Author: Rob Jones

3 April 201825 April 2018 by Rob Jones

Down and dirty: Herts Spring League 2018

My first at-bat of 2018 ended with a flourish, writes Rob Jones. No, not a majestic home run, but an impressive flailing swing at a curve ball which was so far off the plate on the outside it was probably in a different post code.

It was a Herts Spring League game against the London Musketeers, I was batting fifth on a boggy field. We had got a runner on, and I calmly took a few pitches. But after six fastballs or so, the crucial payoff fooled me completely.

A Musketeer bamboozling your correspondent

In my defence, it was probably the first time I had swung at any sort of moving ball since last October, as none of the indoor training sessions I attended included any batting. And the skies were a bit grey. And Jupiter was moving into Orion. Or something.

But the point of this is not to make excuses — it’s to say that it didn’t really matter.

This is a paean to the joys of the Spring League, when the welcome opportunity to play baseball after a winter of hibernation overrides every doubt about how well you actually play it.

The first weekend of the HSL fell victim to unseasonably arctic weather. Only one game survived — and that was really just because the teams had already made the journey to Grovehill and refused to be defeated. Conditions were entirely unsuitable.

The second weekend still had some of the nastiest feel underfoot that I have ever experienced at our Spring League. The dugouts were soggy, the on-deck area slippy. Being a good citizen, and retrieving a pass ball, was quite a challenge.

For the stats geeks among you, I can reassure you that my performance at the plate improved some. I worked a walk the second time up, and what I will score as an infield hit the third time. Some scorers might think it was a throwing error by third base. But what do they know.

It was an adventure in the field, at shortstop, with the famous red cleats clogged with dirt. Fortunately it, too, followed a broad upward trajectory towards acceptability.

Of my first few plays, one was a muffed attempt to get a force at home on a dribbling ground ball. I was too late, and the throw was too low.

I was swiftly reminded that in such situations the throw, when in doubt, should always go to first. My reasoning was that I was rushing towards home plate to go and get the ball, so it seemed more sensible to throw in the direction I was heading. Who knows if I was right, but I certainly wasn’t successful.

The next chance I had was a straightforward infield pop-up, close to the pitchers’ mound. I called it, moved in. But somehow missed it entirely. I’m still not sure how. I only really knew I had dropped it by the aghast look on the face of Paul, the pitcher.

Fortunately I redeemed myself, taking a later pop-up despite a collision with the second baseman. We had both called for it, simultaneously, and so both ploughed on to try to catch it. Perhaps my earlier faux pas, and my determination to assert my shortstop’s authority, made me ignore a looming impact.

It ended well. I caught it, and nobody was hurt.

Except Paul. He was no longer pitching, Ken was. So Paul wanted to know quite why I couldn’t handle an easy catch for him, but could survive a clattering to help Ken. Oops!

The Raptors lost the game in the end, but there was lots of good pitching and lots of good plays.

We actually pulled off a hidden ball trick to tag a runner on second. I’m always bit conflicted about the hidden ball, to be honest. It feels like a low blow, a bit bush league.

And yet, if we are going to pay any attention at all to base discipline, then the hidden ball is surely just an extension of that. All players learning the game should understand when they are free to roam on the bases, and when they they have to get back. They should be looking out for pickoffs. So they should also look out for someone smuggling the ball in their glove.

Torrential rain put paid to the Raptors game scheduled for the Saturday of the third week. There was still a small boating lake on one diamond on the Sunday. Luckily, and with some solid work by the grounds crew, games did go ahead for lots of teams.

It’s always heartening to see teams coming from far and wide to brave what are often cold conditions to play Spring games at Herts. The weather really outdid itself this year. And so perhaps it is fair to say that all those travelling teams outdid themselves too.

I was obviously disappointed not to get more at-bats, and more ground balls. But the Spring League washes away all disappointments with positivity.

It may have had the muddy conditions of trench warfare sometimes, but the action has begun. We can only go up from here.

6 January 2018 by Rob Jones

Bigger and better: the baseball year at Herts

2017 was a year which saw Herts add new elements to its already impressive array of sporting possibilities. There was the arrival of softball, the development of a Rec League, and a new summer tournament which we hope will become a regular fixture. So, as the club prepares for next week’s AGM to start planning 2018, let’s look back over 2017.

The Herts Hawks led the way again for the club in the BBF leagues. After winning it all unbeaten in Single-A in 2016, they stepped up a division and continued on a tear.

Last year’s sluggers Gilberto Medina and Jon Lewys were still on board. The team had also been strengthened by the arrival of Michael Cresswell from the Raptors, and Ernie and EJ Ayala, a father and son combination well known in British baseball circles but new to Herts.

The Hawks kicked off with a 21-9 victory at Farnham Park against the Daws Hill Spitfires, the defending champions of Double-A. They survived a fightback to beat the Richmond Dragons, then extended the winning streak further by beating the London Marauders.

The run of victories was at 23 when they faced off against the East London Latin Boys, who were also undefeated on the season at that point and were leading the league. Herts took the first game of a double header, but then lost 14-8, their first defeat since September 2015.

Latin Boys and Sidewinders were the only sides to get the better of the Hawks in the regular season, and they qualified for the playoffs with a 17-4 record. There they faced their old rivals the Tonbridge Wildcats. They went down 11-7, beaten with both bat and ball by the Tonbridge phenom Christian Sacareanu.

In the top division, the National Baseball League (NBL), the Herts Falcons were bolstered by the return of Cris Hiche from a season playing ball in Austria — and by the late addition of former national champion Jarrod Pretorius.

They started the season with a sweep of the Brighton Jets, powered by home runs from Pretorius and Darren Meintjes. There was an early bump in the road with a controversial incident in the game at the Southampton Mustangs – which remains unresolved — then struggles for form and quality.

There were further wins over the London Capitals and Brighton, but the season high point was a hard-fought 5-2 victory over Southampton in July. Zack Longboy took the win, a complete game four-hitter. The Falcons continued to blood their young talent throughout the year, ending with a record of 7-19.

The Herts Single-A team, the Raptors, narrowly missed the playoffs. They were quick out of the blocks, with 2 wins out of their first 3. One of a raft of talented rookies, Ben Sinclair, made his mark with 2 home runs and a triple in the victory over the Old Timers.

The team came close against quality opponents such as London and Cambridge, but suffered a run of defeats to put them in a hole. Luckily for team spirit, the trip to Norwich to get hammered by the eventual champions was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone!

Veterans such as Ken Pike and John Kjorstad – added to improving newcomers Tom Carson and James Emblow – helped the Raptors fight back in the late summer. A nail-biting win against the Essex Archers was a highlight.

The playoffs were still an option as they faced the 11-2 Guildford Millers at Grovehill in their final game. The occasion got the close, quality contest it deserved, and just one run separated the teams as late as the sixth inning. The Millers went on to win 15-13, holding off a strong Herts rally. Raptors ended the season 7-7, the second consecutive year at .500 or above.

Youth baseball continued to flourish at Grovehill, the Herts Red Kites (Under-17s) having another strong season under the tutelage of Andrew Fulford. The developing core of players not only won games, but played the game the right way. That was honoured at the National Baseball Championships, where they won the sportsmanship award.

The Red Kites also won the inaugural Kal Cup which was played in August in memory of our friend and team-mate Kal Dimitrov who died suddenly in 2015. Many former Herts players came out of retirement to compete as Kal’s Knights, while the Essex Archers also joined us for the event. Falcons manager Lee Manning, who served as Commissioner, said Herts hoped to make the Cup an annual event.

The Herts youth movement also saw a successful year for the Under-13s, and leaps and bounds of improvements for the Under-11s, where many any of the players were still new to baseball in the Spring. They performed well in games against Brighton, Guildford and Forest Glade, and were able to start winning by the year’s end. U-11 Coach Dana Myzer said they had matured, grasped the game, and became better sportsmen and team-mates.

There was also continued growth for the Under-8 programme – these guys and girls had more fun than anyone when they got to practice sliding into the bases!!

And all of these age groups took part in the Herts Futures Tournament in September. 17 teams, featuring some 200 players and coaches, were involved. There were wins for the Red Kites, for London Sports, Brighton and the London Mets – but most importantly everyone had a good time.

Softball was part of the Herts stable of sport this year for the first time. Tireless efforts by Mark Caress and others saw the first indoor sessions in the Spring, which attracted dozens of people.

The Buzzards played their first tournament in May at Farnham Park and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. There were also games during the summer in a Milton Keynes league.

The final major addition — of what seems like a long list this year! – was the Rec League at Grovehill on summer Saturdays. This gave players the chance to show up when they could, for a time-limited game in a relaxed atmosphere. Cris Hiche helped drive the idea, which was ideal for new players wanting to try the sport of baseball without a big commitment, but also good for existing and past members who could now keep in touch.

2017 ended in traditional fashion with the Hunlock Series, in which every Herts player from every level — as well as newcomers and anyone from across the baseball community — gets drafted into new teams for a tournament.

It’s always a blast, with games just one inning long to recreate the drama of the ninth over and over again. The Blue Rockers came from nowhere to win the closest contest in history.

Fortunately, by the time the memories of a sun-kissed Grovehill fade away, the prospect of new baseball starts to appear. Herts will be running a range of adult and youth teams this year, and members are already registering. See you on the diamond!

10 October 201711 October 2017 by Rob Jones

Why cleats beat other treats

This blog is rarely preoccupied with shoes, or hats. Normally you would have to look at Vogue if you wanted that. But 2017 was not like other baseball years for your correspondent, writes Rob Jones.

Shoes were central to this year’s experience. Or, more specifically, cleats. Red cleats.

Way back when I started playing baseball, I stumbled across a pair of red Converse cleats going cheap from a guy who ran a baseball shop out of an industrial lot in north London. I bought them because I had credit with him, and just because they were there. But they became an emotional part of my game.

When my young children first came to see me play, they could identify Daddy from all these guys on the field by the fact he had red shoes on. One of our team-mates with a talent for photography immortalised the red cleats one year with a close-up picture.

They became me, and I became them.

In early 2017, they finally gave up the ghost. I don’t actually play that often, and would sometimes use different shoes on hard ground (the pair in question have metal cleats). So they had lasted years. But, in the end, they had too many holes and cracks to make them viable.

And so they were retired. And when I travelled to the United States this Spring, for the first time in about 8 years, my mission was to find new red, metal cleats. That was my request to each of the sports stores we visited.

And shiny Nike “Mike Trout” shoes were the result. I joke to my children that Mike Trout wears “Rob Jones” shoes, but I don’t think they are convinced.

Now, I accept this is all frippery. I mean, really, shoes?? But in the sporting world, good luck and superstitions can come in all shapes and sizes (a size 8, in this case). And a bit of bling never hurts.

Those old cleats had won the famous 2016 playoff game in Tonbridge. They helped me to a couple of batting titles (no, I didn’t hit the ball with my feet, but you know what I mean). I could read into all of this a message about breaking down, and wearing out. But I am choosing to find a message of longevity, and of renewal.

The cleats won their last game, in the Herts Spring League.

And the new guys won theirs too, at home to the Bracknell Inferno.

This was the start of the serious business of baseball. It was a season with lots of promise for the Herts Raptors, after winning their first ever playoff game in 2016. Lots of the guys who contributed that that run were still on board — though we lost some to higher divisions — and fresh new talent arrived, too.

My season started with an early 1.000 batting average. The last time that happened there were comparisons to the great Ty Cobb, and I became Rob Cobb. But fortunately that name didn’t last. The batting was a bit up and down this year, but it evened out just over .500 which was acceptable.

In the Kent Mariners game, I debunked my own theory that my bat gets slower and weaker as the game goes on with my biggest hit in a last-inning attempt at a rally. Not actually a hit, in scoring terms, as it was caught in the outfield. But enough to give me late-game optimism!

The cleats and I played almost all of the season at shortstop, barring a few moments as catcher. Again, it started pretty well, building to the home game against the London Musketeers as the defensive pinnacle of my year. At that point, I thought the magic shoes might finally take me to an infield gold glove.

But as the year wore on, maybe I slowed down a smidgen (see previous batting theories). But I did get to turn a double play at Guildford, and hopefully my work helped to keep the team in games on other occasions.

The Raptors ended with a 7-7 record, an excellent recovery from a hole we got into in the middle of the season. We just missed the playoffs but everyone is keen to come back for more next year and get into post-season action again. The shoes are definitely keen for more.

The other sartorial element of 2017 to be mentioned is hats. I also acquired a new Herts cap this year, because I had lost mine on a ride at Disney World in Florida. There are worse — or more boring – places to lose a hat. It ruined my plans to represent the club when we went to a Minor League baseball game on the same holiday, but it does mean that somewhere deep in Disney World, a mysterious black cap with a red H is repping Herts for an American audience.

Luckily, my son was able to represent Herts at the ball game with his hat. He had only lost his Red Sox cap!

Even while visiting one of the world’s leading entertainment attractions, I couldn’t help but take note of all the baseball caps I saw. And I ended up, essentially, counting them.

Most common were Cubs and Red Sox. But right up there with them were the Detroit Tigers. Which felt strange, as you don’t see a whole lot of Detroit hats in the UK. I don’t know what that tells us — are the Tigers way bigger in the US? Or do people from Detroit go on vacation in Florida?

San Francisco Giants fans seemed to prefer Animal Kingdom, as I saw more there than anywhere else. I was slightly surprised by the number of Blue Jays hats.

And according to my deeply unscientific poll, the Seattle Mariners are the least popular club in America, as I didn’t see a single one of their hats. Sorry, M’s. Following close behind, with maybe one or two hats spotted during the fortnight, were the Colorado Rockies, the Oakland A’s, the San Diego Padres and the Houston Astros.

Clearly, the fact that lots of these teams are on the west coast might simply mean that their fans go to Disneyland in California, instead of travelling thousands of miles to Florida! And if the Houston Astros win the World Series, they probably won’t care that I have just suggested they’re among the least popular teams in the US. If they do win, they might even celebrate by buying some new shoes….

26 September 2017 by Rob Jones

The (Herts) Future is now

Seventeen baseball teams, comprising around 200 players and coaches, descended upon Grovehill ball park on Saturday for another fantastic day of baseball at the Herts Futures Tournament.

This is the biggest annual youth event in the sport in the UK, which has been staged every year since 2008. Competing teams came from as far afield as Leicester and Brighton this year — with a good helping of Herts in there, too.

There were wins shared around in the four age categories, with Herts, Brighton, London Sports and the London Mets all getting a share of the spoils. Full results can be found on the Herts Futures pages of our website.

The day began in a warm but cloudy fashion, with Herts Under-13 and Under-17 teams playing the first games at 9:30 in the morning.

The Opening Ceremony then saw all of the players and coaches lining up to be introduced. London Sports sent their Thunder and Lightning and Storm; the London Mets were there; the Forest Glade Redbacks; the Leicester Blue Sox; and a combined Under-8 force of the London Capitals and Mets with Brighton, and even a sprinkling of Northants Centurions!

A queue of baseball talent stretched along the first base line, and there were high fives and fist bumps for everyone — including our excellent umpires Darrin Muller, Blake Taylor, Mike Wakelam and Rich Brown.

The Herts Red Kites had the best of it in the Under-17 category, capping an excellent year for them under their coach Andrew Fulford. The Under-13 league was a tight contest with the Brighton Fireballs and London Mets coming out tied on top of the table — after tying their own game. Tie-breaking rules on runs conceded gave the title to the Mets, but both sides put on an excellent show.

In the younger age groups, London Sports showed their prowess, winning both pools of the Under-11 competition. The Thunder and Lightning then faced off in the final, won by the Thunder. This year’s Under-8 competition saw Herts and Leicester taking on a mix of the Mets, Capitals and Brighton. The teams — and the watching parents — had a great time and the three-way mash-up team won both their games to secure a win.

The sun shone by the afternoon, and Herts volunteers did great work serving cheesesteaks, chili-dogs and donuts to the hungry masses. Many people also took this last chance of the year to snap up baseball merchandise and equipment.

The Herts Futures Tournament has rounded off the 2017 British youth baseball season in style. Teams up and down the country will now have to somehow survive the winter months without baseball.

Thankfully Major League Baseball is about to enter its most exciting phase and we can follow the drama of the postseason on TV and online.

Players of all ages can contact Herts Baseball Club with a view to signing up for the 2018 season or giving baseball a try when the teams return to the ballpark in the new year.

21 August 201722 August 2017 by Rob Jones

Raptors fall with the last gasp; Hawks end on a high

The Herts Raptors hosted the Guildford Millers on the last day of the regular season in Single-A. The permutations for playoff qualification were fiendishly complicated. But they all boiled down to this — the Raptors had to win to stand a chance.

Guildford had already booked their place in the postseason. They had an 11-2 record so far, and would pose a serious challenge for the home team.

Although the game was being played at Grovehill, Herts were the away side, so they batted first. Three walks from the top three batters made the start look promising.

But the Millers’ starting pitcher, Lewis Bawden – one of the cadre of young pitching talents at Guildford, who had given Herts trouble the previous month when he turned out for the Gold Cats — fought back. He struck out two, and got the last out with a fly ball to right field.

Herts manager Paul Barton got the first hit of the day and the bases were loaded up again in the second. But the Raptors pushed only one run across before a base running error — a failure to tag from third – ended the threat.

Fortunately, Barton’s pitching and the Herts defense were keeping Guildford off the scoreboard. The manager dramatically recovered from a missed catch to get the final out of the first inning, and left fielder Ben Sinclair helped sit down two Millers in the second.

Sinclair added on another Herts run in the third, before third baseman Tom Carson took his turn at defensive highlights in the bottom of the frame. A smooth grab and throw which Manny Machado would have been proud of stopped a bouncing drive getting through; then he caught a sharply hit liner.

It was 2-0 to Herts after three.

The tight game faltered a little in the fourth, as the Millers were suddenly able to do some damage. They scored five runs to take the lead, and even added on an inside the park home run later.

But the Raptors chipped back into that lead consistently, and the game stayed tight. Paul Auchterlounie scored in the fifth, shortstop Rob Jones in the sixth. It was then 5-4 to the Millers.

Ken Pike gives it his best “catalogue model” look

Auchterlounie was in the game to relieve Barton by now, and was giving another strong outing on the mound. But the Millers extended their lead to 12-5 by the end of the seventh. The Herts defense wasn’t able to keep the visitors in check as effectively as they had in the first half of the game.

One notable exception was a supremely nonchalant over the shoulder catch by Raptors second baseman, James Emblow. Guildford had seen several of their bloop hits fall in the gap between infield and outfield, but when all seemed lost, Emblow snagged this one and ended an inning.

Herts hung tough against Guildford’s hard-throwing relief pitcher, working patient walks and making some good contact. The bats were more alive than they had been at the start. Jones scored, and catcher Ken Pike, and in all four runs scored in the eighth.

Come the top of the ninth it was 15-9 Guildford, though, and the Raptors needed a big rally. The chance to keep the playoff dream alive came down to this.

And Herts gave it a real shot. They went though virtually the entire order, with Pike and Carson both getting hits and scoring. First baseman Giuseppe Basilea and James Emblow both got their best hits of the day.

But Guildford did enough defensively to limit the damage. The final out was a fly to right, with the tying run on base. It was the Millers who got to celebrate, winning 15-13.

The Raptors end the year with a 7-7 record, a particularly excellent outcome as they were 2-5 at one point. They ran several good teams mighty close — not only the Millers but also London and the Cambridge monarchs. Rookie players had improved in leaps and bounds.

Earlier in the day, the Herts Hawks had played their last regular season game in the Double-A league. And in typical fashion, they ended it not with a full stop but an exclamation mark.

They scored 11 runs in the first inning against the visiting Southampton Mustangs. Joint manager Andrew Slater was on the mound, and had his unique pitching mojo working.

The Mustangs’ bats hit back quickly, with 4 runs of their own in the second. But — even with the help of the former Herts legend Kimiyoshi Saionji, who now wears a Southampton uniform – they could not find a way back.

The scoring did calm down a bit. The Hawks were actually held without a run in the second.

But by the fifth, it had advanced to 18-5, and Herts needed 2 more to secure a mercy rule win. They duly delivered, to secure a 20-5 victory.

Slater took the win, his sixth of the season. Jon Lewys and Gilberto Medina each drove in three runs, while Sonam Lama got three hits.

The Hawks had already qualified for the playoffs. They are seeded fourth out of nine teams, and will travel to Richmond to take on the Dragons in their first round game on September 3rd.

9 August 20179 August 2017 by Rob Jones

Postseason Dreams Still a Reality After Raptors Win Nail-Biter in Essex

The end of the baseball season is always a tense and exciting time for teams hovering around postseason contention, writes Matthew Jackson. For the Raptors, a win against the Essex Archers last Sunday was a must if they wished to keep playing in September.

The teams were no strangers to one another having matched up three times last season. With the Archers bringing an impressive 8-3 record this year into the game, the Raptors knew that they had a strong team once again.

Cat and mouse

Facing Archers’ pitcher Jim Hogge, the Raptors struck quickly in the first inning – leadoff hitter Zack Longboy hammering the first pitch he saw into the outfield for a base hit. Seven more batters stepped up to the plate in the inning, taking advantage of some timely hits to score three runs early on with Zack’s father Arnie contributing to a couple of RBIs.

Creating a lead early on has rarely been a problem for the Raptors this season, but the question was whether or not they could maintain it.

Paul Auchterlounie was back on the mound for Herts making his second consecutive start after a dominating performance against Guildford the week before. The Archers came out swinging and, with a combination of perfect placement and defensive mistakes, they were able to retaliate. By the end of the 2^nd inning, both teams were tied 7-7.

And this pattern of cat-and-mouse scoring is how the game would continue. Bats were awake on both teams – stand-in Raptors manager John Kjorstad went 3-for-5 with a booming double to plate a couple of runs. Ben Sinclair, making his debut appearance as catcher, also had an impressive day both at and behind the plate, reaching base safely three times.

Unbearably close

Essex were also proving to be tough outs, with one eleven-pitch at-bat ultimately going Auchterlounie’s way, only after the batter had fouled-off six pitches.

Herts had improved defensively throughout the game too. With the ball seldom reaching the outfield, the infielders were constantly tested with shortstop Zack Longboy and third-baseman Tom Carson making some terrific plays to prevent batters from reaching.

Even when the Archers had runners on-base, the Raptors were able to respond with Sinclair alertly throwing to third base to nab the runner attempting to steal.

However, the game was still unbearably close. By the middle of the 9^th inning, Herts were tenderly holding on to a 18-17 lead, knowing that Essex need score only two runs for them to come away victors having trailed throughout – a feeling Herts knew all too well.

Arnie Longboy had replaced Auchterlounie on the mound for the final four innings, with his slower pitches effective at disrupting the Archers’ timing.

Arnie Longboy got his first pitching W earlier in 2017

By the bottom of the 9^th inning, however, the Archers had changed their approach. After showing bunt almost every pitch, their leadoff batter drew a walk and, two stolen bases later, the tying run was suddenly at third base with no outs recorded. The Raptors could sense another painful defeat heading their way. Or so they thought.

Base-running blunder

With another Essex batter reaching first base and then trying to steal second, the runner on third base made a break for home, only for shortstop Zack Longboy to quickly intercept and throw the ball back to catcher Sinclair who, after a leaping grab, managed to bring his body back down fast enough to tag the runner at the plate.

The run did not score, but the Raptors were not clear of danger yet. The next batter hit the Archers’ first fly ball to right field and right-fielder Darren Butterworth – who had not had many fielding opportunities up until this point – shuffled into position underneath the ball for the catch and the second out.

A base-running blunder for Essex meant that the runner on second base had strayed too far from the bag as the ball was caught, and Butterworth was coolly able to throw the ball to second base for the double play.

Herts had clung on somehow in extraordinary fashion.

The Essex Archers predictably put up a tough fight, and the Raptors will no doubt be buoyant after this win heading into their final game of the season against the Guildford Millers on 20^th August. It will be another must-win game for the team in order to remain in playoff contention, but will there be as much drama?

1 August 2017 by Rob Jones

Herts tame young Gold Cats

The Herts Raptors came roaring out of the blocks on their visit to the Guildford Gold Cats on Sunday (July 30th). Three hits, three walks and a clutch of stolen bases helped them score five before their hosts even picked up a bat, writes Rob Jones.

There was a lot at stake on this mostly sunny but blustery day, with Herts looking to get their record back to .500 on the season. Bouncing back from their recent defeat at Cambridge would give them a chance of a playoff place — but only a victory would do.

Paul Auchterlounie heads in to score a run

The runs driven in by Paul Barton and Arnie Longboy offered a good start.

When he took the game ball to pitch the bottom of the first, Paul Auchterlounie built on that quickly. The Guildford Gold Cats came out swinging aggressively, and Auchterlounie’s ability to both throw strikes and change speeds made swift work of the lineup. They did not score.

Herts scored three more in the top of the second. Then a double play from shortstop Rob Jones helped choke off the Guildford offense as it tried to reply — catching a pop-up in the hole then throwing to John Kjorstad at first to nab a runner who had strayed way too far off base.

Paul Barton stole home in the fourth inning, alertly — even cheekily — coming across to score as both the pitcher and the catcher were looking elsewhere.

And in the bottom of the frame it was the other Paul, Auchterlounie, doing the business. He fielded two comebackers for ground-outs, then struck out the third batter.

The Raptors led 11-5 at this point. Although the game was balanced, Herts felt in control. A costly throwing error by Guildford on an infield dribbler allowed two runs to score, and the lead stretched. Herts minds were turning towards a mercy rule victory.

But the youthful Guildford side did not give up. In fact, they brought on their third bright young pitcher of the day — this one throwing high heat, and offspeed pitches including a knuckleball.

And their hitters finally chased Auchterlounie, who gave way to Barton. The box score now shows that the Gold Cats won the final three innings of the game — but the question at the time was could they come back, or could Herts hold on?

Raptors tacked on one more in the seventh, and the eighth. Guildford kept drawing closer.

Joseph Osborne-Brade reached base with what we will call a swinging bunt in the ninth, then Arnie Longboy reached on a hit by pitch. Then two strikeouts ended any hope of padding the lead, and Raptors led 19-14 going into the bottom of the ninth.

Five runs is far from impossible in Single-A baseball. But on this day only one run would score. Good pitching from Paul Barton did the trick, and some tightened up fielding.

Guildford Gold Cats had shown their tremendous talent and potential, and had clubbed big hits to back up their pitching. But the Herts smarts had been enough to get the crucial win.

18 July 201721 August 2017 by Rob Jones

Monarchs reign over Raptors

For five innings, the box score was ticking over steadily as the Herts Raptors took on the Cambridge Monarchs on a gloomy but humid Coldham’s Common. The numbers show two teams who were evenly matched, writes Rob Jones.

Then, for the first time, the visiting batters put up a zero in their top half of the sixth inning. And then Cambridge come back to bite them, big time.

Arnie Longboy keeps an eye on Paul Barton

But let’s start at the beginning. The Raptors had struggled to piece together a team for this trip to Cambridge, with injuries, family crises and the start of the summer holidays all taking their toll. But with a little help from the Monarchs, they got the men they needed.

Shortstop Rob Jones scored the first run of the game, talking a walk, stealing a base, and advancing on a pass ball before he was driven in by first baseman John Kjorstad.

The next batch of runs, which came in the second inning, were similarly manufactured. Joseph Osborne Brade with the walk, then the wild pitch, before he was driven in by Matt Jackson. A steal and a single, then Kjorstad in turn brought him home.

So far, so good.

Ben Sinclair ended the inning by flying out to a fielder just inches from the home run fence. Perhaps Herts’ inability to get “a big hit” stopped them capitalising on their own good work at the plate.

In the field, they did good work to keep the Monarchs in check. Second baseman James Emblow made an unassisted double play in the first inning, taking a catch then swiftly stepping on his bag for another out. Left fielder Osborne-Brade cut down a runner trying to go home on a hit to the outfield in the second, with catcher Arnie Longboy standing strong to secure the out at the plate.

So the lead changed hands in the early innings, but it was always nip and tuck. A 4-3 Herts lead became a 6-5 deficit and then after five innings it was tied 8-8.

Then…. well, it’s hard to put a finger on what happened next. Paul Barton, who had pitched out of trouble thus far, perhaps lived too dangerously this time. A difficult catch went down, then one or two easier ones.

And hits just found holes. Arnie Longboy moved from behind the plate to pitch, as fine rain started to sweep across the field. He closed it down, but only after Cambridge had scored their ninth run of the inning and gone ahead 17-8.

Herts then had the opportunity to hit back. But the task had been made harder by the Monarchs flame-throwing reliever, who had racked up strikeouts once he settled in on the mound. The Raptors did make some good contact, and worked more walks. But they could score only two, leaving the Monarchs needing three runs for a mercy win.

Longboy induced a pop-up for the first out, but Herts could not hold back the river. With the infield drawn in, a single up the middle struck the winning blow. It ended 20-10 and moved the Raptors to 5-6 on the season.

30 June 201721 August 2017 by Rob Jones

A new tribute – The Kal Cup

Herts Baseball Club is very proud to announce a new event on the sporting calendar this summer — The Kal Cup.

This will be a special tournament to remember our friend and team-mate Kal Dimitrov, and to celebrate the values of friendship and fair play he brought to our sport. It will take place at our Grovehill home in Hemel Hempstead over the weekend of August 12th-13th.

Herts will enter three teams — including one of veterans who played alongside Kal — and invites all Single-A level sides to enter for a weekend of fast-moving, knockout baseball.

The format will start out as a series of single-inning games for every team — a format successfully used in Herts’ own intra-club competition in the autumn. It means that every inning is like the ninth, with all the drama and strategy that entails.

But if you lose, there’s another game coming just a few minutes later!

As teams progress to semi-finals and a final, the games will stretch to three and finally six innings. The aim is to have everybody playing as much baseball as possible over the weekend, and competing against friends old and new.

Kal Dimitrov was a key figure at Herts Baseball Club for over a decade and helped build it to the force it is today. He died suddenly during a league game in 2015, a moment which shocked the Herts baseball family but also the whole British baseball community.

He had been a player, coach, umpire, manager and mentor for several teams. In 2015, he was the joint manager of the Herts Raptors in the Single-A division.

That is why the club has chosen to focus this tournament on Single-A teams. And, indeed, on anyone taking part in baseball below the expert level! Kal’s legacy was about love for the game, and for the way it brought people together, and that is what we want to mark.

He had also been instrumental in developing the youth leagues which have now flourished at Herts. The Under-17 Red Kites will therefore enter a team in this tournament.

The Raptors will be there, the current Herts Single-A team. And so will “Kal’s Knights” — made up of former players who played with Kal over the years.

Herts would love to have teams from across the country come and help us celebrate our friend.

The club’s Communications Director, Rob Jones, said: “I have nothing but wonderful memories of Kal. His character, humour and spirit lifted every baseball occasion.”

“We want to pay a tribute to him — and I know many people across the British game want the same. A weekend of baseball will be a great chance to show what Kal was all about.”

The entry fee is £100 per team, with Herts providing balls, umpires and all the necessary facilities. There will be food, drinks and merchandise available from our expert concessions team.

Please contact us at hertsbaseball.com for more information and to enter the tournament. We can be found on Facebook and as @hertsbaseball on Twitter and Instagram.

27 June 201718 July 2017 by Rob Jones

Raptors best Bobcats, back to winning ways

The last time the Raptors faced Tonbridge in a BBF game it was the famous playoff victory of 2016. Some faces have changed since then, and the main aim for Herts this time around was to break a frustrating losing streak.

Confidence was high as the two teams met at Grovehill on Sunday, with the arrival of veteran John Kjorstad on the Herts roster off-setting the absence of some of this year’s new stars.

Raptors manager, Paul Barton, got the start on the mound on a day which saw sporadic rain showers break up the weeks of sunshine. It was a solid opening, with the visitors scoring just two.

The Herts bats replied by scoring three to take the lead, and the offense would be the saviour many times in this game. Not once were Herts held scoreless, and that would be crucial to the result.

After Tonbridge were shut out in the next couple of innings, the Raptors built a promising looking 8-2 lead. Ken Pike had himself a day in many ways, and his triple to lead off the third was just one part of that. He went 3-for-4 with the bat, driving in three.

In his role as catcher, he was also part of a double play and threw out two runners — both pretty rare plays in Single-A. Second baseman Arnold Longboy did an admirable job applying the tags on the two steals, while Paul Auchterlounie’s sharp fielding as relief pitcher helped to turn two.

But let’s get back to the top of the fifth inning, where it started to go sour for the Raptors. Barton’s pitching had perhaps not been at its sharpest, and he was starting to lose his battle with the tight strike zone.

Tonbridge were happy to take advantage and work walks. They scored eight runs in what felt like an interminable fifth inning, to roar back and take the lead 13-12.

When it was all over, Herts had given away an astonishing 30 base-on-balls. But it was that sort of day. The Bobcats walked 14 — and once Paul Barton handed over the ball to his relievers, they also had trouble throwing consistent strikes.

One Tonbridge hitter swung the bat just once all day, but scored four runs. So it wasn’t an entirely duff strategy.

However, it was Ken Pike who ultimately got the win as pitcher (see, I told you he had a day). Because, yes, win is what the Raptors did.

Archive photo of Ken Pike in base-running action but we’re sure that’s how he’d like to be shown

They struck back with 10 runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth to take a commanding lead which they would not surrender. Pike hit a double, and stole home. John Kjorstad drove in four as he went 4-for-5 on the day. Third baseman Tom Carson hit a pair of doubles, while Auchterlounie hit a triple.

Tonbridge did not give up without a fight, though, and narrowed the gap each inning. The feeling in the Herts dugout remained tense.

But on a day when pitching was not the dominant force, the Raptors were happy that they won the contest for number of hits — 23, compared with 15.

They even managed to end with a defensive flourish, shutting out Tonbridge in the top of the ninth to complete a 32-26 victory. The losing streak was broken. Complete with a forfeit from a previous week, the Herts side now move to 4-5 as they head into the last third of the season.

The Herts Falcons had a tougher time of it in their National League (NBL) double-header away to the London Capitals.

They travelled with a strong young side, and the first game was tied 1-1 going into the fourth inning with Ian Sales getting the RBI. Then a London home run opened the floodgates and they ran out 9-1 winners, with Herts unable to wake up their bats.

Game 2 also saw a close start – with the score 5-all in the fifth. Tyler Badenhorst and Zack Longboy shared the pitching duties,while Moises Vazquez drove in three. Again, London piled on, though, and secured a 14-6 victory.