Author: Rob Jones

3 July 2018 by Rob Jones

Hot hitting: Big homers lead to big wins

The Herts Falcons claimed a big scalp in the National Baseball League (NBL) with a stunning victory over the powerful London Mets at home at Grovehill (on Sunday 1st July). It was another perfect sunny day for baseball, and the team got into a groove quickly.

Zack Longboy pitched a gem, backed by a home run from GB catcher Conner Brown, to give the home side a narrow 10-9 lead entering the final inning. Far from crumbling under pressure, the Falcons piled on. Both Phil Clark and Will Zucker — fresh from claiming a national baseball title with his university side — drove in runs.

*Falcons’ Cris Hiche at bat (file photo)*

The coup de grace was a grand slam homer from manager Cris Hiche. That sealed the deal and ended the game to give Herts a 21-11 win.

Game 2 of the double header saw London take revenge. Zucker started on the mound, but the Mets scored 11 in the first inning on their way to a 20-1 win. Herts’ only hits both came from NBL rookie Tom Carson.

Over on Grovehill’s other diamond, the Herts Hawks went down 10-2 in the first half of their double-header at home to Sidewinders in the Double-A league. One big inning undid the Hawks, and despite excellent relief pitching from Aaron Witter the bats could not make a dent on the visitors’ lead.

Herts also fell behind early in Game 2. But this time they rallied back dramatically. There were hits from Hunter Devine, and Gilberto Medina.

The Hawks’ manager Michael Cresswell put an exclamation mark on the comeback by hitting his first ever home run in the top of the seventh. It capped an 11-9 win.

*A home run trot for the first time for Michael Cresswell*

In the Single-A league, the Herts Raptors stayed close to the pace-setting London Musketeers for 2 innings. Smart pitching from Paul Auchterlounie and a double play turned by second baseman James Emblow helped.

But the visitors’ bats came alive in the third, and tacked on in the fourth. As a hot day at Grovehill drew towards an end, London had the game by the scruff of the neck.

Another strong relief appearance by Giuseppe Basilea slowed the scoring, and Simon Radford – returning from injury — got his debut hit for Herts. But it wasn’t enough to prevent a 24-5 defeat for the Raptors. They travel to Richmond this weekend, looking to get back to winning ways.

*Giuseppe Basilea at bat for the Raptors*

18 June 201818 June 2018 by Rob Jones

Father-son duets do the double for Herts

At times, it looked as if the Herts Raptors would struggle to get a team together for Sunday’s trip to the Tonbridge Bobcats, as Father’s Day stripped away a few regulars from the line-up.

In the end, the 9 players they got together played one of their best all-around games of the season to secure a win. New father and son recruits were central to it, but more of them later.

We will start at the top of the first, when rookie Harvey Blenkarne led off with a hit to centre field. He advanced around the bases to score, as did manager Matt Jackson.

Raptors loaded the bases, but some miscommunication about an infield fly ended the threat. Tonbridge struck back with two runs of their own, but in the second innings Herts were able to cash in more of their base-runners.

Doubles from Jackson and from Rob Jones helped bring in 5 runs this time, with the Bobcats getting only 1 in reply.

Herts veteran Arnie Longboy was on the mound for this one, and worked steadily in and around the strike zone. Andrew Sharp for Tonbridge picked up more strikeouts, but Longboy and his catcher, Ken Pike, kept the Bobcats swinging, and the defense backed them up.

Edward Liu, switched to first base for this game, was a rock, while Matt Jackson made excellent plays in a rare appearance at third base.

Shortstop Rob Jones – whose career highlight is probably a sliding infield catch at Tonbridge – made a sliding infield catch which was almost a carbon copy. He was able to dash in for a dying quail which had just enough to get past the pitcher, but not enough to reach anyone else.

Raptors led 10-4 after four innings. Solid, but far from decisive in Single-A. Whereas in the past, the team has sometimes lost a bit of focus at times like these, they stepped it up this time.

That father-son duo we mentioned earlier was Brian and Josh Morgan. Brian (senior) slipped smoothly into a job at second base, and got a hit every time he came up.

Josh (the younger) took time to warm up against the pitching. But when Herts needed the production to seal the game he hit a superb double to the outfield. He capped that with a steal of home, a cloud of dust as his exclamation point.

Herts scored 11 in the top of the fifth, with James Emblow contributing a double, a single and a run. It put a mercy rule win within sight. Tonbridge got runners on, and scored 2 as they loaded the bases.

But they ran out of outs. Matt Jackson made the final play from third to cap off a 21-6 victory and move his side to 5-2 on the season.

Back at Grovehill, the Herts Hawks were hosting the Norwich Iceni, last year’s unbeaten champions in Single-A. Norwich had won the first encounter between the teams in Double-A this year, a rain soaked affair which went to extra innings.

The Hawks bats helped them jump out to an early lead, and pitcher Darrin Ward held the visitors to just one hit in the first two innings. Norwich did manage to rally.

But the Hawks showed their power to surge ahead. Ward and Andy Cornish both hit doubles, while there was a triple for Gilberto Medina. 10 runs in the fourth inning put Herts in control, with a 17-4 lead.

Manager Mike Cresswell got on base every time he came up while Drew Mayhew – playing his first Herts game for two and a half years, hit a double.

The Hawks celebrated a 20-5 mercy rule win and they are now 8-2 on the year.

At this game, the father-son combo was Louis Hare, who played a great game as ever, and Geoff, one of the country’s leading umpires. It seems you can play baseball and celebrate Father’s Day at the same time.

11 June 2018 by Rob Jones

Happy Hawks hang on, Falcons bounce back

The Herts Hawks travelled to the riverside venue of Richmond to take on the London Marauders in the AA-division (don’t ask why). They were looking to build on last week’s wins and cement their position as a force in the AA-division this year.

Game 1 started out as a pitching duel and it was scoreless through three innings. London took a one-run lead in the fourth, then the Hawks struck back with hits from catcher, Bryn Coughlan, and Darrin Ward to lead 2-1.

It stayed that way until the final inning, when shortstop Gilberto Medina hit a triple to drive in three runs. Pitcher Leigh Coke held the Marauders to just one in reply to finish off his complete game, and secure a 5-2 win.

The second game was tight too, but more high-scoring. Ward also pitched a complete game for Herts and they won 14-13, surviving more final inning drama by stranding what would have been the tying run on second base.

Defense was key to their success, with an amazing diving catch in the outfield by Anthony Lavender, and several fine plays at shortstop by Medina.

In the NBL, the Herts Falcons were in Birmingham to face the newcomers to the league, the Bandits. Their day was dogged by some personnel troubles, but they battled through.

Wade Lynch was hit in the face during batting practice, but had to soldier on and play. (He would later need stitches). Starting pitcher Rob Ackerman did not arrive until near game time so the Falcons started off with reliever Walter Bates on the mound.

The two teams exchanged runs in the early going, with the Bandits 4-3 up after two innings. Ackerman then came in and was able to close down the Birmingham bats.

Meanwhile, up and down the lineup, Herts were hitting well and they won comfortably, 18-5. Carlos Casal Jr made his 2018 debut for the team after a transfer was completed during the week.

The second half of the double-header was a closer affair. The roster went down to 9, meaning Lynch had to stay on and Ackerman tried to squeeze some more innings out of his arm.

Manager Cris Hiche again pitched well as a reliever, and another burst of runs from the Herts bats helped the cause. It was 7-2 after three innings, but the Bandits chipped away, closing the gap to 7-6 before Herts put it to bed with 4 runs in the top of the seventh.

The Falcons secured the victory, 11-7. Alex Deacon got his first NBL hit, and Hiche was proud of how his team had battled throughout a tiring day.

In Single-A, the Herts Raptors got a walkover win against the Old Timers, who couldn’t get enough players to Grovehill for a full team. The two sides still played a game with the people they had got, and won that too — and everyone had a good time in the Hemel Hempstead sunshine!

That meant that Herts won five out of five games, the second time this year the club has secured a full sweep on a Sunday.

5 June 2018 by Rob Jones

Catching heat: “who’s the sweaty guy in the mask?”

Playing catcher on a hot day is perhaps the greatest weight loss programme yet to be discovered, writes Rob Jones.

Well, it’s yet to be featured by the Sunday supplements as a craze to go alongside eating pureed kale while sniffing bath salts. It’s yet to be promoted as a miracle by the Daily Mail, then debunked a week later.

*Rare archive of Rob Jones catching, in 2014*

But of course, everyone in the baseball community knows that the hottest place to be when the sun is glaring down is in the mask and armour of the catcher. Perhaps some of my larger-framed colleagues — as catchers are often on the solid side — opted for the position precisely because of its healthy side-effects.

As for me? Since I am made from a handful of sticks tied together, I don’t really get that benefit. But I found my five innings of work at Guildford Millers on Sunday quite hot enough, thanks. My jersey has the tide marks to prove it.

I perversely like the position, even if my 45 year old legs don’t. It keeps you involved on every single pitch of the game. You can’t get much better than that when you show up for one of the handful of baseball games you get to play each summer.

And as a former cricketer and football goalkeeper, I understand both the need for good blocking, and the technique for it. After seeing one too many volunteers who liked the macho aspects of catching but then hopped up and blocked everything with their shin pads, I started volunteering.

I’d never been an obvious catcher (see previous comparison involving sticks). And I have never had a cannon for an arm. But to be honest, most lower level catchers don’t either. So I figured my good elements outweighed my bad!

If you want to try out as a catcher, Guildford is a good place. Their temporary backstop is pretty close to the plate, and is springy enough that wild pitches and pass balls bounce back to you. That really helps take off the pressure which you get elsewhere – such as Grovehill — where a runner can score from third quite handily on every errant play as the ball goes to the fence.

Naturally, Paul and I were a pretty flawless combination on Sunday, so that issue never came up! (ahem) One runner did have a go at it when a ball in the dirt caromed away, but I had time to fetch it back and tag him out.

*Conner Brown of Herts and GB, an actual expert catcher*

Catching is one of the jobs on the diamond which is quite different between Single-A and the top levels, whereas many others are actually quite comparable.

The pitcher for example — if he’s sharp, he’s dominant. Same for MLB and A-league. The shortstop. A close play on a grounder is close at both levels, it’s just that everyone at A-league will have moved a bit slower!

Whereas the Single-A catcher, lacking that cannon arm, can do little to control the running game. That’s a vital job for the Major League guys, but down in our basement level everyone knows that the runner is going to steal and you probably can’t stop him.

Similarly, top guys are calling the pitch sequences artfully. Yes, we do that in Single-A, but unless the pitcher has a full repertoire of reliable pitches that’s far less important. You just want it in the strike zone!

Similarly, the level of scouting reports and expertise on each batter is far less. You can spot well enough who are the really big hitters, but any batter can surprise you at this level.

Honestly, I do think we did a decent job as a battery at Guildford. The Raptors pitchers this year and in recent memory are more accurate than we have sometimes had in the past. So we are able to take our thinking to the next level.

I should of course add that I caught only five innings, with one of our new recruits Harvey taking over for the final three innings. Younger, stronger, better legs!

It was his first appearance as a catcher, though he has clearly been studying. Harvey did a really solid job, including calling pitches, and has good fundamentals to develop his blocking.

He had to learn the hard way on both conceding an interference call, and on giving up a run with an un unnecessary throw when there were runners on first and third. But the hard way is the best way to learn, and when you’re being told a thousand things, those ones will sink in the quickest.

Physically, I feel that I survived this one fairly well. The legs do ache, but not in the way they sometimes have on a Monday when I can barely move.

On Monday, my left thumb felt bruised. On Tuesday, it is tingly and numb. Although I fared much better than usual by borrowing Paul’s broken-in catching mitt, I still banged my thumb three times when taking a pitch.

Actually, the catching fraternity out there might be able to help me with this.

I have a terrible habit of receiving the ball and banging my thumb in a direction it doesn’t want to go. It really bloody hurts, and takes days to clear.

Are there any great tips on how to avoid this? Tricks? Things to “visualise”? If any of you say, “visualise yourself being a less bad catcher”, I might sulk.

I might not. I might be so overwhelmed with relief that we finally got to play baseball after weeks of interruptions, that I won’t care.

It’s been disappointing to have two games forfeited to us, as wins mean little to us if we don’t get the chance to play to earn them! The game at Guildford was the closest of the three we have managed in 2018. Here’s hoping for another close one next time, with us coming out on top. And my thumb feeling much healthier.

4 June 201818 June 2018 by Rob Jones

Too hot to handle: Raptors baked by Millers

Going into the top of the ninth inning at Guildford, the Herts Raptors needed seven runs to save the game. It had been a hot, long day in the sunshine, and a tight game, but the Millers had suddenly taken a commanding lead in the eighth.

Herts heads had perhaps dropped a little, as the team’s pitching faltered in the late innings, they felt aggrieved about some strike calls, and the offense was unable to push across runs.

But — led by manager Matt Jackson — the Raptors gave it everything and nearly pulled it off. Jackson walked, stole second, stole third, then scored on Arnie Longboy’s single. With two outs and two strikes, Darren Priest singled to keep it alive.

In the end, needing seven, Herts scored six and had to endure a 24-23 defeat.

The early exchanges had been tight, and unusually low-scoring for a Single-A game. Raptors’ starting pitcher Paul Auchterlounie limited Guildford to just two hits and four runs in the first three innings.

Herts loaded the bases twice, thanks largely to walks, but couldn’t get the key hits against pitches which looked inviting — but which were frustratingly easy to pop up. The Millers led 6-3 after four.

And then in the fifth, the Raptors finally solved the pitching. Catcher Rob Jones led off with a strong single, John Kjorstad and Giuseppe Basilea both stroked doubles. The visitors batted around, scoring five runs to take back the lead.

Jones made the final out thanks to a spectacular diving catch by Guildford’s centre fielder Christian Schmidt, who should be in the queue for some postseason awards.

Harvey Blenkarne on base; he made his catching debut

There was plenty of good fielding on show in this game, between two sides who seemed evenly matched. Guildford’s Miles Buckton made a dramatic leaping grab at second base to take away a hit in the eighth.

For Herts, Paul Auchterlounie had flashed his leather in the seventh to retire a runner, while Longboy at shortstop made several good, tough plays.

The Raptors piled on again in the sixth but then Guildford got their own bats going. When Giuseppe Basilea came on to pitch in relief, he struggled to make his strike zone match with the umpire’s.

Nobody is ever going to agree about every call, but frustration started to show with Herts as they felt this one slipping away. John Kjorstad, a multi-talented veteran with many skills, but not normally a pitcher, came in to try to simply lob in some strikes. But even that didn’t work.

Priest, coming off the bench after injury to pitch, finally ended it, but Guildford now led 24-17. Their young relief pitchers had also had struggles with control, but the last of them – Tom Sullivan – is a recent GB call-up and they were offering more of a challenge when in the zone.

So Herts had to get it together for a last stand. After Jackson and Longboy scored, Auchterlounie — who ended the day with 3 hits — drove one to the fence to bring in a fistful of runs, and it seemed the Raptors could do this.

But it ended with one last groundout. The Millers deserved their hard-fought win. The Raptors will feel disappointed that it slipped away, but there were lots of positives to take home.

Paul Auchterlounie should be happy with his day

Herts now move to 3-2 on the season, and will hope that Old Timers can fulfil their fixture this coming week. If they do, it will be the first time in 2018 that the team has managed to play games on two Sundays in a row.

16 May 201818 May 2018 by Rob Jones

Falcons fight back, while Hawks lose their way

The Herts Falcons had suffered a frustrating day at home to the London Capitals in their National Baseball League matchup (on Sunday May 13th).

In the first half of the double-header, they fell into an early hole, and couldn’t quite fight their way out. When they went 8-2 behind in the second game, things looked bad.

But they dug deep. As manager Cris Hiche put it, “the bats came alive”. NBL rookie Tom Carson was one of those making his presence felt. He came off the bench to get two hits, including a double.

Tyler Badenhorst had started sharply on the mound, but then struggled with his control and the relief corps stepped up. Aaron Witter and Walter Bates held firm, and Conner Brown contributed three innings of “phenomenal” relief pitching. The Falcons won it 14-8.

The first game had ended 7-4 to London, but that is only part of the story.

London had scored 6 in the first inning – with 2 home runs inching over the short fence in right field. Rather than turning into a blowout, this one was tight. On the mound, Herts’ Rob Ackerman made adjustments after the early shelling, to pitch a complete game.

Hiche hopes his team can ride the momentum from their comeback and continue improving. They are now at .500 on the season.

Across Grovehill on the other baseball diamond, the Herts Hawks had an unusually error-strewn game against Sidewinders in the AA-league. It was a top of the table clash, and the Herts side will be disappointed with their performance.

The first exchanges were tight. But then they gave up 5 runs in the top of the second, with batters getting to veteran pitcher Darrin Ward and the defense unable to help him out.

Hawks were able to rally back to 11-6, and loaded the bases more than once. They got hits from new boy Leigh Coke and returning hero Kimiyoshi Saionji.

*Unmistakeably – and irreplaceably – Kimi*

But they could not keep Sidewinders in check. More mistakes allowed more runs, and in the end the visitors took it 19-11.

The Hawks manager Mike Cresswell was clearly frustrated but looked quickly towards rebounding in the coming weeks: “We bring our heads up high, and move on to the next”, he said. “And nobody can be upset when we witnessed the return of Kimi!”

The Herts Raptors had to sit out the week’s action, but still ended up with a victory. The Old Timers were hampered by injury and had to postpone their planned game in Single-A.

They felt unable to turn this week’s fixture into a double-header so the Raptors win by forfeit, and move to 2-1 on the season.

7 May 2018 by Rob Jones

Break out the brooms: Herts sweep at home

Five games. Five wins. On a Bank Holiday weekend which saw the best sunshine of the year so far, the sun also shone on the three Herts adult teams.

*Moise Vasquez shows the way for the Falcons*

The Hawks started bright and early on a packed day at Grovehill, kicking off their double header against the Bracknell Inferno at 10am.

Darrin Ward went the distance on the pitching mound in this one. Backed by the bats of Hunter Devine and Jon Lewys, Herts jumped out to a 3-1 lead.

Anthony Lavender hit a double and hosed a runner from the outfield to help the home side to a 7-3 lead in the middle of the fourth, and Herts ran away with it from there. It ended 14-4, and another win for Ward.

The second game saw the Hawks give debuts to some new recruits. Adam Huxley, Leigh Coke and Bryn Coughlan all contributed to an even more convincing victory, 14-0. Coke pitched a one-hit shutout for the W.

The Hawks now move to 4-1 on the season and can be very happy with how things are shaping up.

Over on the other diamond, the Herts Falcons were hosting the new boys in the National Baseball League (NBL), the Birmingham Bandits. This was a fixture rearranged from the Opening weekend washout, and the weather couldn’t have been more different.

In the first half of the double-header, solid hitting helped the home side back up Wade Lynch. He pitched 5 strong innings with 5 strikeouts. Walter Bates went 4-for-4, while a 2-run double from Moise Vasquez was one of the highlights.

The Falcons blew Birmingham away in the bottom of the fifth to secure a mercy rule 17-7 win.

Game 2 was a tighter affair, with Birmingham fighting back after a good start from the Falcons. It was 7-5 to Herts in the middle of the sixth.

But the home side was able to finish it off, Vasquez going 3-for-4 and Dany Bueno contributing 4 RBIs. As the shadows started to lengthen, the Falcons wrapped up a 13-7 win with a catch deep in the left field corner. Aaron Witter, Charlie Mayhew and Phil Clarke combined with the pitching.

*Falcons manager Cris Hiche puts some work in*

In the Single-A league, the Herts Raptors were hosting the Bracknell Phoenix and going in search of their first win of the season.

A couple of strikeouts by starting pitcher Lee Manning couldn’t stop the lead off batter getting round to score. But he threw a chair to the number 6 hitter and closed the door on any more runs.

Then the Herts bats went to work. Bracknell would probably kick themselves that were unable to make some plays, but the Raptors did what they had to do and put the ball in play to make things happen.

There were hits for Giuseppe Basilea and Paul Barton, while James Emblow hit a fine double. By the time it was over, Herts had scored 12 runs to take a stranglehold on the game.

It did all settle down a bit from there. Phoenix hitters got tougher at the plate and chipped back some runs – 2 in the second, 4 in the fourth to make it 20-7.

But Herts were determined not to take their foot off the gas on this day. Manager Matt Jackson scored a run every time he came up, while the only out which Michael Johnson made was a booming fly ball caught near the fence in centre.

*Giuseppe Basilea pitching (file photo)*

Defensively, Herts were sound too, turning a double play to help contain Bracknell. Substitute second-baseman Arnie Longboy took a ground ball up the middle, stepped on the bag and threw on to rookie Tim Bohknecht at first base.

Giuseppe Basilea came on to pitch two excellent innings of relief. And then in the bottom of the fifth Herts needed two for a mercy rule win.

Barton scored the first of them on a groundout, leaving the bases empty. Then Longboy manufactured the winner all by himself with a walk, a steal, a steal and an overthrow.

Raptors celebrated a 24-9 win to go 1-1 on their young season and secure Matt Jackson’s first league victory as manager. Manning got the W as pitcher.

1 May 20181 May 2018 by Rob Jones

Hawks go the distance for a close finish

The Herts Hawks were faced with their longest road trip of the season, and maybe (hopefully!) their toughest weather conditions when they travelled the 120 miles to Norwich, writes Jamie Lang.

The Iceni were coming in to the matchup riding a 19 game winning streak. In 2017, Norwich had repeated the Hawks’ 2016 feat of winning the Single-A title with an undefeated season — so the first contest between these teams in Double-A was always going to be special.

11 Hawks, as well as two very dedicated fans, had made the journey, and they immediately knew they would need to adjust to the conditions when they were greeted with weather more suited to rugby than baseball.

*Herts pitcher Darrin Ward (library photo)*

Soaked through and shivering before a pitch had even been thrown, the Hawks knew that it would be a challenging day, and it proved so when Norwich held them scoreless in the top of the first inning. Hawks’ star pitcher Darrin Ward was working in unfamiliar surroundings with no mound to pitch from, and it may have contributed as Norwich plated 3 runs in their half of the inning.

The game settled down a little from there. After several players used the changing room hand dryer in an attempt to stave off frostbite, Herts got on the board in the top of the third with a double from manager Mike Cresswell.

They then went on to tie the game at 3 in the top of the fourth on an infield single from catcher, Hunter Devine. Originally called out by the infield umpire, Norwich’s first baseman sportingly admitted that his foot was off the bag when he caught the ball, and the correct call was eventually made.

Players from both teams employed many different methods to try and keep warm and dry, and Greg Bochan’s balaclava clearly wasn’t inhibiting his vision as he made several nice plays at third base to keep the game close. The Hawks finally took their first lead of the game in the sixth inning, a 2-run double from Darrin Ward giving them a 6-5 lead in the middle of the sixth.

Norwich would again rally back though, and they were leading 8-6 after seven innings before substitute left fielder Jamie Lang tied it up with a single in the eighth.

At this point the tension began to rise, and the inexperience of Norwich’s umpire may have started to show, with both teams feeling like they deserved more strikes than they were being given. Needing a run in the top of the ninth to extend the game, Herts struck three times to take a 2-run lead; two of the three runs scoring on a hit from shortstop Mike Cattermole.

The Hawks looked to close it out in the bottom of the ninth, but unfortunately it was not to be as Norwich tied the game. They had an opportunity to win it with a man on third and 2 outs, but Cattermole was involved again, catching a sharp line drive at shortstop to end the inning.

After some debate about potentially ending the game as a tie, considering the weather and the long journey home for the Hawks, it was decided that they hadn’t come all this way for a tie, and to the 10^th it would go.

With the Norwich pitcher clearly struggling with both the conditions and an injured hamstring, Herts were able to capitalise, plating 4 runs and again looking to close out the game and stop the Iceni win streak at 19. Starting pitcher Darrin Ward was still on the mound, but an inspired performance from Norwich led to a final comeback and an eventual 16-15 win on a walk-off infield single.

A game which at times had become heated ended with both teams exchanging handshakes as soon as the winning run had scored. Both teams had given it their all, and unfortunately this time the Hawks came out on the losing end. A long journey and the cold and rain had not ended as hoped, but such is baseball, and such is life.

Norwich Iceni called it “a hell of a game”, and paid tribute to the performance of their visitors. The Hawks’ Manager Mike Cresswell offered congratulations on the win, adding:“The loss hurts but we continue. We go again and we go again winning.”

The Hawks, now with a 2-1 record, will return home to Grovehill next week for a double header against the Bracknell Inferno.

25 April 201826 April 2018 by Rob Jones

Stop Coming Up Short

I have been playing mostly shortstop for some years now, writes Rob Jones. A little bit of third when we needed it, second base, and even first – as well as a chunk of catching, which I enjoy but my legs don’t so much.

But what you find as a Single-A shortstop is that, although it is generally seen as the central role in the infield, you can go entire games with barely a chance coming your way.

I don’t really know why. Why is it that, at the lower level of the game, the truisms go out of the window? Shouldn’t it all be the same, but maybe a bit slower, a bit less efficient? Maybe the combination of amateurishness on the part of the pitcher and the batter — and the fielder — somehow combine to rewrite the rule book.

*Herts fielders pay attention to a runner*

On Sunday, however, I started at shortstop in our opening league game of the season and had three chances come my way in the top of the first inning.

Sadly for me (and for the pitcher) only one of them led to an out. And I want to look briefly at those plays to think about what happened.

The Raptors as a whole perhaps showed some of the rust which came from 2018’s washout (and occasionally white-out) pre-season. We had played only one game, nearly a month ago. We were not as slick and as confident as we can be.

Lucky old me, I got to exemplify all of this when one of the first London batters hit a towering pop-up.

It should have been all mine, I will make that clear before I start. But instead, the ball ended up on the floor, the runner was safe and I had a bruised wrist and chest to show for it.

They say one of the truisms about how to field a fly ball well (or in this case a pop-up – same difference, shorter distance) is about taking a great route to the ball. In other words, seeing and feeling immediately where it is going, how hard, how fast, and getting to the best spot to catch it.

Well, on this pop-up my brain tried to calculate that great route – and all the gears slipped into neutral. At first I thought it was going deeper than it really was, perhaps fooled by its height.

So I didn’t move as sharply as I should’ve done to get back and beyond the ball. Looking up at it, I also started to lose my bearings a bit. Laser focus was lacking.

The slow feet meant that when the ball ultimately came down, around the edge of the dirt and the grass, it was dropping over my shoulder and through my breadbasket. My attempts to make the Willie Mays catch ended in a tumble, and the bruises mentioned earlier. And, metaphorically, egg on my face.

It wasn’t long before another chance came my way. This was an infield dribbler, sneaking past the pitcher. I fielded it on the run, heading towards first base.

But when I threw it a combination of rushing, whilst also easing off the throw as I came close to first, meant that the ball died apologetically at Beppe’s feet. He did his best to scoop it but couldn’t. He should never have needed to.

For regular readers and viewers, I can tell you this was very like the incident at home plate in that one pre-season game. You’re not really supposed to make the same mistake twice, I think that’s accepted as “a bad thing”. But maybe making the same mistake once a month isn’t soooo bad??

The final chance followed swiftly. This was an actual, normal, proper shortstop play. A rarity! A hard-hit ground ball right at me. Got that one, made the toss to second for the force-out and finally ended the inning.

On the plus side, I have to say that I fielded both of the ground balls cleanly. I can’t tell you how, so I am taking that as a good sign that it was simply instinctive.

Maybe those training sessions throwing the ball against the wall in the park were good for something! But what it all showed was that there is no replacement for live, game action. It’s about putting together your brain, your feet, and your hands.

*The young people explain “music” to team-mates*

For the Raptors, Opening Day was a disappointing and slightly flat experience, as we quickly fell behind and didn’t show enough skills to get back into it.

The first-inning injury to Liam, our centre fielder, obviously took the wind out of everybody’s sails. It’s never good to see people get hurt. Fortunately he seems to be on the mend, and we wish him a speedy and smooth recovery. But his arm injury looked nasty and I don’t underestimate that.

The team did put in a bit of a rally late in the game, stringing together some hits and loading the bases as we tried to stave off a mercy rule defeat. There was some good fielding, too – a great outfield catch by Oliver, a great relay by Jamie for Ken to nail a runner at the plate. So there are positives.

Days after the game, I ache even more than usual. Judging from he exact nature of my bruise, I wonder now if the ball actually hit me as I missed that pop-up. Without video replay, we’l never know. And I feel loath to complain about my pains, given how Liam must be feeling.

But no matter what happened, we are all happy to get back to playing baseball.

For any new readers worried about my apparent tendency towards self-flagellation online, I offer my annual reassurance. These little articles are all about sharing the frustrations of the small-time British ball-player – I’m happy enough to be the one to do it out loud.

And the upside always outweighs the down. It just needs fewer words to express it: “we played baseball.”

23 April 2018 by Rob Jones

Hawks start strong; struggles for Falcons, Raptors

The first BBF league action at Grovehill ballpark in 2018 saw the Herts Hawks facing the London Marauders in the AA division. The Hawks reached the playoffs last year in their first season back at that level, and have their eyes on even better this year.

It didn’t begin well, though. Starting pitcher Andrew Slater was shelled for eight runs in the top of the first inning, including a home run.

The Hawks struck back with three runs of their own and, although London were able to tack on another run, the home side completed the comeback to tie the game at 9-9 in the fourth.

The Marauders are always a solid team and this was a tight game until Hawks took a 12-11 lead into the final inning and locked down the victory. Slater was credited with the win, Louis Hare got the save.

Michael Cresswell stretches at first base

Crafty veteran Darrin Ward was on the pitching mound for Game 2 of the double-header, making his Hawks debut. The early exchanges were tight but both Ward and the Herts bats soon established dominance.

The home side led 11-3 by the bottom of the third inning, and ran out 13-3 winners. A sweep and a come-from-behind victory are both good elements to start the season.

On Grovehill’s other diamond, the Herts Falcons of the NBL were also making their first home appearance after splitting last week’s double-header in Essex.

A powerful Southampton Mustangs side had much the better of Game 1, winning 12-2. Wade Lynch pitched 5 innings for Herts and Phil Clark pitched 2, but mistakes in the field cost the Falcons dear.

Game 2 was a different prospect. Both sides hit well in the opening exchanges, and it was tied at 8-8 by the third inning.

The Falcons young star, Conner Brown — who spent part of last season playing with the Cologne Cardinals in Germany – pitched all seven innings superbly, and delivered with the bat, too.

Conner Brown consults with coach Duane Badenhorst

Southampton edged ahead, but Herts tied it again at 10-10 in the top of the fourth and, as the shadows lengthened, the game built to a climax. In the end, the Mustangs had too much and they won 12-10 to go 4-0 on the season.

The last game of the day featured Herts’ Single-A side, the Raptors. The team, with a good sprinkling of rookies, was taking on one of the strongest contenders for the post-season, the London Musketeers.

The visitors took advantage of some defensive stumbles to strike first and take the lead. The Raptors’ new centre fielder Liam Roberts got on base when Herts came up to bat, but things quickly turned sour when he suffered an injury stealing second base. He was diagnosed with a dislocated elbow and a fracture, but is now recovering and the club wishes him a swift return to health.

After a long delay, London imposed themselves on the game with more runs. Herts loaded the bases in the bottom of the second but couldn’t capitalise and the visitors had taken a 5-1 lead.

The Raptors suffered a couple of more minor injury problems, and London hit and fielded well to put the game out of reach. There were high points for the home side – Oliver Durer made an exceptional catch deep in the outfield, and DH John Kjorstad delivered consistently with his bat.

Herts loaded the bases up again in the fifth as they tried to prevent an early end to the game on the mercy rule, but could only score one run and London won 17-5. The youngsters and rookies performed well and learned valuable lessons.

Herts fielders pay close attention to London baserunner