Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Raptors Rally: Late inning onslaught puts Arnie’s boys back in contention

by Glen Downer

Shortstop Gilberto Medina hit a bomb over the left centerfield wall of the old diamond at Grovehill Ballpark

After another week of rain threatening to cause yet another postponement on Sunday, the Great British weather showed some mercy and after the sterling efforts of the players from both the Raptors and Hawks teams armed with sponges and buckets both diamonds were ready to have their basepaths pounded.

This was to be possibly the most important game in the Raptors’ season so far; clinging on to a one game over .500 record this was a must win, and it wasn’t going to be easy over the experienced veterans that make up the Old Timers team from Enfield. The Raptors were at full strength, and the ever consistent ZackLongboy was on the hill to start, hoping to continue his great season so far. The first inning started as well as any team could hope for, a quick 1-2-3 and the boys were back in the dugout, ready to pick up the bats and produce some run support for their pitcher. After a quick first out Ken Pike stepped up to the plate and picked up his first of no less than 6 hits in the game smashing a rocket into left, then stepped up Gilberto Medina, never being one to hang around Gil swung at the first pitch and the crack of the bat was the sound of impending doom for the Old Timers starter as the ball sailed majestically into left centre field and over the fence for Medina’s first home run of the season, which some may agree was overdue! The rest of the inning went by pretty quietly and the Raptors entered the second inning all fired up and ready to go.

Unfortunately the second didn’t go as well, with the Old Timers putting up 5 runs to take the lead which they held on to for the majority of the game. A combination of errors from the Raptors and Zack not being quite as controlled as previous outings allowing the visitors to take advantage. Herts still managed to tag on a run of their own in the bottom of the inning however to keep things alive, and so it went for the next few innings with both teams scoring like for like. With the Raptors picking up hits and getting on base, singles from John Kjorstadt, Jose Morillo Jr, a scorching double into right centre from catcher Ben Marques, and with Jake Caress taking the mound in a solid relief all helped to keep that scoreline close.

So came the bottom of the 8th; with their chances running low and the deficit at 5 runs, the most it had been all game, the Herts boys had to get something going. They didn’t disappoint with Ken Pike picking up his 6th and final hit to complete a fantastic 6-6 day, Gilberto Medina hitting another bomb which agonisingly ricocheted off the outfield wall for a huge double plating two runs, the Raptors rallied to score no less than 7 runs to take a slim 2 run lead heading into the top of the 9th. Jake Caress who had come into the game in relief had a tough job on his hands to close out the game and pick up a much needed win, he didn’t disappoint. The first batter smashed a drive into left field where ZackLongboy was just unable to snag it, however with some quick footwork and an absolute rocket straight into the glove of Gilberto Medina he applied the tag as the batter tried to stretch out a double and the first out was made. Pumped up from this great play, Jake went on to strike out the second batter and the Old Timers were down to their last out. With the count at 2-2 the batter hit a chopper straight to Caress who duly tossed the ball over to the waiting glove of first baseman Glen Downer and the final out was made to seal a great win.

The Raptors now go into the final two games of the season needing to pick up two wins to have a chance at post-season play. The pressure is on, let’s hope this momentum can be carried right up to the end!

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Essex Redbacks 2 Herts Hawks 12 (AA League)

Essex RedBacks II at Herts Hawks
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Essex RedBacks II 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 3
Herts Hawks 3 2 3 1 2 1 12 16 2

 

Herts Hawks 12, Essex RedBacks II 2
Herts Hawks Essex RedBacks II
ab r h bi ab r h bi
ELKINS Tim rf 1 1 0 0 V Player 1 p 3 0 0 0
(t4) NAGHAR Rod rf 1 1 0 0 V Player 2 c 3 0 0 0
LIPSTOCK Seth dh 5 3 5 0 V Player 3 1b 3 0 0 0
HARE Louis 1b 4 1 2 2 V Player 4 2b 3 0 0 0
LEWYS Jonathon lf 3 3 2 3 V Player 5 3b 3 1 2 0
CORNISH Andy c 3 0 1 2 V Player 6 ss 3 1 1 0
RUSSELL Nick ss 2 1 1 1 V Player 7 lf 2 0 1 2
DIMITROV Kal 3b 3 1 1 1 V Player 8 cf 2 0 0 0
DIMITROV Aspi cf 3 0 3 0 V Player 9 rf 1 0 0 0
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph 2b 4 1 1 1
GOETZ Nicolas p 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 29 12 16 10 TEAM TOTALS 23 2 4 2

 

E: DIMITROV Aspi, BARTHOLOMEW Ralph, V Player 2(2), V Player 8. LOB: Essex RedBacks
II 4, Herts Hawks 9. 2B: LEWYS Jonathon(2), LIPSTOCK Seth(2), CORNISH Andy, V Player
7. SB: HARE Louis(2), RUSSELL Nick(2), DIMITROV Aspi, LIPSTOCK Seth, DIMITROV Kal,
ELKINS Tim, BARTHOLOMEW Ralph, NAGHAR Rod, V Player 5(2), V Player 6(2), V Player 9.
CS: DIMITROV Aspi, CORNISH Andy.

 

Herts Hawks IP H R ER BB SO
GOETZ Nicolas W 6.00 4 2 2 1 4
Essex RedBacks II
V Player 1 L 5.67 16 12 9 8 0

 

HBP: by V Player 1 (LEWYS Jonathon). . T: 2:00. A: 67.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 1st:
V Player 1 grounded out.
V Player 2 grounded out.
V Player 3 struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 1st:
ELKINS Tim walked, stole 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd.
LIPSTOCK Seth singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
HARE Louis singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
LEWYS Jonathon doubled, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, advanced to home on throw, 2
RBI.
CORNISH Andy grounded out, 1 RBI.
RUSSELL Nick singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
DIMITROV Kal walked, batted forward to 2nd.
DIMITROV Aspi singled.
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph flied out.
3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 2nd:
V Player 4 struck out swinging.
V Player 5 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
V Player 6 singled, stole 2nd.
V Player 7 popped out.
V Player 8 struck out swinging.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 2nd:
ELKINS Tim popped out.
LIPSTOCK Seth doubled, batted forward to home.
HARE Louis popped out.
LEWYS Jonathon doubled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
CORNISH Andy doubled, 1 RBI.
RUSSELL Nick grounded out.
2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 3rd:
V Player 9 struck out swinging.
V Player 1 grounded out.
V Player 2 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 3rd:
DIMITROV Kal singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
DIMITROV Aspi singled, batted forward to 3rd, caught trying to steal home.
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
ELKINS Tim walked, batted forward to home.
LIPSTOCK Seth singled, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
HARE Louis singled, advanced to 2nd on error, stole 3rd, 2 RBI.
LEWYS Jonathon reached on error.
CORNISH Andy grounded out.
3 runs, 5 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 4th:
V Player 3 reached on error, forced out at 2nd.
V Player 4 reached on error, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
V Player 5 singled, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, batted forward to home.
V Player 6 reached on fielder’s choice, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
V Player 7 doubled, 2 RBI.
V Player 8 popped out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 4th:
RUSSELL Nick walked, stole 2nd, advanced to home on error.
DIMITROV Kal popped out.
DIMITROV Aspi walked, stole 2nd.
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph grounded out.
NAGHAR Rod flied out.
1 run, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 5th:
V Player 9 walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
V Player 1 popped out.
V Player 2 grounded out.
V Player 3 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 5th:
LIPSTOCK Seth ground rule doubled, batted forward to home.
HARE Louis popped out.
LEWYS Jonathon hit by pitch, batted forward to home.
CORNISH Andy walked, batted forward to 3rd, caught trying to steal home.
RUSSELL Nick walked, forced out at 2nd, 1 RBI.
DIMITROV Kal reached on fielder’s choice, 1 RBI.
2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 6th:
V Player 4 flied out.
V Player 5 flied out.
V Player 6 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 6th:
DIMITROV Aspi singled, forced out at 2nd.
BARTHOLOMEW Ralph popped out.
NAGHAR Rod walked, batted forward to 2nd, stole 3rd, advanced to home on error.
LIPSTOCK Seth singled.
1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Box scores: Essex Redbacks 1 Herts Hawks 9 (AA League)

Essex RedBacks II at Herts Hawks
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Essex RedBacks II 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 4
Herts Hawks 0 1 3 0 3 2 0 9 11 1

 

Herts Hawks 9, Essex RedBacks II 1
Herts Hawks Essex RedBacks II
ab r h bi ab r h bi
NAGHAR Rod 1b-lf 4 0 0 0 V Player 1 p 3 0 1 0
LIPSTOCK Seth 2b 4 1 2 1 V Player 2 c 4 0 2 0
HARE Louis ss 3 2 2 3 V Player 3 1b 3 0 0 0
LEWYS Jonathon dh 4 2 0 0 V Player 4 2b 2 0 1 0
CORNISH Andy cf 3 2 1 1 V Player 5 3b 3 0 0 0
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul c 3 0 0 1 V Player 6 ss 3 1 1 0
BOCHAN Greg 3b 2 0 0 2 V Player 7 lf 2 0 0 0
ARNOTT Jim rf 3 0 3 0 V Player 8 cf 3 0 1 0
JOHNSTON Matt lf 1 0 1 0 V Player 9 rf 3 0 0 0
(b3) ELKINS Tim pr-1b 2 2 2 0
RUSSELL Nick p 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 29 9 11 8 TEAM TOTALS 26 1 6 0

 

E: LIPSTOCK Seth, V Player 5(2), V Player 3, V Player 9. LOB: Herts Hawks 4, Essex
RedBacks II 7. HR: HARE Louis. SB: CORNISH Andy(2), ELKINS Tim(2), LIPSTOCK Seth,
LEWYS Jonathon, HARE Louis, V Player 1(2), V Player 6(2), V Player 2(2). SF: HARE
Louis, BOCHAN Greg.

 

Herts Hawks IP H R ER BB SO
RUSSELL Nick W 7.00 6 1 0 3 4
Essex RedBacks II
V Player 1 L 6.00 11 9 3 0 2

 

PB: AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul, V Player 2. T: 2:00. A: 67.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 1st:
V Player 1 grounded out.
V Player 2 popped out.
V Player 3 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 1st:
NAGHAR Rod struck out swinging.
LIPSTOCK Seth grounded out.
HARE Louis singled.
LEWYS Jonathon popped out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 2nd:
V Player 4 singled, tagged out going to 2nd.
V Player 5 grounded out.
V Player 6 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
V Player 7 walked, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
V Player 8 singled, batted forward to 2nd.
V Player 9 reached on fielder’s choice.
0 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 2nd:
CORNISH Andy reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul grounded out.
BOCHAN Greg grounded out, 1 RBI.
ARNOTT Jim singled, tagged out going to 2nd.
1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 3rd:
V Player 1 walked, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, forced out at home.
V Player 2 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
V Player 3 struck out looking.
V Player 4 walked, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
V Player 5 reached on fielder’s choice, batted forward to 2nd.
V Player 6 reached on fielder’s choice.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 3rd:
JOHNSTON Matt singled, ELKINS Tim ran for batter, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
NAGHAR Rod struck out.
LIPSTOCK Seth singled, forced out at 2nd.
HARE Louis reached on fielder’s choice, stole 2nd, advanced to home on error, 1 RBI.
LEWYS Jonathon reached on error, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home.
CORNISH Andy singled, stole 2nd, 1 RBI.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul flied out.
3 runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 4th:
V Player 7 struck out looking.
V Player 8 grounded out.
V Player 9 popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 4th:
BOCHAN Greg popped out.
ARNOTT Jim singled, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
ELKINS Tim singled, batted forward to 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd.
NAGHAR Rod reached on fielder’s choice.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 5th:
V Player 1 flied out.
V Player 2 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd.
V Player 3 struck out.
V Player 4 grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 5th:
LIPSTOCK Seth grounded out.
HARE Louis hit solo home run, 1 RBI.
LEWYS Jonathon reached on error, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward
to home.
CORNISH Andy reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to home.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul reached on fielder’s choice, tagged out going to 2nd, 1 RBI.
BOCHAN Greg sacrifice flied, 1 RBI.
ARNOTT Jim singled.
3 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 6th:
V Player 5 reached on error, forced out at 2nd.
V Player 6 reached on fielder’s choice, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to
home on passed ball.
V Player 7 grounded out.
V Player 8 struck out.
1 run, 0 hits, 1 error, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 6th:
ELKINS Tim singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
NAGHAR Rod grounded out.
LIPSTOCK Seth singled, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, batted forward to
home, 1 RBI.
HARE Louis sacrifice flied, 1 RBI.
LEWYS Jonathon grounded out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Essex RedBacks II – Top of the 7th:
V Player 9 grounded out.
V Player 1 singled, tagged out going to 2nd.
V Player 2 popped out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Sales person required for NBL event on 22 July

Herts Baseball Club will be hosting this year’s NBL Summer Special Event on Sunday 22 July. The event will feature all 8 NBL teams who will all come to Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead to play vital league games.

The Club is looking for a person to sell Krispy Kreme donuts and drinks on the day. Here are some more details about the responsibilities during the event:

• Pick up 10 boxes of Krispy Kreme Donuts from their branch at the Tesco store in Watford and deliver them to Grovehill Ballpark

• Sell donuts and softdrinks on foot around Grovehill Ballpark during the event

• Event duration is 4 hours from around 11am.

• No cooking involved

• A fee of £26 will be paid

If you are able to provide these services and are available on Sunday, 22 July, please contact Herts Baseball Club

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

AA All-Star candidates announced

Louis Hare has 7 RBIs so far this year. Hawks need several more to catch up with Hare if they are going to compete against the big guns in the AA League.

The BBF AA League has announced the All-Star candidates from each of the AA southern league teams.

The candidates from the Herts Hawks are Louis Hare, Nic Goetz and Nick Russell.  They all feature heavily in the main statistics categories for the Hawks so far this season.

Louis Hare leads in the batting average (.444) and slugging average (.556)  categories.  He also has the highest number of RBIs with 7.

Goetz and Russell have each lodged a couple of wins as the main starting pitchers for the Hawks. Nic Goetz has the lowest ERA of 1.80 although Greg Bochan may have something to say about this when he accumulates the required minimum number of innings pitched, as soon as the rain stops. Bochan currently has an ERA of 1.50 which is even more impressive knowing that it was recorded in a game against the best team in Pool B, the Sidewinders.

Nic Goetz currently has the best opposition batting average among the Hawks pitchers with an impressive .161. In the base-running category, Paul Auchterlounie is in the lead with 8 stolen bases.

Read the full list of All-Star candidates of all AA League teams in an article written by Michael Jones, who has provided the best media coverage in the history of the AA League. The article will also give Hawks coaches and players valuable scouting information ahead of the remaining deciding games and the postseason playoffs, which the Hawks hope to be playing in next month (click to view article).

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Venue of Hawks vs Mustangs game switched. Eagles to face Bucks on the same day

The venue of the Herts Hawks vs Southampton Mustangs II game on 29 July has been switched and the game will be played at Grovehill Ballpark.

On July 29 the Herts Hawks were scheduled to make their longest trip of the year to play on the south coast against the Southampton Mustangs in a key AA-League game. Due to a clash at Southampton’s field, the game has been switched to Herts and will be played at the Hawks’ home Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

On the same day the Herts Eagles have arranged an exhibition game versus Milton Keynes Bucks. This game will also take place at Grovehill Ballpark.

Both games are scheduled to will start at 12pm.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Eagles prepare for the London Tournament while Falcons, Hawks and Raptors focus on league race

John Kjorstad at last year's London Tournament Home Run Derby

Every year in the middle of July Herts Baseball Club sends its teams out to the International London Tournament for 2 days of non-stop baseball. The tournament is hosted by the Croydon Pirates who do a fantastic job every year.

This year the league schedule has been hit hard by the never-ending rain. The Herts adult teams have a backlog of games which they must fit into whatever free dates remain between now and the postseason in August. This weekend is one of those opportunities to catch up. The Herts Falcons will travel to Finsbury Park for a doubleheader against the London Mets after this match-up was rained out twice already. The Hawks will play a doubleheader versus the Essex Redbacks. This will be a home game at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. The Raptors have a must-win game against the Old Timers, also at home.

With so many Herts teams involved in league action this weekend there was a risk of Herts not being represented at the London Tournament, however Herts Eagles Manager, Duncan Hoyle, with the support from a group of Herts single-A players managed to put together a team for both Saturday’s and Sunday’s tournament games in Croydon.

We will keep you updated about their adventures in south London throughout the weekend, as well as the outcome of Sunday’s league games involving the other 3 Herts adult teams.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball represented at the MLB All Star Game in Kansas City

We are approximately at the halfway point of the MLB season as the teams take a few days off and enjoy MLB’s All Star Week. This also offers British baseball teams an opportunity to sit back and relax after several hectic weeks of not playing baseball and dealing with the depressing effects of rained out ballgames.

This year the All Star event is hosted by the Kansas City Royals and Herts Baseball Club is represented at the event. Jonathan Wakelam who plays for the Herts Dodgers and his dad Mike Wakelam who coaches the Herts Dodgers flew out a few days ago. They will have the opportunity to sample all the festivities of the All Star week.

It all started on Sunday with the All Star Futures game, which saw the first ever British-born player make an appearance for Team World wearing the British flag on his chest. On Monday it was time for the big hitters to compete in the 2012 Home Run Derby, which was won by Prince Fielder. The events also include the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game.

Tonight is the main event as the National League All Stars clash with the best players of the American League, as voted by fans from around the world. Every MLB team will be represented.

As you watch the game tonight keep an eye on the stands and look for a Herts baseball cap. We may just see Jonathan Wakelam muscle his way among the fans to make a spectacular catch in the stands.