Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Triple Herts vs London clash this Saturday

While the Herts Eagles, Hawks, Raptors and Ravens take a break from league action this weekend, three other Herts teams are travelling to Finsbury Park for an almighty Herts-versus-London day of baseball this Saturday, 4 May 2013.

First up in the morning the Herts Harriers (U17) will meet the London Mets (U17) in a repeat of their Opening Day clash which was decided in extra-innings. This is only an exhibition game so it will not count towards league standings and quite a large number of players are away on other assignments but is still expected to be a mouth-watering encounter. First pitch is 10:00am

At 10:30am on the adjacent diamond the Herts and London U11 teams will meet in another exhibition game. Over the years the London U11 team has been superior to the much younger Herts U11 team but they are a year older now and it will be interesting to see the outcome of this game and assess the progress made by the Herts U11 programme.

Immediately after the end of the youth baseball games, everyone is looking forward to the NBL clash between the Mets and the Falcons. The Mets (2-0) have played only 2 league games so far due to a rainout against Harlow last month so it is difficult to say where the Mets are likely to stand in August. They are the only team with a 100% winning record and the only team to sweep the Lakenheath Diamondbacks this season. This would indicate that the balance of power in the NBL race could be shifting towards the Mets. All the scouting reports received so far seem to support this.

Herts Falcons (5-1) go into Saturday’s titanic clash tied at the top of the NBL standings with the Southampton Mustangs (5-1). They know that a sweep for the Mets would push them down into third place while the Mets will go into first. The first pitch in this doubleheader is scheduled for 1pm. If you don’t have anything else planned for this Bank Holiday Saturday, get down to Finsbury Park for this top-of-the-table matchup.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Club structure tries to keep up with growth

10 years ago Herts Baseball Club had around 15 members and one adult team. The club has changed beyond recognition since then. There are now 5 Herts teams playing in the adult baseball leagues as well as 4 youth league teams. The facilities have doubled in size with two purpose-built diamonds and the club had 127 paying members at its last Annual General Meeting in November 2012.

This fast growth has prompted the club to seek a better organisational structure. In the early days the club could be administered by just three members of staff – secretary, treasurer and team manager. To a certain extent the model can be replicated with each new team, but there comes a point at which the model is no longer viable. Herts reached that point around 18 months ago.

Over the last six months the club has been making the gradual transition to a new more departmentalised model, which is expected to give the club the capacity to accommodate further growth in the next few years.

The size of the club’s Executive Board has increased from 8 members last year to 12. Two weeks ago the club added its thirteenth Board member when Joe Gray was appointed as the club’s first Non-Executive member of the Board.

Apart from increasing the size of the Board, the club has established eight subcommittees covering the club’s various operations and departments as shown below. Some of them are still at their very early stage and more subcommittee members will be added in due course, but the club is already starting to benefit from this new structure with much more effective communication and decision-making.

As the club grows and evolves so will its structure. The new club structure appears to be an improvement, but perhaps there are other innovative structures and procedures used by other businesses which could be applied effectively by fast-growing British baseball clubs. If you have suggestions and proposals on ways to improve existing procedures and structures, please contact us.

Adult Baseball Committee Media Committee
Andy Cornish Aspi Dimitrov
Arnold Longboy Joe Gray
Carlos Casal Rob Jones
Cris Hiche
Duncan Hoyle Retail Committee
Greg Bochan Mark Caress
Joe Gray
Lee Manning Events Committee
Aspi Dimitrov
Youth Baseball Committee Joe Gray
Aspi Dimitrov
Cris Hiche Ballpark Committee
Jake Caress Aspi Dimitrov
Lee Manning Dave Ames
Mike Wakelam Joe Gray
Softball Committee Finance Committee
TBC Aspi Dimitrov
Chris Jones
Dave Ames
Mark Caress
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Everyone can play baseball at Herts this summer thanks to Sportivate funding

Herts Baseball Club is one of the largest baseball organisations in this country and it has teamed up with Sportspace (Dacorum Sports Trust) as part of the National Lottery and Sport England’s Sportivate programme to give male and female players the opportunity to play baseball.

From May until July this year there will be weekly training sessions and games for anyone who is interested to play. Participants are able to take part in these sessions free of charge and all baseball equipment will be provided during these sessions. The first session is this Thursday, 2 May, starting at 6pm.

The project is aimed to attract male and female participants aged 14 to 25 and this age range is the main focus but Herts Baseball Club is able to accommodate any age groups from 6 to 55+ year olds, so the club is encouraging anyone who is interested to get involved.

“Over the last 6 months enquiries from people, young and old, interested to give baseball a try have been coming in at an unprecedented rate.” said Club President, Aspi Dimitrov. “It is difficult to say whether this trend is a result of the increasing baseball coverage in the UK or the release of Oscar-nominated baseball movies like Moneyball, but we certainly want to be in a position to satisfy this demand and welcome everyone who wants to play baseball”. Dimitrov added “We are grateful to the Dacorum Sports Trust and the National Lottery’s Sportivate initiative for helping to fund these open sessions and hopefully by the end of the project we will see a large number of people getting involved in the sport and generally staying fit and healthy”

The sessions will be held at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead which is one of the best baseball venues in the United Kingdom and over the years has been the preferred venue for the British Baseball Federation’s National Baseball Championships.

For those who enjoy the sessions and feel like playing baseball on a more regular basis, Herts Baseball Club is able to add them to one of its adult or youth league teams at any time of the year. Male and female players, from the age of 6 to 55+ from complete beginners to advanced players are all welcome.

To confirm interest in attending or to find out more about these sessions click here.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

London Metros dominate against Herts Ravens

The London Metros picked up two comfortable wins against the Herts Ravens in the British AAA League. In both games of the doubleheader the Ravens kept up with the pace of the Metros up to the fourth inning and were very much in the game, but devastating batting display by the team from the capital in the fifth and sixth innings took the games beyond the reach of the Ravens.

Seth Lipstock was back for Herts and he made the defensive play of the day. That sparked a discussion in the Herts Ravens dugout about giving Lipstock an outing on the mound and see if opponents can handle the heat (photo by Will Baxter)

The Metros had the luxury of their NBL team resting this weekend and were able to call upon the services of two of their NBL starting pitchers. Ordinarily, under the league rules NBL pitchers would not be able to pitch in the lower leagues, however by virtue of the fact that the London Mets had played only two league games so far, pitchers who have pitched less than 14 innings for the London Mets in the NBL were able to pitch in this AAA league game. Right-hander Pietro Sollecito gave Herts a concoction of breaking pitches mixed with a change of speed which the visitors were not able to cope with. Sollecito allowed only 4 hits in 5 innings. Carlos Casal, Carlos Velazco-Carus and Dave Westfallen seemed most likely to make solid contact with his pitches and they did produce 3 of the 4 hits. In the bottom half of the innings the Metros always seemed to threaten, even in innings when they were not able to score any runs.

Click to view Game 1 box scores

Jonathan Cramman, the other member of the London Mets (NBL) pitching staff, started on the mound in game two. He also allowed only 4 Herts hits over 6 innings of work. 3 of those hits came in the fourth inning which put the Ravens right back in the game with the score 3-2 to the Metros, but once again London’s bats came alive in the last few innings of the game to complete a deserved 12-2 win.

Seth Lipstock made his first appearance of the season for the Ravens and he showed why he was one of the top performers for the Herts Hawks last season in what was the defensive play of the day. With 1 out Lipstock made a spectacular flyball catch in left field and then threw the ball all the way to home plate on a frozen rope straight into the glove of catcher Jake Caress to apply the tag on the helmet of the oncoming London player who was trying to score on the sacrifice fly. The runner managed to make contact with home plate just before the tag was applied, but that didn’t take away from the impressive throw which fans would expect to see from outfielders like Ichiro or Jeff Francoeur, but not in a AAA League game.

Click to view Game 2 box scores

“We couldn’t have asked for any more from our pitchers Mike Cattermole ad Carlos Velazco-Carus. We just couldn’t produce offensively to keep us in the games” said Herts Ravens Manager, Carlos Casal at the end of the day. He added “Despite the heavy defeats, the score does not tell the full story of these games. There were many positives and my players performed very well”.

With four defeats in the opening four games of the season, this is not the ideal start for the Ravens, but the Hawks had a similarly difficult start last year and ended up in the AA-League postseason and the national semi-finals. The team will certainly stay positive in the knowledge that over these first four games they had to field two very different teams due to player injuries and unavailability. When players like Jon Lewys, Louis Hare, Nic Goetz, Pete Kikel and Rod Naghar – all with previous NBL experience – make their first appearance of the season, the Herts Ravens are expected to be in much better position to compete against the big guns of the AAA League.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Raptors come back to win against tough Old Timers

Pitcher Will Zucker was all smiles as he helped his team secure a vital win against one of the favorites in the Single-A League

Herts Raptors 19 Old Timers 18

BBF Single-A League

written by Ken Pike

The Herts Raptors have placed themselves firmly in pole position of the BBF Single A division after a hard fought four hour battle with arch rivals The Old Timers resulted in a thrilling comeback victory.

The team from Enfield visiting Grovehill had taken the early lead as the Herts defence committed a series of errors around the field, plating 2 runs in each of the first innings before the Raptors could bring their bats back to life in the bottom of the second, scoring 3 runs to get back into the game. Young pitcher Zack Longboy was showing a return to form on the mound, which helped keep the scores low, but some messy backup indicated the start of what would be at times a very difficult and painful fight.

A clean third inning for both teams gave signs that the Herts defence had woken up, but five runs in the top of the fourth tired Zack’s arm and put the Old timers in a commanding 6 run lead, with a further 2 added without reply in the fifth.

Another young pitcher had taken the mound for Herts though, and as Will Zucker started to find his stride, and catcher Ken Pike noticed the unhittable nature of the boy’s curve ball, the game’s momentum changed. Will cleaned out the batters in order for the sixth inning at the same time that the Old Timers let tempers fray over an umpiring call. The resultant lapse off concentration and change of pitcher led to the Raptors bat’s suddenly finding traction. Once around the order, 6 runs scored and a couple left on base left another Old Timer pitcher tired while tempers flared even further.

The Raptors, now only 3 runs down, were looking much more composed and took the initiative to come back swinging. Two Old Timer runs in the top of the seventh were answered by four from Herts and only 1 run in it. At this point the simmering tension from the away team boiled over with arguments across the field. The brilliant young Will Zucker boiled over with confidence instead and cleaned out another inning in order before going to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning to sign seal and deliver his demand for the game ball by slamming another double in an inning where six runs would put Herts into the lead for the very first time.

They went into the top of the ninth knowing that keeping the Old Timers to five runs or less would mean guaranteed victory, while even a greater dent could still be overcome in the bottom. However, Zucker’s arm was tiring, and one by one the Old timers started to make their mark on the inning. After several runners got home and no further outs to get into, coach Arnie Longboy made the tough, but correct choice of replacing the young star with seasoned closer Jeff Whitter who came in with a three run lead.

Jeff’s calm and accurate display let only one more runner in before the Herts defence did their jobs taking down the required outs in short succession. Whilst several players had lost count during the inning, some wondered if we had won or would need to go out to bat with a small but dangerous margin to overcome. The rest however knew that they had overcome a team they so loved to beat, and cheered jubilantly knowing that they were now in pole position for the league.

Click to view box scores

Stand-out performances from all pitchers garnered special praise from the manager while Short Stop Theo Scheeper’s potent hitting display nailed four hits, including one double and 5 RBIs.

Coach Arnie will be sure to demand that his team bring their best defensive performance much earlier in the game from now on and cut out some of the silly errors that so nearly cost them dear, but he will also be glad to see the offence create 19 runs against a strong defensive team like the Old Timers. The total of 61 runs from two games and a 100% win ratio is certainly the best of starts to the 2013 Raptors season and a stark contrast to the two losses that in the end cost them so dearly last year.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Old Timers 18 Herts Raptors 19 BBF A-League

OLD TIMERS (18) AT HERTS RAPTORS (19)
 
OLD TIMERS           AB  R  H BI  HERTS RAPTORS        AB  R  H BI
Player 1              3  6  2  0  Brodie Caress         5  1  2  1  
Player 2              6  3  1  2  Zack  Longboy         6  3  3  1  
Player 3              6  2  2  4  Theo Sheepers         5  3  4  5  
Player 4              5  2  2  2  Kennet Pike           4  3  2  2  
Player 5              6  0  0  1  Sonam Lama            4  2  1  2  
Player 6              5  2  1  3  Warwick  Byrne        5  2  2  2  
Player 7              5  0  0  1  Charlie Mayhew        4  2  1  1  
Player 8              6  0  0  1  Jeff Witter           5  1  1  2  
Player 9              5  3  1  0  Mark Caress           2  0  0  1  
                                   Will Zucker          4  2  2  1  
TOTALS               47 18  9 14  TOTALS               44 19 18 18
 
OLD TIMERS                    220 520 205 -- 18 
HERTS RAPTORS                 030 006 46x -- 19 
 
LOB--OLD TIMERS 9, HERTS RAPTORS 11. ERR--Jeff Witter (2),
Charlie Mayhew, Theo Sheepers (3), Zack  Longboy (2),
Warwick  Byrne, Sonam Lama, Brodie Caress (2). 2B--Will
Zucker (2), Theo Sheepers, Zack  Longboy. HBP--Player 7,
Player 9, Sonam Lama. SB--Player 4 (2), Player 3, Player 1
(6), Player 7, Player 8 (2), Player 9 (3), Player 6, Kennet
Pike (2), Charlie Mayhew, Theo Sheepers, Warwick  Byrne.
 
 OLD TIMERS                      IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO   HR
 HERTS RAPTORS              
Zack  Longboy                  4.00    5    9    2    1    3    0
Will Zucker (W)                4.00    4    9    4    4    3    0
Jeff Witter (S)                1.00    0    0    0    0    0    0
 
PB--Kennet Pike (3). SO--Player 5, Player 3, Player 7 (2),
Player 9, Player 6, Jeff Witter, Brodie Caress. BB--Player
4, Player 1 (3), Player 6, Jeff Witter, Kennet Pike (2),
Charlie Mayhew (2), Theo Sheepers, Warwick  Byrne, Sonam
Lama, Brodie Caress.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Ravens 2 Metros 12 – AAA League

Herts Ravens at London Metros
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Herts Ravens 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 4
London Metros 3 0 0 4 0 5 12 14 1

 

London Metros 12, Herts Ravens 2
London Metros Herts Ravens
ab r h bi ab r h bi
M. Gough p 4 2 2 1 CATTERMOLE Mike 3b 2 0 1 3
A. Dennis c 4 1 1 1 WESTFALLEN Dave 2b 3 0 0 0
A. Orellana 1b 2 2 0 1 MEDINA Gilberto ss 3 1 1 0
J. Rappaport 2b 3 2 1 1 VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos p 2 1 1 0
J. Cramman 3b 4 1 3 2 LIPSTOCK Seth lf 2 0 0 0
S. Bennett ss 4 1 2 2 CASAL Carlos cf 2 0 1 0
K. Ortiz lf 2 0 1 0 GREEN Liam dh 2 0 0 0
M. Galluzo cf 3 2 1 0 DIMITROV Aspi 1b 2 0 0 0
W. Arrive rf 4 1 3 0 CARESS Jake c 2 0 0 0
DIMITROV Kal rf 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 30 12 14 8 TEAM TOTALS 20 2 4 3

 

E: M. Galluzo, CATTERMOLE Mike, MEDINA Gilberto, VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos, DIMITROV Kal.
LOB: Herts Ravens 3, London Metros 8. 2B: S. Bennett(2), A. Dennis, J. Cramman. SB:
J. Cramman(3), A. Orellana(3), S. Bennett, J. Rappaport, K. Ortiz.

 

London Metros IP H R ER BB SO
M. Gough 6.00 4 2 0 3 8
Herts Ravens
VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos L 5.67 14 12 5 6 2

 

HBP: by VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos (K. Ortiz). . WP: M. Gough(2), VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos.
Balk: VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos. T: 2:00. A: 89.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 1st:
CATTERMOLE Mike walked, batted forward to 3rd, 3 RBI.
WESTFALLEN Dave grounded out.
MEDINA Gilberto struck out.
VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos struck out looking.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 1st:
M. Gough walked, batted forward to home.
A. Dennis doubled, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on balk.
A. Orellana grounded out, 1 RBI.
J. Rappaport singled, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to
home on wild pitch.
J. Cramman singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd.
S. Bennett flied out.
K. Ortiz walked, stole 2nd.
M. Galluzo popped out.
3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 2nd:
LIPSTOCK Seth struck out.
CASAL Carlos flied out.
GREEN Liam struck out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 2nd:
W. Arrive flied out.
M. Gough grounded out.
A. Dennis popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 3rd:
DIMITROV Aspi struck out swinging.
CARESS Jake struck out looking.
CATTERMOLE Mike lined out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 3rd:
A. Orellana grounded out.
J. Rappaport grounded out.
J. Cramman singled, batted forward to 3rd.
S. Bennett doubled.
K. Ortiz struck out looking.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 4th:
WESTFALLEN Dave grounded out.
MEDINA Gilberto singled, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to
home on wild pitch.
VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos singled, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to 3rd on wild
pitch, advanced to home on wild pitch.
LIPSTOCK Seth walked, batted forward to 2nd.
CASAL Carlos singled, tagged out going to 2nd.
GREEN Liam struck out.
2 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 4th:
M. Galluzo walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to
home.
W. Arrive singled, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to home.
M. Gough reached on error, batted forward to home.
A. Dennis grounded out, 1 RBI.
A. Orellana walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
J. Rappaport flied out, 1 RBI.
J. Cramman doubled, 2 RBI.
S. Bennett grounded out.
4 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 5th:
DIMITROV Aspi grounded out.
CARESS Jake popped out.
CATTERMOLE Mike singled.
WESTFALLEN Dave flied out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 5th:
K. Ortiz hit by pitch, advanced to 2nd on error, forced out at 3rd.
M. Galluzo reached on error, batted forward to 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd.
W. Arrive singled, batted forward to 2nd.
M. Gough singled.
A. Dennis struck out looking.
0 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 6th:
MEDINA Gilberto struck out.
VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos walked, picked off.
LIPSTOCK Seth flied out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 6th:
A. Orellana walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, stole home.
J. Rappaport walked, advanced to 2nd on error, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
J. Cramman reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
S. Bennett doubled, stole 3rd, batted forward to home, 2 RBI.
K. Ortiz singled, forced out at 2nd.
M. Galluzo singled, batted forward to home.
W. Arrive singled, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
M. Gough singled, 1 RBI.
5 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Ravens 1 Metros 11 – AAA League

Herts Ravens at London Metros
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Herts Ravens 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 3
London Metros 1 3 0 3 4 11 10 3

 

London Metros 11, Herts Ravens 1
London Metros Herts Ravens
ab r h bi ab r h bi
A. van der Gagg p 4 3 4 3 CATTERMOLE Mike p-2b 3 0 0 0
M. Saunders c 2 2 0 0 WESTFALLEN Dave c 2 0 1 0
A. Orellana 1b 4 1 1 0 MEDINA Gilberto ss 2 0 0 0
J. Rappaport 2b 3 1 2 3 VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos 3b-p 3 0 1 0
J. Cramman 3b 3 0 0 0 LIPSTOCK Seth lf 3 0 0 0
A. Dennis ss 2 1 0 0 CASAL Carlos 2b-3b 2 1 1 0
M. Gough lf 3 2 2 1 GREEN Liam rf 2 0 0 0
K. Ortiz cf 3 0 1 0 DIMITROV Aspi 1b 1 0 1 0
W. Arrive rf 2 1 0 0 CARESS Jake cf 2 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 26 11 10 7 TEAM TOTALS 20 1 4 0

 

E: A. van der Gagg(2), A. Dennis, MEDINA Gilberto, DIMITROV Aspi, CASAL Carlos. LOB:
London Metros 6, Herts Ravens 7. 2B: A. van der Gagg(2), J. Rappaport, M. Gough. SB:
A. van der Gagg, J. Rappaport, M. Gough, A. Orellana, W. Arrive, CASAL Carlos. SB: M.
Saunders.

 

London Metros IP H R ER BB SO
A. van der Gagg 5.00 4 1 0 2 7
Herts Ravens
CATTERMOLE Mike L 4.67 10 9 7 3 1
VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos 0.00 0 2 0 1 0

 

HBP: by A. van der Gagg (DIMITROV Aspi). . WP: CATTERMOLE Mike, VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos.
T: 2:00. A: 89.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 1st:
CATTERMOLE Mike grounded out.
WESTFALLEN Dave walked, tagged out going to 2nd.
MEDINA Gilberto struck out swinging.
VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos singled.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 1st:
A. van der Gagg singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
M. Saunders sacrifice bunted.
A. Orellana struck out swinging.
J. Rappaport singled, stole 2nd, 1 RBI.
J. Cramman grounded out.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 2nd:
LIPSTOCK Seth popped out.
CASAL Carlos singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on error.
GREEN Liam struck out looking.
DIMITROV Aspi singled, advanced to 2nd on error.
CARESS Jake grounded out.
1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 2nd:
A. Dennis walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to home.
M. Gough singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
K. Ortiz grounded out.
W. Arrive walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
A. van der Gagg doubled, batted forward to 3rd, forced out at home, 2 RBI.
M. Saunders grounded out.
A. Orellana singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
J. Rappaport walked, batted forward to 2nd.
J. Cramman reached on fielder’s choice.
3 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 3rd:
CATTERMOLE Mike reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error.
WESTFALLEN Dave struck out looking.
MEDINA Gilberto walked.
VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos struck out swinging.
LIPSTOCK Seth struck out looking.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 3rd:
A. Dennis popped out.
M. Gough grounded out.
K. Ortiz singled.
W. Arrive popped out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 4th:
CASAL Carlos popped out.
GREEN Liam struck out looking.
DIMITROV Aspi hit by pitch.
CARESS Jake struck out looking.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 4th:
A. van der Gagg singled, batted forward to home.
M. Saunders reached on fielder’s choice, batted forward to home.
A. Orellana grounded out.
J. Rappaport doubled, advanced to home on error, 2 RBI.
J. Cramman flied out.
A. Dennis grounded out.
3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Herts Ravens – Top of the 5th:
CATTERMOLE Mike reached on error, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
WESTFALLEN Dave singled, batted forward to 3rd.
MEDINA Gilberto reached on fielder’s choice, forced out at 2nd.
VELAZCO-CARUS Carlos out by infield fly rule.
LIPSTOCK Seth reached on fielder’s choice.
0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 2 LOB.
London Metros – Bottom of the 5th:
M. Gough ground rule doubled, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
K. Ortiz flied out.
W. Arrive popped out.
A. van der Gagg doubled, advanced to home on error, 1 RBI.
M. Saunders walked, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to home on wild pitch.
A. Orellana reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to 3rd on wild
pitch, advanced to home on error.
J. Rappaport reached on error.
4 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

London beat Herts in extra innings of a wild game

The ceremonial first pitch of the 2013 youth baseball season was thrown by the mums who were in attendance. The scouts certainly took notice and perhaps we will be seeing them back in action soon.

The Herts Harriers opened their 2013 season in the BBF U17 League against the most difficult of opponents. The London Mets have won the U17 national championship in 2 out of the last 3 seasons and are expected to be one of the main contenders again this year.

Tom Everex-Armstrong started strongly on the mound for Herts maintaining a 2-1 lead going into the third inning, however he appeared to pull a back muscle during one of his deliveries and that took him out of the game. Brodie Caress came in relief and he did well allowing only one earned run, however a series of errors proved to be costly. The Mets took full advantage and took a 7-2 lead.

With a very accomplished pitcher like Taichi on the mound for the visitors from London, this game seemed out of reach for Herts, but they received the boost they needed. Charlie Mayhew led-off the inning and he put up a major fight against Taichi. He managed to get on base with a walk after an epic 11-pitch at bat. From the 11 pitches he saw 8 were with two strikes against him, but he kept fighting off the pitches. A simple walk very rarely brings a team back from a 5-run deficit, but it was the nature of the walk that did it for Herts. The Harriers were back in the game. The players were no longer sitting in desolation. Everyone was up on the dugout fence cheering on the next batter.

That walk led to 5 Herts runs to tie the game 7-7. The Harriers took that momentum into the next inning and took a 9-7 lead going into the last inning. The Mets responded taking a 10-9 lead. In the bottom of that final inning Conner Brown worked a walk and stole his way to third base. Jonny Compton-Weight drove him in to take the game into extra innings with the score 10-10.

Herts Manager, Cris Hiche, had a difficult decision to make. Should he utilise the pitchers he had reserved for the second game of this double-header which would almost certainly have resulted in a loss in game two, or should he save those pitchers for game two and try to win game one in extra innings with less experienced pitchers? Not an easy decision to make. At the end Hiche decided to choose the second option and the gamble didn’t pay off for Herts. The Mets scored 14 runs in extra innings. It must be said that they deserved the win outhitting Herts (9-5), committing less errors (4-5) and allowing less walks (11-17). They also did it with only 8 players.

Click to view box scores of game 1

The weather was becoming worse and the teams and officials agreed to postpone game two, and it is to be rescheduled later in the season. If Cris Hiche had known this, he would have undoubtedly used the starting pitcher designated for game two and the outcome of the game may have been different.

A wild game of baseball which generated a lot of excitement for the spectators and gave us a taste of what can be expected this year. One thing is certain – Herts are firmly in the title-race this season.