Author: Herts Baseball News Editor

by Herts Baseball News Editor

BOX SCORES: Herts Hawks 13 Richmond Dragons 4 (AA League)

Richmond Dragons at Herts Hawks
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Richmond Dragons 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 13
Herts Hawks 1 2 0 2 3 0 5 0 0 13 8 4

 

Herts Hawks 13, Richmond Dragons 4
Herts Hawks Richmond Dragons
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul lf-c 4 3 0 0 V Player 1 p 4 0 0 0
GOETZ Nicolas p 5 1 0 0 V Player 2 c 4 0 0 1
LEWYS Jonathon rf-cf 5 1 3 1 V Player 3 1b 4 0 1 0
CORNISH Andy c 2 0 0 0 V Player 4 2b 4 0 0 0
(b6) BOCHAN Greg 1b 2 1 1 2 V Player 5 3b 4 1 0 0
RUSSELL Nick ss 3 1 1 0 V Player 6 ss 4 2 2 1
JOHNSTON Matt cf 3 0 0 0 V Player 7 lf 4 0 1 1
(b6) SLATER Andrew lf 1 0 0 0 V Player 8 cf 3 0 1 0
ELKINS Tim 1b 3 1 1 1 V Player 9 rf 3 1 0 1
(b6) DIMITROV Ilya rf 2 0 0 0          
DIMITROV Kal 2b 3 2 2 1          
(b6) GOULD Daniel 2b 2 1 0 0          
BOTEV Vassil 3b 5 2 0 0          
TEAM TOTALS 40 13 8 5 TEAM TOTALS 34 4 5 4

 

E: RUSSELL Nick(2), GOETZ Nicolas, JOHNSTON Matt, V Player 3(4), V Player 5(3), V
Player 6(3), V Player 4(2), V Player 9. LOB: Richmond Dragons 6, Herts Hawks 10. 2B:
BOCHAN Greg. SB: AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul(4), RUSSELL Nick(4), LEWYS Jonathon(3), CORNISH
Andy, JOHNSTON Matt, BOTEV Vassil, GOETZ Nicolas, GOULD Daniel, V Player 9(3), V
Player 6(2), V Player 3(2), V Player 5, V Player 7. CS: V Player 8.

 

Herts Hawks IP H R ER BB SO
GOETZ Nicolas W 9.00 5 4 3 3 14
Richmond Dragons            
V Player 1 L 8.00 8 13 2 7 5

 

WP: V Player 1. PB: V Player 2(2). T: 3:10. A: 45.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 1st:
V Player 1 struck out looking.
V Player 2 grounded out.
V Player 3 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 1st:
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
GOETZ Nicolas flied out.
LEWYS Jonathon singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, 1 RBI.
CORNISH Andy walked, stole 2nd.
RUSSELL Nick walked.
JOHNSTON Matt struck out swinging.
ELKINS Tim grounded out.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 2nd:
V Player 4 struck out swinging.
V Player 5 struck out looking.
V Player 6 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
V Player 7 singled, stole 2nd, 1 RBI.
V Player 8 popped out.
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 2nd:
DIMITROV Kal singled, advanced to home on error.
BOTEV Vassil reached on error, stole 2nd, advanced to home on error.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul lined out.
GOETZ Nicolas struck out swinging.
LEWYS Jonathon reached on error, stole 2nd.
CORNISH Andy popped out.
2 runs, 1 hit, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 3rd:
V Player 9 walked, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
V Player 1 struck out swinging.
V Player 2 grounded out, 1 RBI.
V Player 3 singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd.
V Player 4 struck out.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 3rd:
RUSSELL Nick flied out.
JOHNSTON Matt struck out swinging.
ELKINS Tim grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 4th:
V Player 5 reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to home.
V Player 6 singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
V Player 7 struck out swinging.
V Player 8 singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to 3rd, did not tag,
called out.
V Player 9 reached on fielder’s choice, stole 2nd, 1 RBI.
V Player 1 walked.
V Player 2 lined out.
2 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 4th:
DIMITROV Kal flied out.
BOTEV Vassil reached on error, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to home on error.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to 3rd on
passed ball, advanced to home on error.
GOETZ Nicolas reached on error, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
LEWYS Jonathon singled.
CORNISH Andy lined out.
2 runs, 1 hit, 5 errors, 1 LOB.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 5th:
V Player 3 grounded out.
V Player 4 struck out swinging.
V Player 5 reached on error, stole 2nd.
V Player 6 struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 5th:
RUSSELL Nick walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home.
JOHNSTON Matt reached on error, stole 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd.
ELKINS Tim singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
DIMITROV Kal singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, advanced to home on error, 1 RBI.
BOTEV Vassil flied out.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul reached on error, advanced to 2nd on throw, advanced to 3rd on
error.
GOETZ Nicolas grounded out.
3 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 6th:
V Player 7 struck out swinging.
V Player 8 struck out swinging.
V Player 9 reached on error, stole 2nd.
V Player 1 popped out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 6th:
LEWYS Jonathon singled, forced out at 2nd.
BOCHAN Greg popped out.
RUSSELL Nick singled, stole 2nd, stole 3rd.
SLATER Andrew walked.
DIMITROV Ilya grounded out.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 7th:
V Player 2 grounded out.
V Player 3 struck out swinging.
V Player 4 struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 7th:
GOULD Daniel reached on error, stole 2nd, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on
wild pitch.
BOTEV Vassil grounded out.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, advanced to
home on error.
GOETZ Nicolas walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home.
LEWYS Jonathon reached on error, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to home.
BOCHAN Greg doubled, advanced to home on error, 2 RBI.
RUSSELL Nick reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, stole 3rd.
SLATER Andrew struck out swinging.
DIMITROV Ilya struck out swinging.
5 runs, 1 hit, 3 errors, 1 LOB.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 8th:
V Player 5 struck out swinging.
V Player 6 grounded out.
V Player 7 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts Hawks – Bottom of the 8th:
GOULD Daniel grounded out.
BOTEV Vassil grounded out.
AUCHTERLOUNIE Paul reached on error, stole 2nd, stole 3rd.
GOETZ Nicolas grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Richmond Dragons – Top of the 9th:
V Player 8 walked, caught trying to steal 2nd.
V Player 9 struck out swinging.
V Player 1 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts youngsters start season with a win. Incredible RedBacks comeback in game two

The British Youth Baseball League season is up and running. Herts welcomed the Forest Glade RedBacks to Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead with the Under-14 and Under-17 teams of both clubs going head-to-head in two doubleheaders.

U17 LEAGUE

In the U17 games Herts started the season with a win after a very impressive offensive display. They had 15 hits over 5 innings with Kyle Lloyd-Jones (4-4), Marty Cullen Jr (3-4), Jonny Compton-Weight (2-3), Liam Green (2-3) and Tom Everex-Armstrong (2-4) each contributing with multiple hits. On the mound Zack Longboy and Liam Green struck out 5 batters each allowing only 3 and 1 earned runs, respectively. Despite being outhit, the RedBacks put up a good fight staying in the game right to end.

Click to view Game 1 Box Scores and play-by-play

In the second game the Herts All Stars continued their offensive assault taking an 8-1 lead after two innings and they seemed in control with starting pitcher Marty Cullen Jr. allowing only 2 hits and no earned runs recording 5 strikeouts over 3 innings. The RedBacks bounced right back with an amazing come back. They scored 9 runs in the next four innings taking advantage of 7 fielding errors by the Herts defence. Going into the final inning Forest Glade had a 10-8 lead. Herts reduced the deficit to 10-9 after Kyle Lloyd-Jones worked a walk and then advanced all the way home thanks to several wild pitches. Jonny Compton-Weight, representing the tying run, also reached base with a walk and quickly made his way to third base, but there were already two outs. The pressure was on Everex-Armstrong to get a hit or to see enough pitches in the hope of inducing another wild pitch from the flame-thrower. At the end the RedBacks pitcher kept his composure ending the game with a strike-out.

The Herts All Stars will be disappointed that they let an 8-1 lead slip away, but Manager Cristobal Hiche felt that the visitors from Essex deserved a lot of credit. “We played two great games with very good hitting from all our players. We need to give a lot of credit to the RedBacks who bounced back and were able to beat us in the second game” said Hiche. He added: “We still need to improve in many areas but I’m very happy with what I saw. I’m looking forward to the next two games”.

Next up for Herts is another home series this time against one of the championship contenders, the Horsham Hornets. First pitch is at 11am.

Click to view Game 2 box scores and play-by-play

U14 LEAGUE

With many of last year’s players moving up to the Under-17 age group, this is expected to be a transitional year for the Herts U14 team. A brand new generation of Herts players will be coming through this year and in the team’s first league game of the year many of the players were aged just 10 or 11. They lost both games of the double-header against the visiting Essex RedBacks U14, but the performance showed that the team has a lot of potential to build a team which will be able to fulfil its potential in the next 2 or 3 years.

The RedBacks took a 5-1 lead in the first inning, but Herts soon caught up with them and just missed out at the end losing 16-10. With the Herts coaches using the game to assess a large number of young prospects the second game proved to be more one-sided but it was still a very productive day for Herts. The Herts coaches now have the difficult task of reducing the size of the squad but this does not mean that the roster for the next game will be final. It is expected that there may be significant movement between the teams and the evaluation and development of players is likely be an ongoing process throughout the whole season.

Manager, Kent Peterson, was very much looking forward to the season ahead after the positive performance against the RedBacks. He said: “Obviously we have some very young players but I saw effort and that is many times at least half the battle.”

Next Saturday there is another home double-header for Herts U14 against London Sports, a team which is new to the BBF leagues.

U11

The Herts U11 teams commence their season next Saturday as teams from London make the 20-minute trip up the M1 to Hemel Hempstead.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts All Stars 9 Forest Glade RedBacks 10 (BBF U17)

Forest Glade RedBacks at Herts All Stars U17
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Forest Glade RedBacks 0 1 3 4 0 2 10 6 8
Herts All Stars U17 5 3 0 0 0 1 9 6 7

 

Forest Glade RedBacks 10, Herts All Stars U17 9
Forest Glade RedBacks Herts All Stars U17
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
V Player 1 lf 3 2 0 0 Carlos Casal Jr 2b 4 1 2 1
V Player 2 c 4 2 2 2 Jose Morillo rf 3 0 0 0
V Player 3 p 4 1 0 1 (t4) Zack Longboy rf-lf 1 0 1 0
V Player 4 2b 4 2 2 2 Liam Green ss-3b 2 2 0 0
V Player 5 rf 3 1 0 0 Kyle Lloyd-Jones 3b-1b 3 2 1 0
V Player 6 cf 3 0 1 0 Jonny Compton-Weight cf-rf 0 2 0 0
V Player 7 3b 4 1 0 0 (b4) Brodie Caress cf-c 2 0 0 0
V Player 8 ss 4 0 0 0 Jake Caress c-cf 4 2 0 0
V Player 9 1b 2 1 1 0 Kieran Manning lf 3 0 1 2
          Charlie Mayhew 1b 1 0 0 0
          (t4) Tom Everex-Armstrong p 1 0 0 0
          Marty Cullen Jr p-ss 3 0 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 31 10 6 5 TEAM TOTALS 27 9 6 3

 

E: V Player 8(4), V Player 2(2), V Player 3, V Player 7, Liam Green(3), Marty Cullen
Jr(2), Kyle Lloyd-Jones, Jonny Compton-Weight. LOB: Forest Glade RedBacks 7, Herts
All Stars U17 9. 3B: V Player 2. SB: V Player 4, V Player 6, Liam Green(2).

 

Forest Glade RedBacks IP H R ER BB SO
V Player 3 W 5.67 6 9 0 6 6
Herts All Stars U17            
Marty Cullen Jr 3.00 2 4 0 1 5
Tom Everex-Armstrong L 3.00 4 6 3 3 2

 

HBP: by V Player 3 (Liam Green). . . . . . WP: V Player 3(3), Tom
Everex-Armstrong(3). PB: V Player 2(3), Brodie Caress(2), Jake Caress. T: 2:10. A: 68.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 1st:
V Player 1 grounded out.
V Player 2 struck out.
V Player 3 flied out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts All Stars U17 – Bottom of the 1st:
Carlos Casal Jr singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on wild
pitch, advanced to home on passed ball.
Jose Morillo struck out swinging.
Liam Green hit by pitch, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to home on error.
Kyle Lloyd-Jones singled, advanced to home on error.
Jonny Compton-Weight reached on interference, advanced to 3rd on error, advanced to
home on passed ball.
Jake Caress reached on error, advanced to 2nd on defensive indifference, advanced to
3rd on error, batted forward to home.
Kieran Manning struck out swinging.
Charlie Mayhew walked, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to 3rd.
Marty Cullen Jr reached on error, batted forward to 2nd.
Carlos Casal Jr singled, 1 RBI.
5 runs, 3 hits, 4 errors, 3 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 2nd:
V Player 4 reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, stole 3rd, advanced to home on
error.
V Player 5 struck out swinging.
V Player 6 popped out.
V Player 7 reached on error.
V Player 8 struck out swinging.
1 run, 0 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts All Stars U17 – Bottom of the 2nd:
Jose Morillo struck out swinging.
Liam Green walked, stole 2nd, advanced to 3rd on error, batted forward to home.
Kyle Lloyd-Jones flied out.
Jonny Compton-Weight walked, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to home.
Jake Caress reached on error, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to home on error.
Kieran Manning singled, advanced to 3rd on error, tagged out going to home, 2 RBI.
Charlie Mayhew reached on error.
3 runs, 1 hit, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 3rd:
V Player 9 struck out swinging.
V Player 1 walked, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, batted forward to home.
V Player 2 tripled, advanced to home on error, 1 RBI.
V Player 3 reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, advanced to 3rd on error,
batted forward to home.
V Player 4 singled, forced out at 2nd, 1 RBI.
V Player 5 struck out swinging.
V Player 6 reached on fielder’s choice.
3 runs, 2 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Herts All Stars U17 – Bottom of the 3rd:
Marty Cullen Jr grounded out.
Carlos Casal Jr grounded out.
Jose Morillo struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 4th:
V Player 7 reached on error, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to home on error.
V Player 8 reached on error, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, forced out at 3rd.
V Player 9 walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, batted
forward to home.
V Player 1 reached on fielder’s choice, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward
to home.
V Player 2 singled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
V Player 3 grounded out, 1 RBI.
V Player 4 singled, 1 RBI.
V Player 5 grounded out.
4 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts All Stars U17 – Bottom of the 4th:
Liam Green reached on error, stole 2nd.
Kyle Lloyd-Jones flied out.
Brodie Caress popped out.
Jake Caress grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 5th:
V Player 6 singled, stole 2nd, tagged out going to 3rd.
V Player 7 reached on fielder’s choice, batted forward to 2nd.
V Player 8 struck out swinging.
V Player 9 singled.
V Player 1 popped out.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts All Stars U17 – Bottom of the 5th:
Kieran Manning popped out.
Tom Everex-Armstrong walked, batted forward to 3rd.
Marty Cullen Jr singled, batted forward to 2nd.
Carlos Casal Jr out by infield fly rule.
Zack Longboy singled.
Liam Green flied out.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 6th:
V Player 2 reached on error, forced out at 2nd.
V Player 3 flied out.
V Player 4 reached on fielder’s choice, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to
3rd on passed ball, advanced to home on error.
V Player 5 walked, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to home on error.
V Player 6 intentionally walked, advanced to 3rd on error.
V Player 7 reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error.
V Player 8 struck out swinging.
2 runs, 0 hits, 2 errors, 2 LOB.
Herts All Stars U17 – Bottom of the 6th:
Kyle Lloyd-Jones walked, advanced to 2nd on passed ball, advanced to 3rd on error,
advanced to home on wild pitch.
Brodie Caress struck out swinging.
Jake Caress grounded out.
Jonny Compton-Weight walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on error.
Tom Everex-Armstrong struck out swinging.
1 run, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts All Stars 10 Forest Glade Redbacks 7 (BBF U17)

Forest Glade RedBacks at Herts All Stars (U17)
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Forest Glade RedBacks 0 1 1 4 0 1 7 7 3
Herts All Stars (U17) 0 3 0 5 2 0 10 15 2

 

Herts All Stars (U17) 10, Forest Glade RedBacks 7
Herts All Stars (U17) Forest Glade RedBacks
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Jose Morillo 2b 2 0 0 1 V Player 1 p 3 1 1 0
(t4) Carlos Casal Jr 2b-rf 2 0 0 0 V Player 2 c 2 2 1 0
Marty Cullen Jr ss 4 3 3 1 V Player 3 1b 4 1 1 0
Kyle Lloyd-Jones 3b 4 2 4 0 V Player 4 2b 4 1 1 0
Liam Green rf-p 3 1 2 2 V Player 5 3b 3 1 1 2
Tom Everex-Armstrong cf 4 1 2 2 V Player 6 ss 3 0 0 0
Jake Caress c 2 0 0 0 V Player 7 lf 3 0 0 0
(t4) Kieran Manning c-rf 2 1 1 0 V Player 8 cf 3 0 2 0
Jonny Compton-Weight 1b 3 1 2 1 V Player 9 rf 2 1 0 0
Brodie Caress lf 2 0 0 0          
(b4) Charlie Mayhew lf 0 0 0 0          
Zack Longboy p 1 1 1 0          
(t4) Lewis Green rf 1 0 0 1          
TEAM TOTALS 30 10 15 8 TEAM TOTALS 27 7 7 2

 

E: Kyle Lloyd-Jones, Jonny Compton-Weight, V Player 5, V Player 8, V Player 9. LOB:
Forest Glade RedBacks 7, Herts All Stars (U17) 9. SB: Zack Longboy.

 

Herts All Stars (U17) IP H R ER BB SO
Zack Longboy 3.33 5 4 3 3 5
Liam Green W 2.67 2 3 1 1 5
Forest Glade RedBacks            
V Player 1 L 4.67 15 10 7 3 1

 

HBP: by Liam Green (V Player 9). . . WP: Liam Green(3). PB: Kieran Manning(2). T:
1:57. A: 68.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 1st:
V Player 1 struck out looking.
V Player 2 walked, batted forward to 2nd, forced out at 3rd.
V Player 3 reached on fielder’s choice.
V Player 4 grounded out.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts All Stars (U17) – Bottom of the 1st:
Jose Morillo popped out.
Marty Cullen Jr singled, batted forward to 3rd, tagged out going to home.
Kyle Lloyd-Jones singled, batted forward to 3rd.
Liam Green walked, batted forward to 2nd.
Tom Everex-Armstrong reached on fielder’s choice.
Jake Caress grounded out.
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 2nd:
V Player 5 reached on error, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to home.
V Player 6 reached on error, batted forward to 3rd.
V Player 7 struck out looking.
V Player 8 singled, picked off.
V Player 9 struck out swinging.
1 run, 1 hit, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts All Stars (U17) – Bottom of the 2nd:
Jonny Compton-Weight singled, batted forward to home.
Brodie Caress grounded out.
Zack Longboy singled, stole 2nd, batted forward to home.
Jose Morillo grounded out, 1 RBI.
Marty Cullen Jr singled, batted forward to home, 1 RBI.
Kyle Lloyd-Jones singled, batted forward to 3rd.
Liam Green singled, 1 RBI.
Tom Everex-Armstrong grounded out.
3 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 3rd:
V Player 1 singled, tagged out going to 2nd.
V Player 2 singled, batted forward to home.
V Player 3 singled, batted forward to 3rd.
V Player 4 singled, batted forward to 2nd.
V Player 5 walked, 1 RBI.
V Player 6 struck out swinging.
V Player 7 struck out swinging.
1 run, 4 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.
Herts All Stars (U17) – Bottom of the 3rd:
Jake Caress grounded out.
Jonny Compton-Weight flied out.
Brodie Caress struck out swinging.
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 4th:
V Player 8 grounded out.
V Player 9 hit by pitch, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch, batted
forward to home.
V Player 1 walked, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to
home on wild pitch.
V Player 2 struck out swinging.
V Player 3 reached on dropped 3rd strike PB, batted forward to 2nd, advanced to 3rd
on wild pitch, advanced to home on error.
V Player 4 reached on dropped 3rd strike PB, advanced to 3rd on passed ball, advanced
to home on wild pitch.
V Player 5 flied out foul.
4 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Herts All Stars (U17) – Bottom of the 4th:
Lewis Green grounded out.
Carlos Casal Jr flied out.
Marty Cullen Jr singled, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on error.
Kyle Lloyd-Jones singled, advanced to 2nd on error, batted forward to home.
Liam Green singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to home.
Tom Everex-Armstrong singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to home, 2 RBI.
Kieran Manning singled, batted forward to home.
Jonny Compton-Weight singled, batted forward to 3rd, 1 RBI.
Charlie Mayhew walked, batted forward to 2nd.
Lewis Green walked, 1 RBI.
5 runs, 6 hits, 1 error, 3 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 5th:
V Player 7 struck out swinging.
V Player 8 singled, advanced to 2nd on wild pitch, advanced to 3rd on wild pitch.
V Player 9 struck out swinging.
V Player 1 grounded out.
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Herts All Stars (U17) – Bottom of the 5th:
Carlos Casal Jr flied out.
Marty Cullen Jr reached on error, batted forward to 3rd, advanced to home on error.
Kyle Lloyd-Jones singled, advanced to 2nd on throw, batted forward to home.
Liam Green grounded out, 1 RBI.
Tom Everex-Armstrong singled, tagged out going to 2nd.
Kieran Manning reached on fielder’s choice.
2 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Forest Glade RedBacks – Top of the 6th:
V Player 2 walked, batted forward to home.
V Player 3 grounded out.
V Player 4 grounded out.
V Player 5 singled, 1 RBI.
V Player 6 grounded out.
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons continue unbeaten run to extend lead at the top of the NBL

Jake Michels was on fire on Easter Sunday. (photos by British Baseball Magazine more available on their website. Click image to view.)

When the schedule was first announced, coach Lee Manning had highlighted the 2nd week matchup against the Essex Arrows. It would be the first time that Herts would face the former Falcon great Darrin Ward. Ward had been an integral part of the Falcons roster over the past few seasons and led them in almost every offensive and pitching category in 2011.

Darrin Ward’s first start against his old team would be short lived as the Herts Falcons exploded for 8 runs in the first three innings. Ward would be relieved by former Falcon prospect Mario Escobedo who gave up another 7 runs. The top of the Falcons order gave Essex trouble all afternoon. Jake Michels had 2 triples, a double 4 runs and 5 RBI on the day. Hitting behind Jake was heavy hitting Dave Trethway who seemed to also find his swing as he had 2 doubles, 1 triple and 6 RBI.

The Chilean speedster Chris Hiche sparked the Falcons offence with 4 runs and 5 stolen bases. Coach Lee Manning was very pleased to see his new additions dominate at the plate on Easter Sunday. Game one starter Jordan Farkas picked up his 2nd win of the season as the Falcons disposed of the Arrows in a 15-7 rout.

Essex came out in game two with something to prove and put up four quick runs off of Michael Osborn who was battling a stomach virus all day. The first inning would be the last time that Essex would score.

The resilient Falcons quickly responded to score in the second, third and fourth inning. After the rough first inning, Osborn settled in and would only allow one more hit the rest of the way as he earned his second win on the hill.

Mike Osborn picked up his second win of the season. (photos by British Baseball Magazine more available on their website. Click image to view.)

In the first two weeks of the season the Falcons have showed a lot of heart; they now have two come from behind victories. In game two the Falcons left side of the infield flashed the leather, Mike Cattermole and Jake Michels made several stellar defensive plays to keep the Arrows at bay. Lee Manning and Liam Green shared the catching duties and provided strong backstops for the pitchers.

After the games coach Manning said, “We felt we deserved the wins today. The team played good baseball and we are very pleased with the start we have made this season. We are still missing several players, some on the DL, but the roster we put together this winter will gradually be coming together over the next few weeks and hopefully we will be at full strength very soon. Great start but we have to keep our feet on the ground and focus on our next game which will be a difficult one at Southampton next Sunday“

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Sights of 2012 Opening Day

Over the last few weeks visitors of hertsbaseball.com have been enjoying the wonderful images of baseball games at Grovehill Ballpark. Many of them have been courtesy of photographer Jim Garnett. 

Garnett has been a professional photographer since 1985 with the  Toronto Sun (1985 – 2010) covering the Toronto Blue Jays at their SkyDome ballpark.  In that time he received five ‘News Photograph of the Year’ awards. Covered the war in the former Yugoslavia for the Toronto Sun during 1995. Pictures published in ‘Time’ magazine, Canadian Business, Canadian Yachting, Macleans magazine and many other newspapers, magazines and web sites. He has also freelanced for the Sun [London], the Daily Express, the Daily Mail, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Telegraph. Garnett has also worked as a professional television cameraman for CBC, CTV, Global Television and Entertainment Tonight. He shot the Canadian ‘Little League’ 2010 Championship series in Ancaster, Ontario for CTV Sports British Columbia.

This year Garnett started a project covering British Baseball and the National Baseball League in particular.  Apart from appearing in various regional and national newspapers, his images will appear regularly in the British Baseball Magazine – a weekly online blog-based photo-oriented publication focusing on the British Baseball Federation’s National Baseball League during the regular season.

Below you will see some of the images from the 2012 NBL Opening Game between the Herts Falcons and the Bracknell Blazers. Many more photos from the day are available here.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons place Prasad on the DL

One significant absentee from the Herts Falcons lineup in the NBL Opening Game against Bracknell on Sunday was 2011 Falcons MVP, Mahendra Prasad.

The Sri Lanka National Team player sustained a knee injury in the Spring Training game playing for the Sri Lanka All Stars at Grovehill Ballpark on March 4. Later in that month he played in the HSL games for the Falcons but it appears that he returned to the team too quickly and aggravated the injury.

Prasad is one of the fastest players in the NBL and it would be interesting to see whether he, Cristobal Hiche or Robbie Unsell will be the leadoff batters in the Falcons line up when Prasad recovers from this leg injury and Unsell arrives from America for his Herts debut. Prasad is expected to miss Sunday’s top of the table clash with local rivals, Essex Arrows.

Everyone connected with Herts is hoping for Prasad’s speedy recovery.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

HSL ROUNDUP: Week 2 of the AAA and AA Divisions

View over the new diamond at Grovehill Ballpark as the new BSUK-funded installations start to take shape

HSL AAA

The Cambridge Royals are in pole position in the HSL AAA division after taking a win from one of the favourites, the MK Bucks. This was built as a major clash and the two teams didn’t disappoint producing a classic with the Royals coming out on top 4-2.

Joining Cambridge at the top of the standings with a 100% record are the Essex RedBacks. They made it two wins out of two with a win against the Sidewinders and the star of the show was Franklin ‘Chicki’ Martinez with back-to-back home runs on the old diamond at Grovehill Ballpark. The first was a 3-run blast over the right centerfield wall coming in the third inning and he followed it up with a 2-run home run in the fourth inning. It would take something very special to beat Martinez for MVP of the HSL.

The London Mets U17 felt they could have done better in week one against the Bucks, and they seemed determined to make that point with a convincing win against the Herts Hawks which puts them back in the hunt for the HSL AAA title.

The final round of games in the HSL AAA will all take place at Grovehill Ballpark on Sunday, 8 April. The day features a wild schedule with each team playing 3 games, so every team is mathematically still able to clinch the HSL AAA Championship.

HSL AA

The Herts Raptors were in a buoyant mood after two wins on Saturday pushed them into fourth place of HSL AA

In the HSL AA the Guildford Mavericks and the Essex RedBacks II find themselves at the top of the standings, both maintaining an unbeaten record with two more wins for both teams this week. They will meet in the HSL AA Final on Saturday, 7 April, at Grovehill Ballpark, to determine the 2012 HSL AA Champions. First pitch is at 11am.

The Kent Mariners and the Herts Raptors had a disappointing first week unable to pick up a win, but they certainly made up for that this week with two wins which push them right up the table into third and fourth place, respectively, and they will face each other in the Bronze Medal game on the same day at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, starting at 14:30.

The London Marauders just missed out on the Bronze medal game after losing to the Raptors in the final game on Saturday, which meant that they finish in fifth place, one below the Raptors. This was despite both teams having identical records of 2 wins and 2 losses each. The tie-break rule was applied pushing the Raptors above the Marauders as they won in the head-to-head clash. The Marauders will meet Guildford Mavericks II in the game for the 5th place in the final standings.

The game to decide the 7th and 8th place in the overall standings will be between Herts Eagles and the GB Cadets.

Full HSL Scoreboard and Schedule

HSL Standings

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons sweep on Opening Day

After several months of signing some of the highest profile players in the National Baseball League (NBL), the Herts Falcons met the hopes and expectations of a record Opening Day crowd at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, with two wins against the Bracknell Blazers.

This year NBL’s Opening Day takes place before Major League Baseball’s equivalent. This adjustment in the calendar has been necessary due to the European Championships and World Baseball Classic qualifiers later in the year for the Great Britain National Team. The large number of fans who came for the game enjoyed a day packed with activities starting with Herts Spring League games at 10am and a 4-team family softball tournament involving youth players and parents from the Herts Little League as well as softball enthusiasts who may turn out to be the building blocks of a project to create the first softball league in Hertfordshire, something which has been discussed at various levels in recent months.

Those at the ballpark were pleasantly surprised to see the recently announced BSUK-funded upgrade of the ballpark appear so quickly with perimeter fencing already installed. After the softball and a few hot dogs, some of the Herts Little League players were on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the 2012 NBL season. In the usual Herts tradition all balls were thrown at the same time and Falcons catcher, Phil Clark, had the impossible task of catching all the balls heading in his direction.

The National Anthem rang around Grovehill and it was time for the Falcons and Blazers to get down to business. Jordan Farkas started on the mound for the Falcons and although the Blazers scored a run in the first inning, he didn’t seem to be shaken up at all and did not allow any runs in the subsequent 5 innings. Blazers starter, Reiniel Martinez, also had a very effective start allowing only 1 run in the first 3 innings. In the bottom of the fourth Herts put 3 runs on the board. A walk and two errors were followed by a one-run single by Jordan Farkas and another big single by David House to bring two more runs in. Bracknell brought in pitcher Henry Collins who didn’t allow any more Herts runs but the four runs scored already were enough for them to secure a winning start of the season, despite a late rally by Bracknell which put the tying run on second base, Jordan Farkas completed the game by striking out Dexter Stewart and the dangerous Phil Matthews. Farkas had a total of 9 strikeouts and allowed only 3 hits.

Game two turned out to be even more exciting. Jake Michels made his NBL debut on the mound for Herts. Bracknell quickly put the pressure on with a 3-0 lead after a 2-run home run by Phil Matthews over the left-centerfield wall.

Herts responded with two runs in the bottom of that inning but any kind of offensive rally was certainly not due to any pitching weaknesses for Bracknell. Their starter Jordan Edwards proved to be a very awkward customer. He left the game after 4 innings with the score tied at 4-4 but none of the four runs allowed were earned and the Falcons managed to record only 1 hit against him over 4 innings. Herts committed 3 errors in that game and unfortunately for them they all came in the fifth inning. The Blazers took advantage of this and added 3 more runs making the score 7-4. Jake Michels certainly had the velocity and the movement on the day but one or two walks proved to be costly. It seemed like the game was running away from the Falcons but they responded in a big way in the bottom of the fifth. Jake Michels and Dave Trethway worked two walks followed by Mike Osborn’s ground rule double and a single by 15-year-old Herts prospect, Liam Green, which caused an almighty confusion bringing in Kevin Niedringhaus to tie the game at 7-7. Green went 2-for-2 over the two games.

Mike Osborn came in very effectively to pitch a scoreless top of the 7th inning. With the game tied 7-7 it went down to the bottom of the last inning. David House led-off with a single and advanced to third on an error. Up stepped another debutant, Mike Cattermole, playing against his former team mates, to drive the winning run in with a bullet which just stayed fair down the right field foul line.

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning was pleased with the wins. “We wanted to get off to a good start this year and Bracknell made it very difficult for us. These were two very exciting games on Opening Day and it feels good to win, but the season has only just started and we must stay focused with some very important games coming up”- said Manning. He added: “It took the whole team to win these two games with players coming into the game in key situations and making an instant impact.”

The baseball celebration in Herts started at 10am and ended at 7pm sending fans home happy. If this is a sign of what we can expect this year, British baseball is in for a very exciting season.

GAME 1

Bracknell Blazers at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bracknell Blazers 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 5
Herts Falcons 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 4 6 3
Herts Falcons 4, Bracknell Blazers 2
Herts Falcons Bracknell Blazers
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
HICHE Cristobal 1b 3 0 0 1 TRASK Mike 3b 3 1 1 0
SAIONJI Kimiyoshi 2b 2 0 0 0 EDWARDS Jordan ss 4 0 1 0
MICHELS Jacob 3b 3 0 0 0 STEWART Dexter c 3 0 0 0
(b6) CATTERMOLE Mike 3b 0 0 0 0 DUGGAN Fraser lf 3 0 0 0
TRETHEWAY David cf 3 0 1 0 MATTHEWS Phil 1b 4 0 0 0
OSBORN Michael lf 2 1 1 0 MILNER Clinton 2b 2 0 0 0
CLARK Phil c 3 1 0 0 MARTINEZ Reniel p 2 0 1 0
NIEDRINGHAUS Kevin ss 3 1 0 0 (t5) COLLINS Henry pr-rf-p 1 0 0 0
(b6) HARE Louis ss 0 0 0 0 MARTINSSEN Gustav cf 3 0 0 0
FARKAS Jordan p 3 1 2 1 PECKHAM Guy rf 2 1 0 0
GREEN Liam rf 1 0 1 0          
(b4) HOUSE David rf 2 0 1 2          
TEAM TOTALS 25 4 6 4 TEAM TOTALS 27 2 3 0
E: MICHELS Jacob , OSBORN Michael, NIEDRINGHAUS Kevin, EDWARDS Jordan(2), MILNER
Clinton(2), PECKHAM Guy. LOB: Herts Falcons 5, Bracknell Blazers 9. 2B: FARKAS
Jordan. SB: STEWART Dexter, COLLINS Henry.
Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
FARKAS Jordan W 7.00 3 2 1 3 9
Bracknell Blazers            
MARTINEZ Reniel L 4.00 5 4 1 2 1
COLLINS Henry 2.00 1 0 0 0 1
HBP: by FARKAS Jordan (TRASK Mike). . . . . , by FARKAS Jordan (STEWART Dexter). .
WP: FARKAS Jordan(3). T: 1:55. A: 240.

GAME 2

Bracknell Blazers at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Bracknell Blazers 3 0 1 0 3 0 0 7 5 8
Herts Falcons 2 0 0 2 3 0 1 8 5 3

 

Herts Falcons 8, Bracknell Blazers 7
Herts Falcons Bracknell Blazers
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
HICHE Cristobal cf 3 1 0 0 MARTINEZ Reiniel ss 3 1 1 0
SAIONJI Kimiyoshi 2b 4 0 0 0 TRASK Mike cf-p 3 2 2 0
MICHELS Jacob p-ss 2 2 1 0 STEWART Dexter c 4 1 0 0
TRETHEWAY David lf 2 1 0 0 DUGGAN Fraser 2b 4 1 0 1
OSBORN Michael rf-1b-p 4 0 1 1 MATTHEWS Phil 3b-1b 3 2 2 3
HOUSE David 3b 3 2 1 0 MARTINSSEN Gustav rf 1 0 0 0
NIEDRINGHAUS Kevin c 3 2 0 0 (b6) PECKHAM Gary rf 0 0 0 0
HARE Louis ss-1b 3 0 0 0 EDWARDS Jordan p-cf-3b 3 0 0 0
(t7) CATTERMOLE Mike 1b 1 0 1 1 MILNER Clinton 1b-3b-p 3 0 0 0
FARKAS Jordan 1b 1 0 0 1 COLLINS Henry lf 3 0 0 0
(t5) GREEN Liam rf 1 0 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 27 8 5 3 TEAM TOTALS 27 7 5 4

 

E: HARE Louis(2), HICHE Cristobal, MARTINEZ Reiniel(3), DUGGAN Fraser(2), STEWART
Dexter, EDWARDS Jordan, MILNER Clinton. DP: Bracknell Blazers 1. LOB: Bracknell
Blazers 4, Herts Falcons 9. 2B: MICHELS Jacob , OSBORN Michael, MARTINEZ Reiniel,
TRASK Mike. HR: MATTHEWS Phil. SB: NIEDRINGHAUS Kevin, TRASK Mike(2), MARTINEZ
Reiniel. SF: FARKAS Jordan.

 

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
MICHELS Jacob 6.00 4 7 4 5 9
OSBORN Michael W 1.00 1 0 0 0 2
Bracknell Blazers            
EDWARDS Jordan 4.00 1 4 0 4 2
MILNER Clinton 2.00 2 3 1 3 0
TRASK Mike L 0.00 2 1 0 0 0

 

WP: MICHELS Jacob (3), OSBORN Michael. T: 2:20. A: 240.