Herts Raptors v. Chelmsford Clippers, April 25th 2010

images by www.hp2photographic.com

Sunday in Hemel Hempstead dawned wet and grey but as the Herts Raptors arrived at Grovehill for their home opener, the showers seemed to suddenly fade away. It seemed like a good omen. But any thought that the Raptors' learning curve might level off — after being so steep the players have sometimes needed crampons — was quickly dispelled by an inside-the-park home run in the top of the first inning. Chelmsford hit, ran and stole aggressively from the off, and they racked up five runs. The home side could not hit back straight away, and a ten-one Clippers lead was soon on the board.

The Raptors had to surrender two of their most experienced players to the job of umpiring, but the team never gave up battling. There was some patience at the plate, and a few good hits were strung together, meaning the rookies did notch up 6 runs. But a solid performance by the visitors meant the outcome was never in doubt. It ended 37-6.

Despite the obvious suffering, there were many bright spots for the Raptors. Jim Arnott made his pitching debut, and revealed excellent stuff which won the respect of the visiting team. Sam Pooley hauled in catches confidently in centre field as well as swinging aggressively at the plate, while Bobby Gould made more good pick-ups at the hot corner. 

Certainly there is still a good feeling in the camp, and as confidence grows the Raptors will compete more. The level of opposition at the A-division has been strong so far this year, and so long as the Herts new boys enjoy their game and learn, the results will follow.  

By Raptors beat reporter, Phil Hynes

Sunday 18th April, 2010 – the day all of Hampshire had been waiting for. Yes, Opening Day and the mouth-watering prospect of heading down to Mustangs Stadium and cheering on their favourites from the Mustangs II squad and also of the chance of seeing the Raptors rookie line-up they’d heard so much about – short on experience, maybe, but bursting with promise. The day finished with a trouncing of the Herts boys, 31-5, but I fancy if the fixture calendar had allowed the teams to meet again later in the season, then matters would be very different.

Played under clear blue skies and, thanks to a distant volcano, free of the noise of nearby Southampton Airport, it really was a great way to start the season. The Raptors, immaculate in their pristine white uniforms, were immediately put under notice that they were perhaps outgunned as the Mustangs piled on run after run in the first couple of innings. It was very obvious to this observer which team had the most experience under their belts. While the Raptors suffered various mishaps the Mustangs profited from a good, strong pitcher – Herts will face few of his calibre in the months ahead.

However, in the top of the 3^rd the pitching colossus faltered. The Raptors sensed weakness and went to work – all nine of the line-up went up to the plate with Phil Hynes having the pleasure of two appointments at the business end of things. During this most joyous of spells we saw majestic hits from Bryan Drummond, Jeff Witter & Tom Green. We saw the opposition waver and issue five  walks as the Raptors raw pluck threatened to upset their day. We saw Will Belbin take one for the team with a ball pitched straight to his ribs, nary a flinch was spotted as he strode down to 1^st base. The Herts baserunners were ever ready to take advantage of pass balls, as well as a speedy steal by Rob Jones. When the smoke of battle had cleared Jones, Drummond, Witter, Green and Jim Arnott had all crossed the plate. At that point, anything seemed possible.

Unfortunately that was our moment in the sun, a fleeting pleasure as we were quickly reacquainted with the Mustangs dominance. The rest of the game offers various memories – Jones doing a ‘Hollywood’ diving catch somewhere between his post at 1B and the pitching mound, afterwards he combined with Phil Gover for a pinball-style 'double catch',  Arnott’s easy assurance with a couple of tricky catches and a good hit into the outfield, old veteran Witter urging on his young charges – whose heads never dropped however lopsided the score became – and also giving the ball a good clout a couple of times, the obvious massive potential shown by the unflappable duo of Gover at 3B and Bobby Gould at SS, the natural way Drummond took to captaining the outfield, the almost superhuman endeavours of Green behind the plate who really bust a gut for five innings before being replaced by the equally steady hands of Belbin. I think between those two we have found a fantastic catching platoon. The sun hampered Hynes in left-field but he made valiant efforts to track down fly balls. We also had the pleasure of idly wondering if one of the several foul balls would wing it’s way onto the M27. If you ever fancy adding to your collection of baseballs the undergrowth betwixt hard shoulder and the ballpark will yield a rich harvest.

The mercy rule was invoked in the 7^th with the Raptors a full 26 runs behind their opponents.  There was a very brief hope that the relief pitcher who came up for the Mustangs might stink — unfortunately the 3 strikeouts he racked up indicate that he doesn’t! I think it’s a testament to the great  spirit of the Raptors that every single one of them would have gladly played on until the end of the full 9 innings and there was not a single show of tension amongst the unit at any point during what many other teams would have found a trying day.

At the end we heartily congratulated the well deserved victors and also the plate umpire, who I have to add had a great day, but I suspect we all walked away knowing that sooner or later the Raptors are going to ‘click’. I have no doubt that in 2011 many of  the team will be playing with the Hawks at AA level and when the other talent that we have within the roster becomes available then I confidently predict the Raptors will be winning more than they lose by midway through the season.

Next up is Chelmsford at home and I’ll warrant, with the applying of the lessons learnt at Southampton, that the scoreline will be a lot closer than 31-5.