Category: Eagles

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Big weekend for Herts teams in race for the national championships

Herts Falcons hope that Phil Clark will be back in time for duel with Harlow (photo by British Baseball Magazine)

Friday night’s red weather warning issued by the weather office seemed to fizzle-out on Saturday and although events like the Formula 1 British Grand Prix qualifying was affected badly, further South, the women’s tennis final at Wimbledon went ahead.

With the fear of a rainout out of the way attention turns to 4 pivotal games for the 4 Herts senior league teams.

FALCONS (12-4) @ NATIONALS (15-4)

After 3 weeks without league action, the Herts Falcons go into battle with the reigning champions. The Harlow Nationals’ last loss came on 10 June when they last met the Falcons. They went on to a 4-game winning streak which took them back into first place. Teams are reluctant to look beyond their next game, but both the Nats and the Falcons can be forgiven for having one eye on the postseason NBCs. There may not be much difference between finishing first or second in the regular season, other than the sense of achievement, however both teams know that losing both games of Sunday’s doubleheader could drag them into the unpredictability of the one-game playoff which awaits the teams which finish fourth and fifth in the regular season. The Lakenheath Diamondbacks’ stunning sweep of the London Mets last weekend was a wake-up call for the four teams ahead of them. That game saw the emergence of Taylor Portman who provided power with the bat but more importantly looked like he can shut down even the most potent of batting lineups. The Taylor Portman-factor will now be on the back of Nats and Falcons minds. This adds an extra edge on a matchup which was already highly-charged after the fireworks on 10 June which almost resulted into a bench-clearing brawl.

MAVERICKS (14-0) @ HAWKS (6-4)

The best team in the BBF AA-League travel to Grovehill Ballpark. The Guildford Mavericks seem unbeatable as they have won all 14 games of the season so far. They have already booked their place in the AA postseason playoffs. The Herts Hawks are also in a comfortable position in terms of postseason qualification, however the stunning form of the Guildford Mavericks and the Poole Piranhas on the other hand is giving the top four teams in Pool B, sleepless nights. The teams which finish third and fourth in Pool B face the daunting prospect of meeting either Guildford or Poole so there is a sense of panic among the top 4 teams in Pool B to finish first or second and avoid the AA favourites.

Herts Baseball's young prospects will need to step up to keep the Raptors alive in the race for the postseason

A win for the Hawks this Sunday could lift them into second place. A loss could put them way down into fourth which could mean that they would have to face the Guildford Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. The game starts at 12pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. If the Hawks can get the job done quickly enough they may be able to catch the Olympic Torch Relay which passes through Hemel Hempstead this Sunday afternoon from 4:30pm.

RAPTORS (4-3) @ GUILDFORD MAVERICKS II (4-3)

While the Hawks try to end Guildford’s unbeaten run, the Raptors will be looking to keep their playoff hopes alive when they travel to Guildford’s second team. Both teams have 4 wins and 3 losses each and both need a win to stay in the race. Raptors Manager, Arnie Longboy, will be missing a large number of his starting 9 so he will need the Under-17 players who have been called up to hit the ground running when they make their AA league debut this Sunday.

HERTS EAGLES (5-3) @ HOVE TUESDAY (5-0)

The Eagles are still in the race for the playoffs but they will need to give their best performance of the season if they are going to overcome the unbeaten Hove Tuesday. The newest team in the A-League has blown away their opponents winning all of their games with the mercy rule enforced after 7 innings. Can the Eagles shock British Baseball with a win on the South Coast.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Eagles win interleague exhibition game in Milton Keynes

written by Duncan Hoyle

Herts Eagles had a confidence boosting 1h45 min timed friendly win at neighbours MK Bucks Development Team on Sunday.

The first problem for the Eagles was the closure of the M1, which meant a detour through grid locked Dunstable to get onto the A5. However it was worth the effort to get there as MK’s lovely Woughton on the Green ground has arguably the smoothest fielding surface in British Baseball.

Herts batted first and got 3 runs on the board in the first innings to give new signing GB U15 international Tom Everex-Armstrong a good platfrom to defend from the mound, and he got off to a great start by closing out the first without conceding a run. Everex-Armstrong is looking for some game time before he jets off to Canada for the U15 World Championship and he will be a big boost to the lineup for the Eagles next league fixture, a trip to unbeaten Hove Tuesday.

In the second, MK Bucks fought back hard, limiting the Eagles to just an extra run added, and then scoring 8 of their own. The Eagles didnt help themselves in this half inning when a number of opportunites to get outs were wasted.

A quick team talk did the job for the Eagles as they got back on it in the 3rd. It was good to see rookie players Simon Roberts and Mike Cresswell looking confident at the plate and getting hits to their name in the top half. Everex-Armstrong conceded just a couple of runs in the bottom to keep the game finely balanced.

With the AA MK Bucks and their opponents the Stourbridge Titans eagley awating the finale of the game so they could take the field for their league game, the Eagles were positive in the top half of the fourth with Theo Scheepers, Reagan Wood and Tak Ashida coming in to score, batted in with a tremendous triple from the impressive Everex-Armstrong. It was then left to another U15 Will Zucker to close and save the game for the Eagles. Zucker was excellent, pitching fast and straight to concede just one run and close the game out within 20 pitches. The challenge next season for Zucker is to follow in the footsteps of Everex-Armstrong and push for GB recognision as he clearly has the potential for this.

The Eagles now face a busy July in which they still have a chance of making the post season playoffs. Two league games sandwich the London Tournament in which due to the other Herts teams having to reschedule fixtures becasue of rained off matches it looks like it will be the Eagles representing the club on the 14th and 15th July.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Young blood and big bats of the ‘older brother’ overpower Herts newcomers

written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent Ken Pike

Across the sporting world rivalries are borne from close proximity. Either geographical proximity such as football’s Arsenal v Tottenham derby, or from proximity of ability or regular competition such as England v Australia in the Ashes. In our neck of the sporting world a new rivalry has sprung up this year arising from not one, but both of these factors. The Herts Eagles have risen phoenix-like from a one year sabbatical to enter the Single-A division joining the traditional Herts entry, the Raptors.

As far as proximity goes the two teams are from the same club and play on the same fields, so you can’t get any closer. However on competitiveness, there had been a conscious Herts board choice to pick the Raptors team to create a pennant chasing side while the Eagles would be grounds for blooding new players and providing experience and game time to those who could develop over time. As is often the case however, reality bears out a little difference from expectation.

The first game between these two minor league teams was as hotly contested as it was anticipated. The Raptors played the ‘home side’ for this meet having played only two of their regular season fixtures so far thanks to rain delays, forfeits and unfortunate scheduling. Conversely the Eagles had fared better with six games under their belt, including three wins. As a result they had built up some confidence and experience in some of the new young prospects, and more importantly, regular game time for the whole team.

The opening innings were set to be pitched by two of these very bright young prospects for the club with the Raptors promising star Zack Longboy taking the mound while young newcomer William Zucker started for the Eagles.

The first inning saw Zac dominate the mound retiring the first batter with a strikeout. Craig La Roux reached base after being hit by a pitch, but was out the very next play after a bouncer from Theo Scheeper’s bat went straight to second baseman Ken Pike forcing out La Roux on the fielders choice. Shortly after power hitter Reagan Wood grounded out to end the inning with a zero on the board.

 

By return the powerful bats of the Raptors make the first dent with a mixture of hits and walks bringing four runners home with a nervy start from Will leading to a balk and some errors before he settled into a groove. Singles from Brodie Caress, Gilberto Medina, and Jake Caress were added to by four walks, a fielding error and a balk.

The second inning was a much closer affair. Zack Longboy’s pitching however remained impervious to Eagles attack to result in clean inning number two. The Raptors only added one run courtesy of a Glen Downer double scoring John Kjorstad before the Eagles retired the side.

The third inning saw the Eagles bounce back with three runs courtesy of strong running from Senna Ashida and Craig La Roux topped off by a big double from Reagan Wood. The Raptors had tagged on another single to keep the gap at three runs before the Raptors defence clamped up again and put the Eagles out of business for the next three innings, while adding three more of their own.

To keep the game close the Eagles brought in relief pitcher Theo Scheepers who had a good three innings keeping the Raptors pegged at eight while the Eagles added one run in the top of the seventh.

The eighth inning however proved the final undoing of the Eagles as the Raptors changed up a gear. While the titing, but still impressive pitching from Zack closed out all but one run (which only reached courtesy of a fielding error), doubles from Gilberto Medina and Brodie Caress helped tack a further six to open up a gap just shy of requiring an early mercy rule finish to the game.

This proved too big a gap for the eagles to overcome with two ground outs and a stealing runner beaten by the tag thanks to an immaculate throw from catcher Ben Marques. the final inning resulted in the sixth zero on the board for young star Zack Longboy resulting not just in him being the game MVP, but provided the best performance by a Herts pitcher in a Single-A league game.

In the end that pitching performance and a near impervious Raptors defence (only three errors in total) left precious few chances for the Eagles. On the other half of the inning, the Raptors batting line-up gave the Eagles pitchers no gaps in which to find respite by combining the impressive power hitters Ben Marques, Glen Downer, Gilberto Medina and John Kjorstad with the consistent and speedy base presences of the Caress family, Arnie Longboy, and Ken Pike.

That is not to say the Eagles were impotent by any means. Both young starting pitcher William Zucker with three strikeouts, and reliever Theo Scheepers pitched calmly and impressively showing signs of great things to come, while powerful hits by Scheepers and Reagan Wood were matched by several strong performances around the lineup, notably several great catches from young outfielder Senna Ashida. The Eagles have already matched the Raptors record from the previous year with two games left (including bottom of the table Braintree Rays) and look set for great things to come.

Herts Raptors Manager, Arnie Longboy, commented after the game: “I am really proud of how everyone on the team contributed to the win. As a manager I was particularly proud of how we excelled on the fundamentals of base running – manufacturing runs when we needed them and limiting fielding errors to a season low of 3. As a father I was proud of how Zack not only pitched but also played all aspects of the position from fielding to keeping base runners in check. We won’t have our Ace for our next game but this should test our mettle as a team and I expect us to do well.”

Eagles Manager, Duncam Hoyle, said: “We went into the game believing we had a good chance of winning but the Raptors reminded us why they are the Raptors and we are the Eagles. In general I thought we played well, especially defensively but we couldnt get our offense going – mainly due to the excellent pitching display by Zack. The Raptors made few mistakes and were very clinical in everything they did. Once again we had a lot of positives to take from the game, I was delighted to be able to give Will Zucker his first start from the mound and I thought he was superb. The defeat does hurt but we will bounce back”

Click to view box scores and play-by-play

This derby, one of the closest of rivalries, played out in the best weather that British baseball could offer, on one of the best fields in the country, provided a true classic. Perhaps the skills on display were no match for the ‘big brother’ National League Falcons, but, much as the English football team are proving in Ukraine and Poland, a little heart and a lot of passion can go a long way. A dominant win…but by no means a blowout. A game which will surely become unmissable in Herts calendars.

(The result brings Herts Raptors to a .500 record with two wins and two losses while the Eagles sit on 0.429 with 3 wins and 4 losses.)

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Anticipation

Hawks pitcher, Larry Martillo, started game 1 against the Falcons in the first ever Herts baseball derby in 2007
written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent, Glen Downer
Anticipation, or being enthusiastic, is an emotion involving pleasure, excitement, and sometimes anxiety in considering some expected or longed-for good event.
For only the second time in the club’s history two Herts teams will face each other in a competitive league game as the Herts Eagles and the Herts Raptors face-off this Sunday at Grovehill Ballpark. Both teams come off the back of a loss, so the need to put in a good performance couldn’t be higher. In its 16 years as a baseball club, Herts has faced a scenario like this only once and that was five years ago when the Falcons and the Hawks were both in the AA League. Back then the club had only two teams. Now it is the turn of the Raptors and the Eagles.
At the start of the season nobody could have predicted the significance of the game between the two teams; this single game could be the difference in making the post-season, or once again being subject to the agony of just missing out. Both the Raptors and the Eagles have had their fair share of ups and downs already in this rain soaked season, having to endure long breaks due to the poor weather, and suffering losses that could or should have been wins. All this has resulted in the need for both teams to come away with a win this weekend, which could very well be the turning point for each for the rest of the season.
Yankees v Red Sox, Giants v Dodgers, Cardinals v Cubs, and now Raptors v Eagles, team rivalries don’t come any higher than this!! So get yourself down to Grovehill Ballpark this Sunday and enjoy only the second Hertfordshire baseball derby in history! (That is of course if the Great British Weather doesn’t have its say!).

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles unable to end Archers’ unbeaten streak

British A-League

Herts Eagles 15 Essex Archers 32

written by Duncan Hoyle

 

Senna Ashida was solid at shortstop for the Eagles

Herts Eagles knew they would be up against it when they travelled over to Waltham Forest for their league game against runaway leaders Essex Archers. The Archers have dropped down to Single A despite having an impressive record at AA last season and so far this year have easily won all 5 of their league games.

Despite the forecast in the early part of the week predicting rain all day, gameday turned out to be a dry, humid day. With a number of key players unavailable, the Eagles were forced to play Will Belbin at catcher – a position he hasn’t played since 2010, Senna Ashida moved from left field to 1st base and debutant Mike Cresswell made his debut in right field.

Herts got off to a good start, with Duncan Hoyle hitting a line drive to centre field to bat in Joseph Osborne and Senna Ashida to get the scoreboard ticking over in the first inning. At the end of the 1st the score was 3-2 to the Archers, and with the consistent Theo Scheepers once again putting in another good shift on the pitching mound, the Eagles were able to keep in touch with the Archers in the early exchanges. In the second and third innings, 18 year old Mike Cresswell got his Herts career off to a great start by getting a RBI in the 2nd, and then hitting a drive to right field to bring in another 2 runners in the 3rd. Tak Ashida was looking good at short stop, and Will Belbin was catching confidently. Belbin was letting little get past him but unfortunately injured his finger in the bottom of the 3rd. He was substituted by the versatile Adrian Smithers to avoid any long term damage. Most of the Herts batting lineup were able to get on base one way or another, and were then baserunning confidently to be able to pick up runs regularly.

However, as the game went into the 4th inning, Essex began to show why they are top of the league. Their powerful batting lineup started to get their eye in, and the Herts outfield suffered some long chases as the ball sailed over to the fence on a number of occasions. Despite a couple of great outfield catches from Osborne, the Archers were beginning to get away from the Eagles.

In the middle of the 5th, the score was 14 – 8 to the Archers. Herts then had a half inning they will want to forget as 13 runs were added to the Archers total, as a now tired Herts defence started to let a few errors creep into their game. The Archers made the Eagles pay for these errors ruthlessly, and with their powerful batting line up bossing the game they were even able to hit an inside the park home run.

The Eagles kept giving nothing less than 100%, and kept the runs ticking over. Lefty batters Joseph Osborne and Senna Ashida are both getting a reputation of being able to draw a walk from the pitcher – Osborne in particular is becoming something of an expert in this as in his 6 at bats he found himself on base no less than 5 times from walking. Craig La Roux finally got himself a deserved hit towards the end of the game, and he also made his second pitching appearance of the season to close out the 6th with the Archers having finished their scoring on 32. The Eagles kept on battling right until the end and Senna Ashida and Simon Roberts where able to get round to score in the top of the 7th to take the Eagles run total to a respectable 15. The mercy rule then came into effect, as it has done in every game for the Archers. Despite what on paper looks a heavy loss, Herts will be able to take away some satisfaction from the manner in which they played the game and the fact they scored 15 runs – 1 more than all five previous opponents of the Archers have scored put together.

 

by Rob Jones

If you build it, Herts will come

In the United States, there are baseball diamonds in most parks and at most schools. In the UK, you find them in the strangest of places. Such as the Essex Redbacks new field in Billericay. Yes, it’s next to a football club, so that’s not so strange.

But it is in fact in a farmers field, bordered on two sides by rapeseed crops growing so high you fully expect the ghost of Shoeless Joe Jackson to emerge from them at any moment. The recent weather and its farming heritage combined to make the surface look pretty lumpy and threatening, but once the game got started there were absolutely no complaints about it. It’s great that Essex, just like Herts, have been able to expand their facilities and provide more chances to play ball.

I blame rust

I can’t blame the surface for any of the fielding mistakes I made, certainly. The most glaring bonehead play was dropping a routine pop-up in foul ground having called off Theo, who had been playing a blinder. I can’t find any reason for that one. More generally I will blame rust, and a lack of baseball this year.

Rob Jones at bat
Rob Jones, poised at the plate. He doesn't actually look TOO skinny in this picture...

Definitely I am going to blame rust for me missing out on a sliding catch in the outfield. I had started in right field, and had a pretty quiet time. Essex got very few big hits, and those that did make it to the outfield headed for left and centre. But finally a batter shanked a ball into the air in my direction, and it was time for action…

I think it was always going to be a tough one, falling in the in-between zone that separates infield and outfield. But at first I thought it was carrying pretty well. Then, maybe held up by the wind, maybe by its spin, I realised it was dropping very short and I was nowhere near it. At least that left me in no doubt that I had to run hard. So I did, and slid at the last moment in a way which has produced catches in the past. Not this time, though – it got away.

Huffed from a pea-shooter

It wasn’t my only “nearly spectacular” moment of the game. Having moved over to third base, I attempted a goalkeeping dive towards a line drive which came through at a good height. I think I was just a bit too slow on that one, because it felt like I got close. I did finally manage to get something to show for my diving around — in the eighth inning, I think, I slid to my left to snare a sharp ground ball. It was one of those where you aren’t sure the ball is in the glove until you look but, when it is, you feel pretty satisfied.

From a position on my backside, I alertly looked to second to force out the runner who had been on first base. Somewhat bathetically I capped off this moment of athleticism by giving Duncan a throw which bounced three times before rolling the last distance like a pea huffed out of a pea-shooter. But the runner was out, so I am looking on the bright side.

The big pluses

My batting showed perhaps a slow improvement on last week. It all started off with another walk, predictably enough. But after that there was sometimes too much enthusiasm to hit. The umpire had a pretty big strike zone, so I felt it would be risky to count on getting the calls you want  – and I also came up with men on base quite a lot, when a walk is of more limited use.

I popped it up twice — once to the catcher and once to the pitcher — which might suggest I was swinging at high stuff. But I got a couple of  hits, and scored a couple of runs. My best contact was a fly ball out to centre. I got on base, but since it was clearly dropped by the outfielder I really have to admit that I reached on an error.

There were many things I should have done better, but once again I felt good for having been in the game. Even if I was not crucial – Adrian’s home run and Theo’s pitching were the big pluses — I felt that I had helped the team win. I won’t be able blame rust for much longer! There is a good spirit in the Eagles, relaxed but competitive, with constant ribbing and a good chatter to keep guys focused. And that makes it fun to show up. The aches and pains — even my fingers ached, for heaven’s sake — did little to encourage me back, but I am definitely looking forward to the next game.

by Rob Jones

Scheepers stars as Eagles beat Redbacks

Herts Eagles 18-16 Essex Redbacks III

So far this year, whoever wins the first inning of an Eagles game has gone on to claim the victory. The early exchanges have decisively set the tone. But, in a windswept field in Essex, that was about to change.

Theo Scheepers was on the mound as the Eagles visited Essex Redbacks III looking to bounce back from a defeat by the Old Timers, and to even their record for the season.  Senna Ashida had driven in the only run in the top of the first, but when Essex came in to bat, the normally solid Scheepers had trouble finding the zone. Without the home side ever recording a big hit, they ran up a clear lead. After one inning, it was 4-1, then 7-2 after three.

But the Redbacks had not been allowed  to pull away. The Eagles struck back in the fourth inning, scoring 6 to swing the game back their way and take the lead. There were runs for Oz Kemal and Craig Le Roux, and the second of three hits for Theo Scheepers, who had also found his rhythm on the mound.

Adrian Smithers comes home after his home run

The biggest hit of the day came from catcher, Adrian Smithers, who opened up the fifth inning with a booming home run over the left field fence. After trotting round the bases, he was met with applause and high fives from a jubilant team. As well as being solid behind the plate all day, his bat was a threat every time he came up.

The measure of the match was perhaps shown in the fact that the Redbacks hit a home run of their own immediately afterwards, with the lead off man clouting a pitch over the same stretch of fence. The lead seemed to change hands constantly as the two sides traded blows. There were some miscues but some good plays too.

And it was Duncan Hoyle’s Eagles who stepped up their defence to cling on to the lead decisively. The manager helped his own cause, turning a neat double play from his post at second base. Hoyle took a grounder and stepped on the bag before lobbing a throw to retire the batter at first. Joseph Osborne added to his three runs scored by saving runs, with a running outfield catch on a line drive which could have been dangerous. And Oz Kemal — who started the game out of position at first base to cover for missing starters — recovered from tough throws to get runners out at vital times.

Leading 15-14 going into the eighth, Herts desperately wanted to pad their lead. But although runners got aboard, some bad luck on the base paths meant that Smithers was the only man to cross home plate. 16-14 now, and then Essex nibbled one back. 16-15. Then in the ninth the Eagles were able to produce more goods. Hoyle was driven in by Tak Ashida, who finally secured a deserved hit with a double, before he too came in to score a run.

Herts were left with a 3-run lead to protect in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win. Tak Ashida — after what had been, for him, a quiet game — was suddenly the centre of the action. First a pop-up came his way. Then a sharp grounder, which he hauled in to get the second out. One run had come in on a ground-rule double, but would it be enough for the Redbacks?

At this point, the story returns fittingly to Theo Scheepers. He struck out the final man with his bat on his shoulders, and completed a tremendous win for the Herts team. He had pitched all nine innings, fielded his position flawlessly, scored 3 runs, and clubbed three hits. It was a great win for the Eagles, and one which takes them back to 2-2 for the season. Manager Duncan Hoyle said: “I think that was the most enjoyable game I have ever played in. Theo definitely earned a beer. And it was a great team effort.”

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles unveil promising new signings in loss versus Old Timers

Oz Kemal was back for the Eagles

Herts Eagles 7 Old Timers 17.

written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent Duncan Hoyle

 

Herts Eagles battled well against a typically well organised and disciplined Old Timers team but eventually succumbed 7 – 17. However the Eagles will be able to console themselves with the many positive individual performances from the game.

On the warmest baseball playing day of the season so far, Herts starting pitcher Reagan Wood got off to a great start with 3 first inning strikeouts to keep the Old Timers down to 2 runs scored in the first innings. However the Herts batting unit just couldn’t get going, struggling to come to terms with the Old Timers lefty pitchers curve balls.

Wood was forced to leave the pitchers mound in the second inning with a slight shoulder strain and it was Geoff Thomas who had the difficult job of having to pitch out the rest of the inning. By the time the inning had finished the Old Timers had increased the lead to 8 – 0.

Debutant Craig Le Roux made his Herts debut in the 3rd inning on the pitchers mound, replacing Thomas who had pulled his hamstring during his pitching efforts, and Le Roux pitched superbly from the start. He was working well with Adrian Smithers, who was playing for the first time as catcher to rein in the Old Timers offense. After battling with some initial nerves, Smithers had an excellent game in his 5 innings as catcher, letting few balls get past him and he will gain a lot of confidence from his performance.

The Eagles made some good defensive plays including a good tag out at home plate by Smithers, a great relay play from deep left field which included Senna Ashida, Theo Scheepers and Oz Kemal, and a great 2-out play instigated by 13 year old 3rd baseman Callum Vangundy. Vangundy is a GB U15 international who was making his debut for the Eagles, and the natural quality he brings to the Eagles will be a big boost for the rest of the season.

Le Roux was able to keep the Eagles in the game, only going for a run or 2 each inning. Finally in the 6th inning the Eagles were able to get some much needed production going in the batting department, with another debutant, Rupert Greyling getting the offensive show on the road by nearly hitting a home run. He had to settle for a double, but was brought home to score the Eagles first run. Substitute catcher Oz Kemal got into the action with a superb hit to bat in 2 runs and by the end of the innings the Eagles had scored 5 to give themselves a chance of avoiding the mercy rule.

In the middle of the 7th inning the score was 17 – 5 to the Old Timers meaning the Eagles had to score 3 to take the game into an 8th inning. 15-year-old Will Zucker was another Eagles debutant who has previously played in Japan, and he got a good hit which he followed up with some great baserunning to get round to score. He looks like he will be an another excellent addition to the Eagles roster. Sadly for the Eagles only 1 more run was scored which meant that the mercy rule came into play at the end of the 7th inning.

The Eagles were bitterly disappointed in not been able to go all the 9 innings, but can take great pride in the spirited way in which heads didn’t drop and the fact that there are fixtures to be played in the next two Sundays, starting next week with an away day outing to Billericay in a clash with the Essex RedBacks.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2012 BBF postseason format and structure announced

The BBF Board has released the “Road to the NBC”, a document detailing the post-season structure and schedules for adult and youth teams vying for spots in the 2012 National Baseball Championships.

The British Baseball Federation has announced the post-season format and schedule for the 2012 National Baseball Championship (NBC), to be held over the late summer bank holiday weekend, August 25-27. The adult NBC will include a double-elimination NBL bracket, semi-finals and finals for AAA and AA and a Single-A final, with the potential for 14 games played over three days at a single venue.

The NBC qualifications will take place on August 12 and/or 19, with 26 teams vying for spots in the finals.

The playoffs and NBC are earlier this year to take advantage of the three-day bank holiday weekend and a return to extended finals competition for the adult leagues, as well as to allow the GB Baseball programme to prepare and fundraise for the European Baseball Championships and World Baseball Classic qualifier in September.

INPUT AND FEEDBACK

The “Road to the NBC” was drafted with input from commissioners and league representatives as well as feedback from the teams themselves following last year’s highly successful Championship weekend. The BBF is hopeful that the adjustments made to the qualification process, structure and schedule — as well as the shift to a three-day event — will make the post-season experience even more exciting than in previous years.

Planning for the NBC is already in progress and the venue will be announced as soon as possible. As in 2011, the Great Britain Baseball National Teams programme will serve as event organisers, facilitating the staffing, catering, sponsorship and grounds maintenance for the NBC on behalf of the British baseball community. The NBC represents one of Team GB’s major fundraisers, and 100% of catering and merchandising profit from the weekend goes to support our national team players in overseas competition.

The Bronco and Pony post-season details, along with the 2012 Youth National Baseball Championships (YNBC) schedule will be announced later in May.

FULL DETAILS

For full details of the postseason playoffs and the NBC view the following documents:

BBF 2012 “Road to the Finals”

2012 Post-Season Structure

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles game in Brighton has been postponed

The Herts Eagles were scheduled to play their first league game on the road this Sunday with a trip to Pavilion Field in Brighton to face the A League expansion team which has been imaginatively named, Hove Tuesday. It has just been confirmed that the game has now been postponed and will be played later in the year.

Hove Tuesday entering the league this year was a very positive development not just because of the growth of the British baseball league, but also because this meant that one of the best baseball venues in the country has found a new tenant and teams will once again be able to play there.

Guess the year of this National League Final played at Pavilion Field in Brighton?

For many years the showpiece end-of-season National Championships were held at Pavilion Field. The facility features top specification dugouts, and had one of the best playing surfaces in Great Britain. In the early 2000s it was the home of the Brighton Buccaneers. The club folded but thankfully the Burgess Hill Red Hats moved in to ensure that the facility kept going. They too folded just a few years later which meant that Pavilion Field was left without a baseball tenant. There was a real fear that this wonderful baseball facility will be lost as local authorities could have converted it to be used by another sport.

It looks like the future of Pavilion Field is now secure once again with Hove Tuesday taking some very positive steps. Similar to Herts, Hove Tuesday also received funding from BSUK not only to bring the diamond to its former glory, but also to create additional baseball and softball fields.

The Herts Eagles will be looking forward to making the trip to Brighton later in the year to play this weekend’s rained out A-League game.