 walks cost them as the visitors from Hertfordshire built up a 13-0 lead. Jon Lewys stood out with the bat hitting 3-for-3 with 2 RBI.

Liam Green stayed strong until the end pitching a 2-hitter, complete game shutout. Most importantly he walked only 3, a sign that he is gradually becoming a pitcher rather than just a thrower.

Manager Carlos Casal was kept abreast of events in Oxford and was delighted with the result. “I am very proud of the whole team. Great work. I just wish I was there” said Casal.

The win lifts the Herts Ravens into 6th place in the standings with a 5-9 record. It is still very difficult to imagine that they can turn a nightmare 1-9 start of the season and sneak into the playoff positions, but if they continue to play flawless baseball as they did today, we could be looking at the most amazing comeback in sport.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Herts Ravens 13 Oxford Kings 0 – AAA League

Herts Ravens at Oxford Kings
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Herts Ravens 0 5 5 0 3 13 10 0
Oxford Kings 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1

 

Herts Ravens 13, Oxford Kings 0
Herts Ravens Oxford Kings
ab r h bi ab r h bi
GREEN Liam p 2 1 1 1 Aaron Kahn lf 2 0 0 0
GONZALEZ Xavier ss 4 1 1 3 H Fredericksen cf 2 0 0 0
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos 3b 3 1 1 0 Masa Egawa c 1 0 0 0
HARE Louis 1b 2 2 0 0 Jorge Machado 2b 3 0 0 0
LEWYS Jonathon lf 3 2 3 2 P Sculmyer 3b 2 0 0 0
MEDINA Gilberto 2b 2 1 1 1 J Le Bregud 1b 1 0 0 0
BOTEV Vassil rf 3 1 1 1 J Rowersox p 2 0 1 0
(b5) BROWN Conner rf 0 0 0 0 N Hill ss 2 0 1 0
DIMITROV Aspi cf 4 2 2 3 R Farrell rf 2 0 0 0
CARESS Jake c 2 2 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 25 13 10 11 TEAM TOTALS 17 0 2 0

 

E: N Hill. LOB: Oxford Kings 7, Herts Ravens 8. SB: LEWYS Jonathon(2), GONZALEZ
Xavier, VELASCO-CARUS Carlos.

 

Herts Ravens IP H R ER BB SO
GREEN Liam W 5.00 2 0 0 3 4
Oxford Kings
J Rowersox L 5.00 10 13 11 9 3

 

HBP: by J Rowersox (LEWYS Jonathon). , by GREEN Liam (Aaron Kahn). . , by J Rowersox
(MEDINA Gilberto), by GREEN Liam (H Fredericksen). T: 1:35. A: 38.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 1st:
GREEN Liam popped out.
GONZALEZ Xavier grounded out.
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos walked.
HARE Louis grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 1st:
Aaron Kahn struck out swinging.
H Fredericksen struck out looking.
Masa Egawa walked.
Jorge Machado popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 2nd:
LEWYS Jonathon hit by pitch, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
MEDINA Gilberto flied out.
BOTEV Vassil walked, batted forward to home.
DIMITROV Aspi singled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
CARESS Jake walked, batted forward to home.
GREEN Liam walked, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
GONZALEZ Xavier singled, batted forward to 3rd, tagged out going to home, 2 RBI.
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos struck out looking.
HARE Louis walked, batted forward to 2nd.
LEWYS Jonathon singled, 1 RBI.
5 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 2nd:
P Sculmyer struck out swinging.
J Le Bregud walked, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
J Rowersox singled, batted forward to 2nd.
N Hill reached on fielder’s choice.
R Farrell struck out swinging.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 3rd:
MEDINA Gilberto singled, batted forward to home.
BOTEV Vassil grounded out.
DIMITROV Aspi singled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
CARESS Jake walked, batted forward to home.
GREEN Liam walked, forced out at 2nd.
GONZALEZ Xavier reached on fielder’s choice, stole 2nd, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
HARE Louis walked, batted forward to home.
LEWYS Jonathon singled, batted forward to 3rd, 1 RBI.
MEDINA Gilberto walked, batted forward to 2nd, 1 RBI.
BOTEV Vassil singled, 1 RBI.
DIMITROV Aspi struck out looking.
5 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 3rd:
Aaron Kahn hit by pitch, forced out at 2nd.
H Fredericksen reached on fielder’s choice, batted forward to 3rd.
Masa Egawa walked, forced out at 2nd.
Jorge Machado reached on fielder’s choice.
P Sculmyer flied out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 4th:
CARESS Jake flied out foul.
GREEN Liam singled.
GONZALEZ Xavier struck out looking.
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos flied out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 4th:
J Le Bregud flied out.
J Rowersox grounded out.
N Hill singled.
R Farrell grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 5th:
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos singled, stole 2nd, advanced to home on error.
HARE Louis reached on error, batted forward to home.
LEWYS Jonathon singled, batted forward to 3rd, stole home.
MEDINA Gilberto hit by pitch, forced out at 2nd.
BOTEV Vassil out by infield fly rule.
DIMITROV Aspi reached on fielder’s choice, 1 RBI.
CARESS Jake grounded out.
3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 5th:
Aaron Kahn grounded out.
H Fredericksen hit by pitch.
Masa Egawa flied out.
Jorge Machado flied out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Herts Ravens 6 Oxford Kings 4 – AAA League

Herts Ravens at Oxford Kings
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Ravens 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 6 10 1
Oxford Kings 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 4 9 2

 

Herts Ravens 6, Oxford Kings 4
Herts Ravens Oxford Kings
ab r h bi ab r h bi
GREEN Liam 2b 2 1 0 0 Aaron Kahn lf 4 0 2 0
GONZALEZ Xavier ss 4 2 3 3 H Fredricksen cf 4 1 2 1
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos 3b 3 0 1 2 Masa Egawa c 4 0 0 0
HARE Louis p 2 1 0 0 Jorge Machado 2b 3 0 0 0
LEWYS Jonathon lf 4 0 3 0 C Hays p 2 1 0 0
MEDINA Gilberto 1b 4 0 1 0 J Lorrea 1b 3 1 1 0
CARESS Jake cf 4 1 1 0 J Rowersox ss 3 1 1 0
BROWN Conner c 4 0 0 0 A Stegeman 3b 3 0 2 0
BOTEV Vassil rf 4 1 1 0 R. Farrell rf 3 0 1 2
TEAM TOTALS 31 6 10 5 TEAM TOTALS 29 4 9 3

 

E: LEWYS Jonathon, J Rowersox(2). DP: Oxford Kings 1. LOB: Oxford Kings 5, Herts
Ravens 9. 2B: R. Farrell. HR: GONZALEZ Xavier, H Fredricksen. SB: GONZALEZ Xavier,
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos, BOTEV Vassil, C Hays, J Rowersox. CS: VELASCO-CARUS Carlos.

 

Herts Ravens IP H R ER BB SO
HARE Louis W 7.00 9 4 2 1 2
Oxford Kings
C Hays L 7.00 10 6 5 1 9

 

HBP: by C Hays (GREEN Liam). . , by C Hays (VELASCO-CARUS Carlos), by C Hays (HARE
Louis). , by C Hays (GREEN Liam). . WP: C Hays(4). PB: Masa Egawa. T: 1:44. A: 35.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 1st:
GREEN Liam popped out.
GONZALEZ Xavier singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, tagged out going to
home.
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos reached on error, caught trying to steal 2nd.
0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 1st:
Aaron Kahn flied out.
H Fredricksen grounded out.
Masa Egawa popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 2nd:
HARE Louis walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, advanced to
home on error.
LEWYS Jonathon singled, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to 3rd on error.
MEDINA Gilberto struck out swinging.
CARESS Jake flied out.
BROWN Conner reached on error, forced out at 2nd.
BOTEV Vassil reached on fielder’s choice.
1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 2nd:
Jorge Machado grounded out.
C Hays walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on error.
J Lorrea singled, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to home.
J Rowersox singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
A Stegeman popped out.
R. Farrell doubled, 2 RBI.
Aaron Kahn grounded out.
3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 3rd:
GREEN Liam hit by pitch, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch.
GONZALEZ Xavier popped out.
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos flied out.
HARE Louis struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 3rd:
H Fredricksen hit solo home run, 1 RBI.
Masa Egawa grounded out.
Jorge Machado flied out.
C Hays flied out.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 4th:
LEWYS Jonathon singled, batted forward to 3rd.
MEDINA Gilberto singled, forced out at 2nd.
CARESS Jake hit into double play.
BROWN Conner struck out swinging.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 4th:
J Lorrea flied out.
J Rowersox grounded out.
A Stegeman singled.
R. Farrell grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 5th:
BOTEV Vassil struck out.
GREEN Liam flied out.
GONZALEZ Xavier hit solo inside park home run, 1 RBI.
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos hit by pitch, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch.
HARE Louis hit by pitch, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch.
LEWYS Jonathon struck out.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 5th:
Aaron Kahn singled, forced out at 2nd.
H Fredricksen flied out.
Masa Egawa reached on fielder’s choice.
Jorge Machado flied out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 6th:
MEDINA Gilberto struck out swinging.
CARESS Jake reached on dropped 3rd strike WP, batted forward to home.
BROWN Conner struck out swinging.
BOTEV Vassil singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
GREEN Liam hit by pitch, batted forward to home.
GONZALEZ Xavier singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to home, 2 RBI.
VELASCO-CARUS Carlos singled, stole 2nd, 2 RBI.
HARE Louis struck out swinging.
4 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 6th:
C Hays struck out swinging.
J Lorrea flied out.
J Rowersox flied out foul.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 7th:
LEWYS Jonathon singled, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
MEDINA Gilberto flied out.
CARESS Jake singled, batted forward to 2nd.
BROWN Conner reached on fielder’s choice.
BOTEV Vassil flied out.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Oxford Kings – Bottom of the 7th:
A Stegeman singled, batted forward to 3rd, tagged out going to home.
R. Farrell struck out swinging.
Aaron Kahn singled, batted forward to 3rd.
H Fredricksen singled.
Masa Egawa flied out.
0 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.