Author: Rob Jones

5 June 2017 by Rob Jones

Rough ride for Raptors on road trip

After a solid start to the season at Grovehill, the Herts Raptors took their season on the road in the past two weeks, writes Rob Jones. They were disappointed by the results, coming up short on long trips to Kent and to Norfolk.

This Sunday saw a visit to the Norwich Iceni, who are playing their first season in the BBF leagues. The team was undefeated so far in Single-A, and clearly posed a strong challenge.

Paul Barton scores for Herts in Norwich (pic: Norwich Iceni)

A few Raptors players made the trip a day early, to settle in and sample the Norwich nightlife. Some Iceni players graciously helped them do that, and clearly a fine time was had by all. So what would Sunday bring?

Herts set themselves up well in the first inning, with runners on the corners and one out. But slick handling of an infield grounder meant the runner on third got tagged out, and a fly-out ended the threat.

The second inning was a similar picture – good contact but no runs. Steve Patmore got the first of two hits on the day before being stranded on the bases, and Giuseppe Basilea’s giant drive was caught on the warning track.

But Herts were holding their own defensively. Norwich scored only one run in the first. Matt Jackson made an astonishing running catch in centre field.

In the second, an unassisted double play from third baseman Ben Sinclair limited the damage with the bases loaded. He snared a hard hit liner and stepped on the bag. Again, Norwich scored only one.

As the game went on, second baseman James Emblow and first baseman Basilea were the defensive stars for the Raptors. They combined for a series of crucial plays.

Giuseppe Basilea at bat (pic: Norwich Iceni)

But, come the third inning, Herts could not hold back their hosts any more. The Iceni put 12 runs on the board with booming hits to the outfield. In fact, even their infield mishits did not hurt them, as they were always half a step faster than the Herts infield.

For Norwich, Adam Ray went 4-for-4 with a double, while Tom Thornhill drove in 3.

It ended in a mercy rule victory for Norwich, 16-1. Manager and starting pitcher Paul Barton scored the only Herts run of the game, driven in by Steve Patmore.

A week earlier in Kent, a somewhat depleted Raptors squad had made a good start against the Mariners. The two teams had met in the Herts Spring League, with the Raptors coming off best on that occasion.

Kent were 1-2 going into this game — including a loss to the Norwich Iceni – and the teams appeared evenly matched.

Raptors capitalised on a series of first inning walks issued by the Mariners starting pitcher. Catcher Rob Jones got the first hit, driving in 2 runs, and in all the Raptors scored 6 to jump out in front.

But the Mariners came back strongly, tying the game up by the end of the third. Jose Valero was their offensive powerhouse on the day, going 4-for-6, with 3 RBIs. David Ratcliff hit a double and got the win in relief.

Kent’s David Ratcliff in Herts Spring League action

After the see-saw opening innings, the game did settle down into an even and quality contest. It went all nine innings before Kent claimed a 19-13 win, and the score for the final five innings was a tight 6-4.

Left fielder Michael Johnson got 3 RBIs for Herts, while Darren Butterworth went 3-for-5 with the bat as well as striking out two in his pitching debut. James Emblow and Giuseppe Basilea could again be pleased with their performance in the field.

Acting manager for the day, Rob Jones, doffed his cap to Kent. “It all came together for them today, and we just couldn’t pull it back. Some of our guys did great work though, and that helps us a lot going forward.”

The road trip drops the Raptors back to 2-4 on the season so far. They return to Grovehill this weekend to take on the Cambridge Royals.

16 May 2017 by Rob Jones

Herts Hawks leave Redhawks blue

The Herts Hawks had a stand in manager for the day, their young catcher Hunter Devine, but the change did not disrupt their continuing unbeaten run.

The Hawks went charging out of the blocks in their AA-league game at home against the Brighton Redhawks, scoring 14 runs before the first inning was over. They went through the line-up twice.

Devine ended the day 4-4 with the bat, while Gilberto Medina’s 3 hits drove in 5 runs. He came close to two more home runs (to add to one from the previous week), but hit the top of the fence both times.

The pitching win went to Ernie Ayala. It’s his second of the year, in his second start.

Hawks won 20-4 in five innings. They have now won 23 games in a row. Their next opponent is the East London Latin Boys, who have an unbeaten 7-0 record and lead the AA-league.

Continued offensive fireworks for Moises Velazquez of the Herts Falcons in the National Baseball League (NBL) gave them a great start away to the Brighton Jets.

His 2-run home run helped Herts lead 3-2 until the bottom of the fourth inning. But then young pitcher Tyler Badenhorst, who had been turning in a great performance, lost some of his control and the Jets pounced.

They piled up runs, including a walk-off grand slam homer, and won 15-4. Brighton also won the second game 15-5.

The Falcons showed off some impressive defense, with catches in centre-field from Jamie Warren and John Blose. But overall they were left rueing too many defensive errors.

The Herts Raptors were facing a tough challenge at home to the powerful London Musketeers in Single-A but they, too, took an early 3-2 lead.

Again, a grand slam home run turned things upside down and the visitors surged out to a 9-3 lead in the third inning.

But Herts fought back. Good defense prevented hits turning into runs. Shortstop Rob Jones made a diving stop to haul in a hit up the middle and secure an out, while rookie first baseman Will Pettitt made a superb sliding catch in foul ground.

The offense was powered by Tom Carson, driving in 6 runs with 6 hits. Ken Pike, playing his first game since an emergency appendectomy barely a fortnight ago, went 4-for-4 with the bat and stole 6 bases.

Herts took the lead in the bottom of the sixth, 15-13.

But another London homer struck the decisive blow in the next frame and although the Raptors rallied they ultimately went down 29-22.

Stand-in manager for the day Rob Jones was impressed: “The guys can take a lot of pride in that game. Scoring 22 runs against two excellent pitchers is brilliant work, and they gave everything in the field as well.”

Raptors are now 2-2 on the season and after a week off will travel to the Kent Mariners.

8 May 201710 May 2017 by Rob Jones

Raptors rally over Old Timers, as Herts do monster mash

It was a weekend of offensive fireworks for the Herts teams, perhaps inspired by the surprise arrival of some Spring sunshine. Five home runs and three wins were put in the bank.

Let’s start in Single-A, and start with a question. When was a Herts Raptors batter last given an intentional walk? And if you can answer that one, here’s another — when was the last time a Raptors batter was intentionally walked twice in the same game?

It was a fitting reward for a dominant offensive display by Ben Sinclair in Sunday’s home game against the Old Timers. His first at-bat produced an inside-the-park home run, the second a triple.

Before the third he mused about whether to aim for the cycle, and it was suggested that two home runs would look better on the write-up. It seems that Sinclair was listening, as he hit another inside-the-parker.

He reached on an error on his fourth plate appearance, but hit the ball hard so the Old Timers did not pitch to him again.

Michael Johnson, one of the top performers with the bat

This all suggests a rosy picture for the Raptors’ day in the sun at Grovehill, but actually they had started the game poorly. The Old Timers hadn’t managed to get a full team to the field, but the players they did have struck hard in the first two innings.

A handful of Herts defensive errors, and too much pressing at the plate, combined to give the visitors a 7-1 lead after two innings. The Old Timers were looking to make their experience pay.

Sinclair drove in three of the first four runs for the home team, but as the game went on more of the young Herts talent settled down and started to deliver, too.

Centre-fielder Michael Johnson went 4-for-6 with three RBIs, and was just a home run short of the cycle. The story was pretty much the same for Tom Carson, making his first ever appearance as catcher, whose four hits included a single, double and triple.

Veteran Arnie Longboy was doing sterling work on the pitching mound. A day after he played for Herts first ever softball team, the Buzzards, in their maiden competition, he threw over a hundred pitches for the Raptors.

He struck out four and walked only three before handing the ball over to Ben Sinclair for the final innings. Longboy helped his own case with four hits, and stayed in the game after an injury as the home side was also pretty short on players.

With improved defense, the Raptors made their superior numbers pay — and perhaps their youth, too. They scored runs in bunches in the second half of the game.

It ended 21-14 to the home side and the Raptors now move to 2-1 on the season.

Rob Jones, the stand-in manager for the day, paid tribute to the performance: “It was great to see the team come back from a bad start. Instead of getting down, they had confidence in their abilities and turned things around.”

Up in the AA-league, the Herts Hawks were stretching out their year-long winning streak to 22 games. Gilberto Medina hit the team’s first home run of 2017 to help them to a 22-6 win at the Guildford Mavericks.

Gilberto Medina struck a big blow for the Hawks

The Hawks’ joint manager, Greg Bochan, was back on the mound for the first time since the epic Single-A final at Farnham Park last year. On his return from a knee injury, he pitched a complete game and took the win.

The Herts Falcons of the National Baseball League were playing at home at Grovehill, hosting the London Capitals. A home run from Moises Velazquez was the big blast early in the first game to give Herts the lead.

It was tied at two apiece by the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Falcons scored six to blow it open. It ended 9-4. Young South African phenom Tyler Badenhorst got the win, with Darren Meintjes getting the save.

Cris Hiche drove a no-doubter over the fence at the start of game 2 of the double-header. But the Capitals came back, and a 2-run homer from their Ben Mercal in the top of the fifth gave them the lead.

The Falcons fought hard but came up short in this one, losing 7-5. They are now 3-6 on the year, and travel to Brighton next.

27 April 2017 by Rob Jones

Raptors burn Inferno to spark their season

Herts Raptors 25-14 Bracknell Inferno, April 23rd 2017 – by Rob Jones

This victory by the Raptors, on the Opening Day of the Single-A season, was the perfect illustration of old and new working together.

One of the crucial runs to seal the deal in the bottom of the seventh inning was scored by Darren Butterworth, who had never played a league baseball game before. And he was driven in by Arnie Longboy, who’s been with the club for nigh on a decade.

Substitute catcher Brad Charalambous at bat

Somewhere neatly between the two categories is the fact that the actual winning run was scored by Arnie’s daughter Theo, a European champion at softball with the GB team, but new to baseball.

The Raptors had started slowly in the sporadic sunshine at Grovehill, with Bracknell’s hard-throwing pitcher Bruce Webb getting the best of the early exchanges. He racked up three strikeouts and just one walk in the first inning.

But catcher Paul Auchterlounie got the first Herts hit in the second inning, and scored the first run. He ended the day 2-for-2 with a walk.

Third-baseman Tom Carson — another debutant in the Raptors lineup — closely followed him, and outfielder Joseph Osborne-Brade hit a double.

The Raptors kept their lead as the game wore on — 7-4 after three, 15-9 after five — but could never blow it open. Bracknell kept hitting against both starting pitcher Paul Barton, and reliever Longboy. And the two defenses were pretty even.

The top of the Herts order kept on walking and scoring steadily, with Matt Jackson and Rob Jones having 7 of each between them.

First baseman Giuseppe Basilea – making the step up from under-17 baseball – had perhaps the standout defensive play for Herts, in the top of the sixth. He caught a sinking line drive and immediately saw a chance to double off the Bracknell runner at second who had strayed too far.

He actually threw to third, but it didn’t matter. Because that was followed by the second-best defensive play as Ben Sinclair — yep, you guessed it, another rookie — quickly made a strong and accurate throw to second to nab the runner.

Bracknell had stayed close until the late innings, when Webb had tired and the fresh new Herts recruits came in to help stretch the lead. The Raptors scored 5 in the bottom of the sixth and needed 4 in the bottom of the seventh to secure a walk-off via the mercy rule.

Longboy Sr. duly delivered with a hit to right field, and the team celebrated. Both Bracknell and Herts had turned in strong performances to start their 2017, and are looking forward to what’s ahead.

7 February 20177 February 2017 by Rob Jones

Buzzards: the new face of Herts softball

The logo can now be revealed for Herts’ new slowpitch softball programme, which is introducing the Buzzards to the British sporting scene.

The first session will take place at 10 am this Sunday, 12th February, at the excellent facilities at John F. Kennedy Catholic School in Hemel Hempstead.

The invitation is open to everyone wanting to give the sport a try — baseball players, their families, or completely new faces looking for something different. These first taster sessions are free of charge.

The Buzzards will start as a fun, recreational team playing in selected tournaments and friendlies with local teams as it develops and finds its feet. The expectation is that they will either join a local league or be able to start their own by 2018.

Softball is a social and enjoyable game that’s easy to learn and play, even for people who are not “athletes” or don’t have much experience of team sports. The fact that men and women play together in the same team and on an equal level gives the sport a social buzz.

This team has been created by some Herts parents at a loose end after guiding their kids through the youth programme, and by veterans needing a different pace of game.

But don’t imagine that this is just a game for the old folks!

Herts has a great pedigree in softball, as the former youth players Theo Longboy and Marianna Casal won the U-19 European Softball Championship with the GB team in 2016.

The Buzzards may not recreate the GB success just yet, but the more players we can get having fun, the better the results will be!

All equipment will be provided this Sunday – you just need comfortable sporting clothes, water, and your enthusiasm!

For more information on the Buzzards please contact http://hertsbaseball.com/contact-us/

12 January 2017 by Rob Jones

Watch and Learn, Herts baseball

When my father was a young man, he could sometimes listen to crackly radio commentary of Major League baseball games which would leak from the stations broadcasting on US air bases in Cambridgeshire, writes Rob Jones.

When I was a student, I could watch one televised game each week in the middle of the night on Channel Five.

Now, professional US baseball is far easier to come by. Five’s famous coverage may have gone, but you can find ESPN on your satellite TV easily enough. And I am one of many people who subscribe online to the truly excellent service of MLB.TV.

While it’s not easy to get to watch games in the States, it’s easier and cheaper than it was in my father’s day! Many more Herts players are getting the chance to watch the real deal.

It’s all massively entertaining. But what can we as lowly British amateurs actually learn from watching these games? Even while sitting in the bleachers or in our armchairs, how can we improve?

The head coach of the GB national baseball team, Liam Carroll, thinks there is a lot that every baseball player can pick up:

“Find as many things you can copy to make you better, your team better!”

And that goes for people filling all sorts of different roles in British baseball: “Look how the dugout is set up at the field; learn how the base coaches position themselves; see what players high five each other for besides wins, home runs and web gems.”

Several Herts players took the chance during the past season to visit professional games and stadiums in the United States, and watch the game played at high levels.

Youth pitcher James Dullea took in not only a Giants-Nationals game — which saw Madison Bumgarner pitch a 2-hit complete game in a 1-0 loss — but also a Charleston Riverdogs Minor League game.

His father Bruce, a former Falcons manager, said it had been a great trip but also educational for young James.

“He noticed that even though some of the minor league guys threw harder than Bumgarner,” said Bruce, “no one could pitch like him.”

Josh Jones of the Under 13s took his Herts cap proudly to an LA Dodgers game; club veteran Paul Auchterlounie and his family took in the Trop in Tampa Bay.

Here’s one of Liam Carroll’s tips to follow when you are at a game:

“Watch the player who plays your position. Follow his every move. Then do the same for the other team’s guy.

What’s the same? What’s different? Who did you prefer to watch? Was there anything you loved? Anything you hated? What do you need to change to be more like them?”

And there are extra elements you appreciate when you are there, and things are not hidden from you by commercial breaks: “Watch them play catch at every opportunity – between innings, after outs, before the game – and appreciate how well they take care of the baseball.”

But for those confined to these shores, watching on TV and online works, too.

MLB will give you a highlight reel every day on the website, and they will often be breathtaking. Home runs that seem to fly on forever. Fiery pitching which makes you wince. Outfielders getting airborne to make diving grabs.

But on the Herts Twitter feed during the playoffs, we tried to pick out some different things. Instead of plays that you watch and think “How does he do that??”, we wanted plays that would make you think “Hey, I could do that!!”

For example, there were some smart aggressive base-running plays in Toronto’s two series, against Texas and against Cleveland. Any baseball player can choose to run the base paths intelligently.

We loved the Cubs’ Javier Baez starting a double-play against the Dodgers by letting a catchable ball drop and letting LA run themselves into trouble. “Next level instincts” said the commentator — but it simply proved that the game isn’t just about stronger or faster, but about playing smarter.

One of our favourite of these plays was actually from 2015, so New York Mets fans might want to look away now. Eric Hosmer tying it up for the Kansas City Royals with that mad dash home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hYry9F2QRM

But was it really so “mad”?

The Royals were behind in the game, but were ahead in the Series. The pressure was all on the Mets to hang on to a one-run lead and get the win.

So while Hosmer might’ve been a goat had he been thrown out, he had everything to gain, and New York had everything to lose. So he had calculated risk and reward.

Kansas knew that David Wright was not gunning throws to first, but was throwing softly, because of his broken down body. That gave Hosmer more time. The fact that Wright had fielded a ball which was headed for Wilmer Flores meant there was nobody there to hold Hosmer on.

All of this stuff, situational stuff, stuff that you acquire by having your head in the game, helped Kansas win a World Series. And it is stuff that you can genuinely emulate on a British baseball field, even if you can’t hit a 95mph heater.

Let’s give a last word to GB Baseball Head Coach Liam Carroll:

“Watch the players’ routines; watch their positioning. Watch the communication, both verbal and non-verbal. Remember things that can make your club better, and British baseball better!”

So now is your chance to get ready for the 2017 season with some serious sitting down and watching! Sign up for MLB.TV, or a satellite deal if you’d prefer. Revisit all the clips on the MLB website if you want to hang on to your cash.

And if you want to splash a little extra cash, book your trip to the States. If you’ve already got that booked, then look to see if you can add a bit of baseball to it.

MLB games are pretty easy to get into — each team plays 162 a year, after all! And don’t forget the Minor Leagues, which offer you another chance to get close to the action.

And then be ready to put it all into action next month, when Herts pre-season training begins.

23 December 2016 by Rob Jones

Brown in the pink: Falcons MVP

It’s hard to imagine a more action-packed baseball year than the one which Conner Brown enjoyed in 2016. But he has capped it all by being voted the MVP of the Herts National Baseball League (NBL) side, the Falcons.

The Falcons finished with a 6-24 record in what was always going to be a rebuilding year. But Conner’s maturing was perhaps the greatest high point for a side built on youth.

According to BBF statistics, the starting catcher ended with a slash line of .386/.460/.591 — leading the team’s regular players. He’s a pretty formidable catcher, too.

But it wasn’t just about numbers and performance. At a young age, Conner has shown leadership on his team, and has been an integral part of the wider club.

Players on the Single-A Raptors have learned a lot from him, and he was not only first draft choice for the post-season Hunlock Series, but a regular player too. Top talent doesn’t always do that.

It’s hard to imagine how he fitted any of it in.

Conner Brown was one of the only British young players selected to the European All Star roster for the MLB Spring Academies Tournament which took place in Barcelona in March.

Next he went on to captain the Great Britain U18’s at the European Junior Championship in Gijon in July. The team achieved its best-ever result, to stay in their group.

Then on to the MLB Elite camp in Germany. Here, Conner worked with coaches including the Hall of Famer, Barry Larkin, and the World Series-winner, Steve Finley.

Want one more milestone? OK. The man from the Falcons was the youngest player on the GB Senior Team at the European Championship in the Netherlands in September.

Conner was even nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year. Of course, that honour pales into insignificance next to a Herts MVP Award but, hey, we don’t like to brag….

Conner Brown catching in the Herts Hunlock Series

The Falcons year was very much about building on the talented youth which has been developed by Herts over recent years. Carlos Casal, Brodie Caress, and Zack Longboy were all chosen for the GB national team development programme this year.

These guys made great contributions for Herts. Zack picked up his first complete game pitching win in the NBL with a victory over the London Capitals at Grovehill, and went 5-6 at the plate that day.

Tyler Badenhorst made his pitching debut in the road trip to the Capitals in July, as did promising rookie Matt Corran. Will Zucker, who pitched in the Single-A playoffs a few years ago and is now tearing it up in university baseball, kept working with Herts too.

The Falcons manager Lee Manning also worked hard this year helping to oversee the youngest Herts group, the Under-8s. So the focus remains on youth, and nurturing more talent like Conner Brown.

18 December 201624 December 2016 by Rob Jones

Hawks’ Hare hauls in MVP

The Herts Hawks, the national champions of Single-A, have chosen Louis Hare as their Most Valuable Player of 2016.

Louis is a veteran of the Herts club who has contributed to the success of many teams over the years. And he was instrumental in helping this side to an undefeated season, which ended with dramatic playoff victories at Farnham Park.

According to official BBF statistics, Louis was the joint league leader in Home Runs with 3. He also drove in 22 runs and recorded an impressive batting average of .612, putting him among the team leaders.

He also picked up two wins as a pitcher, with 13 strikeouts in 18 innings of work and an ERA of just 3.50. As you can see from our photo, he also had a nice line in celebratory leaps.

As you can imagine, a season which saw the Hawks win every game and then a national title saw plenty of excellent performances.

For example, joint manager Greg Bochan led Single-A pitchers with 4 wins to his name. He was also on the mound for the playoff win over the Raptors, and both games at Farnham Park.

Other sluggers were available, too. Jon Lewys and Gilberto Medina contributed 2 home runs each during the season, with Gil also adding 5 triples.

In the playoff finals, the Hawks dramatically came from behind against the London Musketeers in the bottom of the eighth to win their semi-final. They had been dominant all year, but it was an important achievement that they fought back and won when they were tested by an excellent side.

The Hawks showed their power again in the final against the Tonbridge Wildcats. They blasted out to an early lead which they would not surrender.

But they also showed off their defensive abilities, turning a flawlessly professional 5-3-6 double play to end a Tonbridge threat. Gilberto Medina, Jon Lewys and MVP Louis Hare were in on that one, and its has now been voted the Herts Play of the Year.

The Hawks will now look with optimism to 2017 and see what the season brings.

14 December 2016 by Rob Jones

MVP at the double: Raptors reap rewards for playoff run

Some races are tight. Some go right down to the wire, and beyond it. And sometimes two deserving winners can’t be separated.

After a year which saw the Herts Raptors reach their greatest ever heights, the players have voted for two team-mates to share the MVP award for 2016 – Matthew Jackson and Michael Cresswell.

Matt made his first appearances for the Raptors last year, as they came together as a new force in the second half of the season. This year he swiftly became a rock in centre-field, addressing one of the team’s great needs with a series of crucial outfield catches.

His batting also became a potent weapon for the Raptors, and he rose to the the occasion in the playoffs. Matt went 3-for-4 in the visit to Tonbridge, hitting a triple for the first big Herts blow. He hit two more triples in the losing effort against the Hawks.

Enjoyable

For joint manager Michael Cresswell it is his second career MVP award. He helped lead the team to the post-season; batted a rumoured .800; picked up his first career pitching win; and was nominated for play of the year.

Mike has been an increasingly important part of the Herts baseball family since he came on board in 2012. He was MVP of the Herts Raptors in 2014, and Best Pitcher in 2015. But he has called the 2016 season “the most enjoyable ever”.

Voting had to be extended in the MVP race because of the tie, and then had to be extended again. We don’t know the full details, due to intense secrecy, but it’s clear there were heroes a-plenty for voters to choose from in the Raptors year.

It started in May with a visit to the London Musketeers, the beaten semi-finalists in 2015. The Raptors won this one 7-3, and for players schooled in the slugfests of Single-A it was possibly the most high-quality game they’d ever been part of.

The new pitching ace Matt Corran was the hero here, racking up strikeouts after emerging in late 2015 as a force. But Michael Cresswell was crucial on this day, too, earning his Play of the Year nomination for an unassisted double play which snuffed out a London threat at a critical time.

Sparkling shortstop

The season saw more wins, then progressed to Haverhill for an epic victory which showed the renewed fighting spirit in the team as well as the talent. Matt Jackson polished his reputation for excellent outfield catches in this game, including saving a home run and securing the final out.

Joint manager Paul Barton picked up his first career pitching win in this game, and started 4-for-4 with the bat. He would go on to have another tremendous season in all parts of the field, building on his 2015 MVP win.

In a blowout defeat against Essex in May, young Aaron Witter had started his bid to be a Raptors hero. After a wobbly bit of pitching, he switched to shortstop and sparkled. The managers took immediate notice.

In a home game against London in July he was the pick as starting shortstop. His first play of the game was a major-league style backhand stop and a powerful throw to nab the runner. Aaron’s hero status would grow in the playoffs, and his contributions throughout the year have earned him the Rookie of the Year Award for the Raptors in 2016.

The team secured their place in the post-season with a win over Essex Archers at Grovehill. Mike Cresswell capped it all with a walk-off, inside the park grand slam home run to secure the 26-11 victory.

OK, so maybe the “official scorer” wouldn’t have chalked it up as a home run. But the “official scorer” doesn’t write stories like this.

And he couldn’t have written the story of the Raptors’ playoff win over the defending Single-A champions, Tonbridge. The fixtures were changed late, with Herts switched to what clearly looked a more daunting tie.

Crucial catch

They were playing away. They had only 9 players. One of them drove more than 200 miles to get there. Another had only just had laser eye surgery.

But Herts won this 23-18, and wrote history.

The youngest guy on the team, Aaron Witter, drove in a fistful of runs and pitched brilliantly for the save in the tensest of circumstances. The oldest regular, Rob Jones, made what was probably the most crucial catch of his life as he secured the second out of the ninth inning with a sliding infield grab.

Cresswell and Barton were again superb, with the latter turning in his finest ever pitching performance. Jim Arnott, who had become an important relief pitcher as well as a constant hitting threat, was masterful. And Jackson again made the final catch, deep in the outfield.

The Raptors’ playoff run ended at the hands of the eventual national champions, the Herts Hawks, in a game which was tight until the Hawks ran away in the sixth. But overall, 2016 has to be recorded as a “win”.

It it was a season in which so many had played a role, too many to mention. Michelle Johnson made a great impact after a long layoff from the club; while Darren Priest was an invaluable clubhouse presence.

But the Raptors have now voted and the men deservedly holding the MVP trophy are Michael Cresswell and Matthew Jackson.

The other Herts adult teams — the Hawks and Falcons — will announce their own awards in the coming days. The club as a whole will also hand out awards for the Play of the Year and the very opposite, the Nob Out Award, given for a moment of baseball-related foolishness.

29 November 2016 by Rob Jones

Herts softball Buzzards are hatched

Herts Baseball Club are delighted to announce the start of their slowpitch softball programme.

Play is due to start in 2017, with training sessions taking place from late January. New players and existing baseball players are welcome to come and join the team.

The Buzzards will start as a fun, recreational team playing in selected tournaments and friendlies with local teams as it develops and finds its feet — with the expectation that it will either join a local league or be able to start its own by 2018.

The idea for the team has come from a group of parents who have spent many hours watching their sons and daughters play baseball for Herts. They find themselves at a loose end now that their offspring have moved on, but still want to be involved with the Herts club and have some fun having a go themselves.

That’s what has led to the team name ‘Buzzards’ — which keeps with the Herts bird theme but more importantly describes some of the players in the team (old and haggard!)

Of course the team is open to all, young and old, new or experienced, men and women, we just want to have a great time with the people we have come to know and love.

If you would like to join the ‘family’ and have some fun please come on down, you’ll always be welcome.

Details of Herts training sessions will be published on the club website and emailed to interested parties once they have been finalised. Herts softball is open to men and women, and boys and girls over 14 years of age. The team will predominantly be an adult team.

Former Herts youth players Theo Longboy and Marianna Casal won the U-19 European Softball Championship this year (pic: Amanda Murphy)

We may not recreate the success of the GB Under-19s just yet, but the more players we can get having fun, the better the results will be!

By adding Softball to the Herts club its hoped that there is now something for everyone to have a go at – adult baseball, casual ‘recreational’ baseball, youth baseball, co-ed recreational slowpitch softball.

For more information on the Buzzards please contact http://hertsbaseball.com/contact-us/