It was the latest match-up in this old, celebrated fixture. These two teams, local rivals, fought for glory. It was top-of-the-table against bottom-of-the-table. Neutrals sided with the plucky underdogs – could they defy the odds?  It was an hour and a half of intense action, back and forth, no quarter given. But, in the last seconds of the game, the favourites were beaten, by a margin of one.

Yes, the FA Cup Final was a cracking game. But earlier, 15 miles away from Wembley, Grovehill Ballpark witnessed the Giants taking on the Dodgers once again.

We kicked off with practice, focusing on hitting and pitching, together with some infield drills. A smaller group of potential pitchers developed their accuracy on the mound. This year’s effort to entrust pitching duties to the players rather than the coaches seems to be the right call.

The under-14s and under-17s had practice sessions, so we had the use of the new diamond, with the fence pegged out barely beyond the adults’ infield. Aspi manned the public address system, and called out the lineups for us. A huddle comprising the cream of the Herts coaching staff stood watching from the pavilion, joined today by Sam Dempster, Head Coach of the Great Britain national squad. Lesser teams might have been daunted by the pressure. But not our under-11s.

The Dodgers were the visitors today, and first up at bat. Ben Jupp was on the mound. William Morillo got the ball rolling with a single, and before long the Dodgers had two runs on the board after a few fielding errors. Lucas Lebrato hit a line drive for a double to bring home Noah Haines for the third run. But with two runners in scoring position the Giants were able to get the third out to keep the score at 3-0.

In reply, with Lucas Lebrato pitching, the Giants picked up their first run when Ben Jupp singled to bring home Christian Lynch. Lewis Auchterlounie repeated the trick, and Noah Lynch hit another single to load the bases with no outs. The Dodgers were relieved to strike out the next three batters, and the score was 3-2 to the Dodgers at the bottom of the first.

The second inning was scoreless for both teams. Jupp pitched a no-hit second inning for the Giants – two strike-outs and a 4-3 groundout. In similar form, Lebrato allowed only one single in disposing of the Giants.

For the third inning, Christian Lynch took over the pitching role for the Giants. Noah Haines reached first on an error, and Lucas Lebrato continued his good form with the bat, with another double, although he was forced out after he and Noah both tried to occupy third base at the same time. Jonathan Wakelam was the victim of a 1-3 groundout, although Noah Haines made it home on the throw. The Dodgers were retired with a 4-2 lead, though, as Alex Troutman struck out looking, leaving runners on first and third.

The Giants quickly loaded the bases, with a couple of errors and a single from Alex Jones. Christian Lynch then hit a two-RBI single, and Nicholas Durer hit a line drive single to bring Alex Jones home. Ben Jupp then fired a ball to the fence for a double and two further runs. That was the maximum five runs for the inning, and 7-4 to the Giants after three.

Nicholas Durer now came in as pitcher. Joe Gipple and Lucas Lebrato both secured RBIs with singles, to bring the score to 7-6. With two outs, and runners on first and second, Lenny Flavin came to the plate, and hit a fly ball up to Oliver Durer at third base. Oliver dropped it, but kept his head, grabbed the ball from the dirt, and tagged Lucas out at third. And that was the ballgame.

Practice over for the under-17s and under-14s, we had been joined by a trio of older brothers. Callum Vangundy cheered on Rory as he batted. Jose Morillo shouted encouragement at William, and Ben Jones offered ‘advice’ to his little brother Alex. Watching the five to ten year-olds giving it their all, Sam Dempster seemed impressed. As he commented, “everyone starts here”.

Game Summary

Season Statistics:

Honestly, you’d think I’d have learned by now.

After, what, three seasons of taking my sons to Hemel Hempstead to play baseball, I should be used to the unusual climatic conditions to be found at Grovehill Ballpark.

But on Saturday I stepped outside my front door in North London, sniffed the warm spring air, glanced at the boys in their Herts T-shirts and we drove north. We pulled up at the ballpark, under menacing dark clouds, in temperatures fully fifteen degrees lower than when we left. All around me were better-prepared families with puffa jackets, skiing gloves and thermos flasks.

Aspi gathered us together for the Opening Ceremony, sound system at the ready. In truth, Aspi serves as Herts Baseball President solely so that he can play at being DJ to large crowds. Move over Fatboy Slim… Aspi’s in the house.

The massed ranks of the newly-renamed Herts Harriers, Herts Cardinals, and the two Herts U11 teams assembled on the first base line. With them stood the visiting London Mets U17 team, exchanging puzzled looks. On the horizon, it looked grim. Those dark clouds drew nearer.

The National Anthem was played. Caps were doffed; Americans amongst us placed hand on heart and sang lustily, while the Brits kept quiet and looked vaguely uneasy.  It always seems incongruous to hear “God Save the Queen”, rather than “The Star-Spangled Banner”.  Yet, given the approaching precipitation, a better choice might have been “Hail to the Chief”.

After taking refuge in the changing rooms, we headed off to play the U11 season opener. The under-14s had a practice session, so we had the unusual privilege of playing on the old diamond.

The transfer market has been active during the off season. The Giants traded Alex Trautman in exchange for Nicholas Durer, while Noah Haines also made the switch to the Dodgers. Both teams have benefited from a number of draft picks. For the Giants, we welcome Sebastian Bohn, Lenny Flavin, and the Zneimer trio of Lily, Lexi and Leo. The Dodgers are also proud to announce their new signings – Chloe and Callie Amsterdam, Amber Chisholm and Joe Gipple.

The game was a rain-shortened four inning affair. This season we will have players pitching; after four balls a coach will pitch until the batter is out or gets on base.

With the Dodgers as the home team, Ozan Martin opened the pitching with an impressive display of control, striking out the first three Giants batters.

Christian Lynch pitched first for the Giants, and drew Alex Trautman into flying out to Oliver Durer at shortstop, before William Morillo fell to a 4-3 ground-out, and Jonathan Wakelam struck out swinging.  So 0-0 after the first.

After another two strikeouts, the Giants got bat on ball in the second inning; Nicholas Durer and Lexi Zneimer hit singles, leaving Nicholas on third, but alas Lily Zneimer hit a flyball to Ozan as pitcher to end the inning.

Joshua Jones now took over pitching duties for the Giants. With Ozan Martin and Thomas Garton on base, Noah Haines doubled on a wild throw to bring home Ozan for the RBI. Chloe Amsterdam then stepped up to hit a line drive double for a second run, and her sister Callie singled for another RBI, making it 3-0 to the Dodgers after two.

Alex Trautman now pitched for the Dodgers. With one out, Noah Lynch, Leo Zneimer and Lenny Flavin each hit singles to load the bases. Lewis Auchterlounie drove home one run although Leo was forced out at third. The Giants were denied a second run as Lenny Flavin was tagged out at third base.

With Ben Jupp now on the mound, the Dodgers batters hit their groove, with singles from Joe Gipple, Alex Trautman, Jonathan Wakelam, Ozan Martin, Thomas Garton, Rory Vangundy and Noah Haines. Five runs were scored, which automatically brought the inning to an end.  The scoreboard showed 8-1 to the Dodgers after three, and the Giants had a lot of ground to make up.

New signing Lucas Lebrato pitched the last for the Dodgers, an inning characterized by some strong hitting from Ben Jupp and Joshua Jones. But Lebrato managed to find the strike zone with some good accurate pitching, and finally struck out Nicholas Durer to end the inning as the rain returned. With the score at 8-2, that was the ballgame – no need for the Dodgers to bat again.

All the pitchers on display showed great promise – there will clearly be stiff competition for the coveted All-Starts starting pitcher slot.

Players, coaches and supporters alike deserved three cheers and a warming cup of cocoa (available at a very reasonable price on the concession stand). They call baseball players the “Boys [and girls] of Summer” for a reason – it’s a tough game to play in the cold. We should reassure new players and their families that the sun sometimes shines at Grovehill. But whatever Tomasz Schafernaker may say, always throw a coat in the back of the car.

Giants:

Dodgers:

For at least 5,000 years, people have run, jumped, swam, kicked things, hit each other and thrown a variety of round, oval or pointy objects, all in the name of sport.

At first these games were individual affairs: one Greek against another, lobbing a stone plate into the distance. But at some point we started organising ourselves into teams. Later, perhaps, teams would appoint a captain, someone to lead, motivate or just shout at the other players. Finally, team managers were introduced, to pick the team, plan the strategy and take the blame.

One of the key jobs for any team manager is the team talk. When the half-time whistle blows, and the football players trudge off, three-nil down after some inept defending, the manager will carefully deploy a range of techniques to turn things around. Arsene Wenger may offer a logical analysis of pass completion percentages; while Sir Alex Ferguson prefers the hairdryer and a well-aimed football boot to the kidneys.

In baseball, the manager has more opportunities to butt in with helpful advice: in the dugout, between innings, or during a flamboyant visit to the mound. And in last Saturday’s season finale between the Giants and the Dodgers, Coach Mike Wakelam found the perfect time and the perfect words to make the difference.

Over on the posh diamonds, the U14s and U17s were in playoff action. But here, the drama was somehow more personal. The Giants trailed by three games to one in the series. We would play a 4-inning game, then a 5-inning game. If the Giants could win these two games to draw level, there would be a one-inning decider for the championship title.

Both teams fielded familiar line-ups, with a couple of additions. A new arrival for the Dodgers: Niklas Makwana, a cricketer with a fearsome throwing arm, looking to apply his batting and fielding skills to this, the junior game. Noah Haines came in for the Giants: he also looked pretty handy during pre-game practice.

Game 1 started in a cagey fashion, scoreless after one inning despite Noah Haines hitting a confident double. In the second, Niklas also doubled for the Dodgers, advancing to third on an error in the same play and scoring during the next at-bat. Ozan Martin also scored thanks to a Tom Garton double. But the Giants hit straight back, with a string of singles and two runs. The Giants’ inning was ended with an individual double play, as Tom Garton caught a fly ball from Noah Haines at third base before tagging out Noah Lynch. The scores were tied 2-2. In the third, no Dodgers batters achieved a hit. For the Dodgers, Ben Jupp got on base and scored when Oliver Durer hit a double. Three to two for the Giants. The Dodgers couldn’t find a run at the top of the last, and so Game 1 ended with a narrow win for the Giants.

The Dodgers now held a slim one-game lead over the Giants. Could the Giants level the series ?

The Giants were now the visiting team and first to bat. Alex Trautman singled, then Ben Jupp hit a double to deep right field. Noah Haines hit a single to bring home both Trautman and Jupp, and Haines then scored, as did Lewis Auchterlounie, with RBIs for Oliver Durer and Alex Jones. Four runs to the Giants, which looked more impressive when they picked up three quick outs to close out the Dodgers.

The Giants’ strong batting form continued in the second inning. Alex Trautman bunted cheekily for a single, Christian Lynch got on base, and then Ben Jupp stepped up again to blast a two-RBI triple. Singles from Haines, Oliver Durer, Jones and Trautman brought two more runs, and the Giants suddenly found themselves 8-0 ahead.

Things were looking bleak for the Dodgers, and the mood didn’t improve as they went scoreless again at the bottom of the second. At least they pegged back the Giants in the third, which included a double play as newcomer Noah Haines failed to tag up on a fly ball caught by pitcher Nicholas Durer. At bat, the Dodgers finally got onto the scoreboard, with a ground rule double from Ozan Martin and a line drive from Jonathan Wakelam for a two-RBI single. 8-2 to the Giants after three innings.

Despite achieving three quick outs at the top of the fourth, gloom was spreading in the ranks of the Dodgers. It was hot, players were tired, and they saw the coveted title slipping away from them. Coach Mike gathered his players. “Don’t worry about the score”, he told them “Let’s relax, swing the bat and have fun out there.”

Fired up, the Dodgers looked a changed team. Niklas Makwana hit a single, then managed to sprint home all the way from first base while the Dodgers fielded an outfield line drive from William Morillo. Two more singles loaded the bases, and Ozan Martin stepped up to hit a 2-RBI double straight past second base. Rory Vangundy finished up the inning by hitting a single to bring home Garton and Martin. Five runs to the Dodgers, and now it was 8-7.

Rattled, the Giants hit back. The first seven batters reached first base, and three runs were scored before Oliver Durer was forced out at home plate to close the inning. The Dodgers needed four to tie, five to win. Coach Mike took his team into a huddle. “You hit five runs in the last inning – just go out there and do it again.” A group shout of “Dodgers” filled the Grovehill ballpark.

After five at-bats, they had scored one run but were two down. Ozan Martin then hit a single and Nicholas Durer ran in. Now Jonathan Wakelam hit a huge line drive to the right field fence, allowing Thomas Garton to score and putting Ozan on third. Rory Vangundy came to the plate and followed suit for another RBI. Scores were tied. Up stepped Niklas. He needed only one pitch to drive the ball past Christian Lynch at second base; Jonathan Wakelam sprinted in from third, crossed home plate and the Dodgers erupted.

To mark the end of this Dodgers vs Giants series, there was a short presentation. Coach Paul and Coach Mike awarded medals to the outstanding players of today’s games: Oliver Durer for the Giants, and Niklas Makwana for the Dodgers. Both coaches thanked players and parents for their commitment over the course of a rain-shortened season, and commented on the enormous progress made by all the players in all areas of the game. It only remained to spray the Perrier and present the handsome crystal trophy to the winning Dodgers team, who will keep it until this classic series resumes in the spring.

Game 1

Game 2

Season Batting Averages

written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent, Chris Jones

Growing up on Merseyside I had only the vaguest idea about baseball. It was one of those sports that took place in other countries, like camel-wrestling or wife-carrying races.

I first saw the game when working in Japan. We would take our seats in the stands at the Tokyo Dome to watch the Yomiuri Giants take on the Yakult Swallows (really), and we would drink Asahi, cheer on the players and bang plastic sticks together at appropriate intervals.

Twenty years later I find myself with two half-American sons. Most Saturdays we come to the ballpark, and I watch, score and act as assistant coach. I know the game a little better now, but retain a somewhat sketchy grasp of the rules. Luckily at under-11 level, the intricacies of the dropped third-strike or the infield fly are not central to our games.

Of course, I’ve had to adopt a major-league team. My elder son favours the Mariners, while I cheer on the Boston Red Sox, for no better reason than that they share an owner with Liverpool Football Club. My morning ritual at the office includes dropping in at mlb.com to check the overnight scores; as it happens the Sox are on the road in Seattle as I write. Sometimes the overnight game has been a high-scoring affair, 15-4 or 13-12 after extra innings. Other times, the pitchers have prevailed: 1-0 or 2-1.

But in the Herts Dodgers matchups against the Herts Giants, we leave those pitching duels to the professionals; we believe our crowds turn up to see a festival of hitting. And so it was on Saturday at Grovehill.

The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead into this game, and the Giants were looking to restore parity after narrowly losing to their rivals last week. After some training, including a competitive game of ‘hit the lawn chair from twenty yards’, it was time to play.

The Dodgers fielded essentially the same team as last week, while the Giants rang the changes: the Lynches and Trautmans were unavailable for selection, but back in came Lewis Auchterlounie and Rory Vangundy. The Giants also welcomed Ben Jackson-Preece to the lineup. Both teams also acquired a temporary player from the U14s; Bai Frisby for the Giants and Blake Edwards for the Dodgers.

Unlike the tense encounter of a week ago, this game was one-sided. The Giants were scoreless in the first, while the Dodgers replied with the maximum five runs with no outs. In the second, the Giants picked up a run, but were undone after some good infield play at third base disposed of base runners in two successive plays.

At the bottom of the second, the Giants made two outs, but then allowed a further five runs to end up 10-1 down after two.

The bleak situation brightened up for the Giants in the third: it was their turn to score five runs. But anything the Giants could do, the Dodgers could do just as well, as they batted around and scored another five to take the game to 15-6 after three innings.

In the fourth, the Giants could do nothing to respond to the Dodgers’ clinical fielding, as Oliver struck out and Rory and Alex both grounded out at first. The Dodgers added a run to leave the Giants with the daunting task of hitting ten runs to make the Dodgers bat again. Despite good hits from Bai Frisby and Cameron Manning, this was too big a margin, and the Giants succumbed 16-9.

The coaches feel we are continuing to see signs of improvement in all areas of play. Plenty of batters in this game hit the fences: Cameron, Rory, Bai, Nicholas, Katie, Ozan and Blake. There were a number of neat plays in the infield. And perhaps most importantly, when coach Mike asked if his Dodgers players had enjoyed the game, there was a unanimous shout of ‘yeah!’. You can’t ask for much more.

Picture credit: Aidan C. Siegel

written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent, Chris Jones

Saturday’s skies were clear across Southern England from Penzance to the Wash. Three days on from the summer solstice, the air was hot, heavy, humid. A dog lay on the pavement, motionless but for a pant of the tongue and a flick of the ear. Dragonflies hovered over the river, their faint buzzing the only sound to be heard. In the distance a flag drooped, still, like the pendulum of a long-stopped grandfather clock. The sun was merciless, the black streets baked like the hot charcoal of a barbecue.  Young children took refuge in cool, blue, rippling paddling pools, old women closed their shutters and waited for the cool of evening.

Click here for the scorecast, and choose Replay in the top right corner to follow the game.

The waiting is over. The boys and girls of summer will get the 2012 youth baseball league season underway this Saturday, 14 April 2012, at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Players from across Hertfordshire, London and as far as East Anglia will be putting on the Herts jerseys as the race for the championships begins.

The season will open with several mouth-watering match-ups. In the British Under-17 League Herts will start their season against the Harlow Stars at 11am. The Stars will then play against the Forest Glade RedBacks, and the final U17 game will see the Herts All Stars meet the RedBacks in a repeat of the heart-breaking playoff game which Herts lost 11-10 in extra innings last season.

In the Under-14 League Herts welcome the RedBacks’ U14 team. First pitch is at 11am. Both teams reached the National Baseball Championships last year. The RedBacks finished in third place overall while Herts were the runners-up after losing in the final to LYBL. In the second U14 game the RedBacks will face the Bracknell Wildfire and in the third game Bracknell will play the Herts All Stars.

Under-11 League opens up with the Herts Giants and Herts Dodgers playing against the RedBacks U11 team which means that there will be a Herts-versus-RedBacks rivalry in every age group on Opening Day. In total nine teams will be on show with baseball from 11am to 6pm.

As always, at the start of every season, there will be many new faces with free agents joining the League and players moving to a higher age group, so it will be a fascinating opening day.

It will be the first opportunity for the Herts youth teams to play at their home, Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, after the recently announced upgrade funded by BSUK as part of the long-term project to turn it into the best baseball venue in Great Britain.

There isn’t a better way to spend Saturday then at the ballpark enjoying a hot dog and all sort so of other snacks and drinks which will be on offer. The games begin at 11am. Free admission for all.

NEW PLAYERS CAN JOIN AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR

Many new players have signed up with the teams over the last few weeks and it is not too late for new players to start playing in the League. Herts Baseball club welcomes new members at any point of the season, boys and girls from 6 to 16 years of age, from complete beginners to experienced players. For more details contact Herts Baseball Club.

OPENING DAY SCHEDULE – Saturday, 14 April