Category: Falcons

by AspiDimitrov

Herts Head for Croydon this Weekend

The International London Tournament is always an enjoyable event, on and off the field.

A Herts All Star team made up of players from the club’s three adult teams will be driving down South to Croydon for the International London Tournament this weekend, 9-10 July 2011.

There will be 15 other teams involved in the competition including teams from all corners of the United Kingdom as well as France and the Netherlands.

On Day One, Herts start the tournament with a game versus the MK Bucks (first pitch 12pm). This is followed by a game at 16:15 versus the hosts Croydon Pirates III.

If Herts clinch a top three place in their group after these two games, they will qualify for the upper bracket competition on Sunday. If they finish fourth or below they will be competing for the Frank Brady Trophy on the secodn day.

2011 London Tournament 1st day schedule

Saturday 9th July – all games are 1hr 45min duration or 7 innings

    Group 1   

 Start   Finish  Home                         v          Away             

 10:00  11:45   Southampton               v          Liverpool         Diamond 1     

 12:00  13:45   Richmond                   v          Essex Arrows  Diamond 1

 14:15  16:00   Liverpool                     v          Richmond       Diamond 2

 16:15  18:00   Essex Arrows              v          Southampton   Diamond 2

  Group 2   

 Start   Finish  Home                         v          Away

 10:00  11:45   Zuidvogels (NL)         v          France             Diamond 2     

 12:00  13:45   Essex Redbacks          v          Pirates             Diamond 2

 14:15  16:00   France                         v          Redbacks        Diamond 3

 16:15  18:00   Pirates                         v          Zuidvogels      Diamond 1

 Groups 1 & 2 the top 2 placed teams progress to the Winners Group + a possible wildcard (see note)

  Group 3   

 Start   Finish  Home                         v          Away

 10:00  11:45   London Metros           v          Latin Boys      Diamond 3     

 12:00  13:45   Maple Leafs                v          Pirates 3          Diamond 3

 12:00  13:45   Herts                           v          MK Bucks       Diamond 4

 14:15  16:00   Pirates 2 (Pilots)          v          Metros             Diamond 1

 14:15  16:00   Latin Boys                  v          Maple Leafs    Diamond 4

 16:15  18:00   Pirates 3                      v          Herts               Diamond 4

 16:15  18:00   MK Bucks                   v          Pirates 2          Diamond 3
Group 3 the top 3 placed teams progress to the Winners Group

WILDCARD NOTE: A single wildcard place will be given to the best 3rd placed team from either Group 1 or 2

by AspiDimitrov

Herts’ Outfield Maestro Engaged

2010 Herts Eagles Home Run Champion, Stolen Base King and Gold Glove Winner, Mahendra Prasad, has been officially engaged to Carit.  The celebration took place in Mahendra’s homeland, Sri Lanka. 

A very important event in the life of Mahendra and Carit, but despite this it seems like Mahendra has baseball on his mind.  In a message to Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, Mahendra sent his best regards to everyone at Herts Baseball Club and ended his message with “Can’t wait to come back and play”.

He is expected to make his return shortly, which will be a big boost for the Herts Falcons who have been showing signs that they are going to battle right to the end and Mahendra’s return would give them that extra which they have missed while he has been away.

Click here for more photos.

by AspiDimitrov

Mask Cam at Grovehill Ballpark

On Sunday, 29 May 2011, BaseballGB writers, Matt Smith and Joe Gray, chose the Herts Falcons versus Croydon Pirates NBL game as their game to watch for the weekend. Apart form the baseball action from around the leagues on that weekend, Matt’s weekly British Baseball Beat included a very enjoyable report from the game at Grovehill Ballpark.

Among Joe Gray’s many roles in British Baseball is Project COBB and during the second game of the doubleheader Joe attached  a small camera to the catcher’s mask of Croydon catcher, Matt Schwartz.  Below you will find a link to that video which is a rare opportunity to see baseball from that angle.  It has been a long time since we have seen “Mask Cam” on ESPN or Fox.  The ending of the video below illustrates the potential risk involved so perhaps damage to equipment is the reason for this.

by AspiDimitrov

Losing Streak Over

Darrin Ward hit his second home run of the season and picked up the win for the Herts Falcons to end their 6-game losing streak

There was a very visible relief on the faces of everyone connected with Herts Baseball on Sunday.  The club’s top team, the Herts Falcons, finally broke the curse that has been hanging over the team since the Opening Day of the season.

The team went into the game against the Croydon Pirates bottom of the NBL standings with no wins and six losses.  They got off to a perfect start taking a commanding lead early.  Darrin Ward pitched a complete game allowing only 1 earned run on 4 hits, striking out 3.  Ward also contributed for the Falcons win offensively.  He went 2-for-4 which included a 2-run homerun deep over the wall in left centerfield and against a blustery wind blowing in from left field.

Alexander von Rosenbach also hit a 2-run home run in the sixth inning, but by then the Falcons had the game in the bag leading 10-3, and that’s how it ended.

Game 2 promised to be a much tougher encounter with Croydon starter Tim Ssali taking the mound.  Croydon were leading 2-1 going into the bottom of the third, when Herts broke out with a game-changing 7-run inning.  They didn’t look back after that and won with a final score of 13-3.  Troy Linton, from Berkhamstead, had another good day causing havoc every time he stepped up to bat.  Louis Hare also stood out going 3-for-3 in game two, with 1 RBI.  But Hare will probably be more pleased with his work on the pitching mound. Like Ward, he allowed only 1 earned run and he also showed a lot of composure with bases loaded and no one out to ruin the Pirates’ hopes.

This is the first time that the Falcons win two games in a row since 18 April 2010 when they swept the Southampton Mustangs at home.  A 6-game losing streak was ended on Sunday and a 2-game winning streak was started.  How quickly things can turn in baseball.  Can the Falcons keep the winning streak going?  The odds are against them as next they will face the London Mets who are the hot favourites for the title. The game will be part of a National Baseball League event at Grovehill Ballpark involving six NBL teams. 

NBL DAY AT GROVEHILL BALLPARK, SUNDAY, 5 JUNE 2011

11:00 Essex Arrows v Lakenheath Diamondbacks

12:30 Herts Falcons v London Mets

14:00 Southern Nationals vs Mildenhall

by Rob Jones

HERTS SIDES BLOWN AWAY

The strong winds blowing across Grovehill ballpark on Sunday did nobody any favours, but the Herts baseball teams seemed to suffer the most.

Ball, glove, hatThe Herts Raptors faced their most evenly matched opponent of the year so far in the London Marauders, but the wind quickly played a part. Starting pitcher Phil Gover found his curve ball hanging in the breeze, and the outfielders were outfoxed by a series of huge fly balls.

Six runs scored in the first inning before balls kept on the infield secured the outs. Chris Deacon — returning from injury — made smart plays to retire runners at second base, though the Raptors never quite achieved the double play they were after.

Eight more runs crossed in the second before Raptors could answer back, and by the middle of the fourth the visitors lead was 27-6. Then, at last, the home team’s bats came alive. Hustle and bold hitting got results, Will Belbin and Oz Kemal picked up RBI’s, and the Raptors put 10 runs on the board.

This dramatic comeback included the strangest hit of the day. A mis-hit dribbler went back to the London pitcher, but it got him in the shins and bounced away – after two overthrows the batter was safe at third base and all the runners had scored. Sadly, such good fortune was not to last. In the end, Marauders had too much batting power for the Herts side and ran out 37-19 victors.

At least Herts did put an exclamation mark at the end of the game, as Little League graduate Zach Longboy pitched a 1-2-3 inning in his senior debut on the mound.

The other Herts teams also endured tough days. The Hawks led 6-5 after three innings, and were only narrowly behind after four. But they then suffered a bad inning which has been the hallmark of Herts losses this year. Guildford Mavericks scored 7, and then shut out their hosts to win 21-8.

One bad inning also undid the National League Falcons, at home to the Mildenhall Bulldogs. Ace Darrin Ward was on the mound in the first game but an explosion of 13 runs in the top of the third pretty much settled the matter. Nic Goetz pitched the second game, which went the full seven innings but still ended in defeat for Herts, this time 11-1. Manager Lee Manning said too many mistakes had cost the Falcons in the first match-up, but he was pleased with a better all round defensive performance in the second. “We were just out-hit”, he concluded simply.

by AspiDimitrov

Halleluiah! A win for Herts

Herts is one of the biggest baseball organisations in Great Britain but has had a nightmare start of the 2011 season.  At last, the club’s barren spell has ended and the first league win for a Herts team in 2011 came at the weekend, form an unlikely source.

After four weeks of league action the three Herts teams competing in the senior leagues each found themselves with the unenviable record of four losses out of four games.  In total this translates into twelve unsuccessful attempts to end the losing streak.

All three Herts senior teams were at home this weekend and with the Herts Under-14 and Under-17 teams starting their British League campaigns the Herts baseball family was hopeful that the nightmare run would end.  Similar to Hollywood movies like Major League and Bull Durham, members of Herts prepared for the weekend exercising all kinds of superstitions from wearing unusual type of underwear, or none at all, to continuing not to shave until the losing streak ends.  Some even considered sacrificing a live chicken.  Thankfully the chicken was spared as the Herts Under-14 All Stars won their opening game of the season against their bitter rivals the London Mets U14.  Brodie Caress was the starting pitcher who picked up the win.  Jonathan Fretheim came in to close the game in style striking out all three Mets batters to end the game.  Both Caress and Fretheim delivered the final blow to the Mets each hitting a 3-run home run deep over the outfield wall.   The second game of the double-header was won 21-10 by the London Mets.

The hard-hitting London Mets are the team to beat this season in the British Under-17 League

At the same time on the other side of Grovehill Ballpark the Herts Under-17 team also opened their season against the London Mets U-17.  This season Herts enter a baseball team into the U-17 British league for the first time in its history and with the majority of the players aged 13 and 14 it was always going to be an uphill task as they came up against the reigning Under-17 British Champions who include accomplished players who are 2 or 3 years older than them.  Despite this, Herts put up a brave fight especially in game two.  They may have lost both games, but this was a good opportunity for the future stars of Herts Baseball to see what the target is for them over the next few years.  The final scores of the two Under-17 League games were 19-2 and 23-10 in favour of the Mets.

The Herts Giants had a dramatic come back win against the Herts Dodgers on Saturday

While this was taking place the Herts Giants and the Herts Dodgers clashed as part of the Herts regional league schedule for the Under-12s.  The Giants won it 18-17 with a dramatic walk off hit to extend their lead in the Herts Minor League standings.

On Sunday it was the turn of the Herts senior teams.  The Herts Falcons were missing key players, Troy Linton, Jamie Munn and Liam Green who was resting after pitching in the Under-17 league game 24 hours earlier, but even if that wasn’t the case it would have been difficult to stop the powerful batting lineup of the Mildenhall Bulldogs who won both games deservedly.  Despite the loss there were many positives for the Falcons to take out of the game as they go into a crucial game against the Croydon Pirates next Sunday.

The Herts Hawks were also at home.  This time they welcomed the newly promoted Guildford Mavericks.  Although the Hawks can have no complaints about the loss, it was very much a missed opportunity as the team had a commanding lead halfway through the game and let it slip away from them at the end.

The Bulldogs found Falcons pitcher Nic Goetz very hard to hit

The weekend was completed with the Single-A League game between the London Marauders and the Herts Raptors. The boys from Herts suffered another loss, but that will not dampen the enthusiasm of the team.  Some struggling teams like to approach one game at a time and this principle applies to the Raptors as well.  The team is a work-in-progress but the day when they will be ready to seriously challenge their opponents is not too far away.  Until then, the team may have to approach one inning at a time rather than one game at a time.

Next Games:

12:00, Sun, 29 May, Croydon Pirates @ Herts Falcons (NBL) (Grovehill Ballpark, Herts)

11:00, Sat, 28 May, Herts All Stars U17 @ Essex RedBacks U17 (Chelmsford, Essex)

11:00, Sat, 28 May, Herts All Stars U14 @ Essex RedBacks U14 (Chelmsford, Essex)

by AspiDimitrov

Falcons Game Switched to Grovehill

Fans of Herts Baseball can look forward to two games in Hemel Hempstead this Sunday after the venue for the Falcons vs Diamondbacks game was switched.

Due to a clash at RAF Feltwell, the Herts Falcons’ next league game with the Lakenheath Diamondbacks has been moved to Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.  The Falcons will still be treated as the visiting team in the game, but hopefully playing at home will give them an advantage as they seek their first win of the season.  The team has had to sit out without any league action over the last three weekends, so they will be eager to get back to the diamond.  They go into the game with a 0-2 record after their Opening Day defeat against the Southampton Mustangs who have quitely gone to the top of the standings with a 6-0 record. 

The Falcons vs Diamondbacks game begins at 12:45. 

Also playing at Grovehill Ballpark are the club’s AA team, the Hawks (0-2).  They clash with League favorites the Sidewinders.  Game starts at 12:00.

The Herts Raptors (0-3) travel to Single-A League leaders, the Cambridge Royals.

by AspiDimitrov

Opening Day Disaster for Herts

The Herts teams couldn’t have imagined a worse start of the 2011 baseball season.  All four games involving Herts teams ended in defeat.  

  

The Herts Falcons faced the Southampton Mustangs in their home opener and they came into the game with a lot of confidence after a good run of results in Spring Training which included a convincing victory against the Mustangs.  Despite taking the lead in the first inning, the Falcons gradually lost grip of the game.  In the fifth inning the visitors delivered the knockout punch scoring 9 runs.  Southampton’s starting pitcher, Gary Davison, pitched a complete game allowing only 4 hits. He was shaken up only once when the Falcons’ 2009 MVP, Darrin  Ward, launched a towering 2-run home run over the left-field wall, but it came too late for Herts.   

 

The second game of the doubleheader was a much closer contest.  Chuck Truelson picked up the win for Southampton after Rodriguez came in very effectively to relieve him in the fourth inning.  Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, was gracious in defeat: “Southampton outplayed us and they deserved to win today. We need to bounce back now.”

 

The one positive for the Falcons is that they now have a two-week break which should be enough for their freakishly long list of injured players to recover including Jamie Munn (arm), Jon Lewys (ankle), Troy Linton (elbow), Nic Goetz (arm), Mahendra Prasad (hamstring), Aspi Dimitrov (shoulder).  They will face the Croydon Pirates in their next game on May 1, once again at Grovehill Ballpark.

 

The Herts Hawks were brought down to earth by a much improved Thames Valley team who, on today’s performance, should be able to challenge in the race for the postseason.  They have acquired the temperamental lefty starting pitcher, Matteo, from the Oxford Kings.  Despite pitching a blinder, he managed to get himself ejected from the game in the final inning with his team winning 16-5.

 

The Herts Raptors opened their campaign against the newly formed Cambridge Royals, who already look like the team to beat in the Single-A League.  With experienced players like Gary Liston, Adam Brown and Sri Lankan pitcher Raj, who fans of Herts know well, they have the tools to get to the postseason.  They won with a convincing 33-5 score against a Herts Raptors team that will be in much better shape in their next game with the return of some of the team’s big guns Arnie Longboy, Bryan Drummond, Chris Deacon, Phil Crooks, Rob Jones, Stephen Patmore and Tom Green.

 

A disappointing start of the season for the Herts teams, but those who dismiss their chances do so at their own peril.

 

 

BOX SCORES – GAME 1  

Southampton Mustangs at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Southampton Mustangs 1 2 1 1 9 0 1 0 15 18 3
Herts Falcons 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 4 7
Southampton Mustangs 15, Herts Falcons 5
Southampton Mustangs Herts Falcons
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
AIZPURUA V. ss 4 2 2 2 PRASAD Mahendra cf 4 0 0 0
(b5) BIBBY R. rf-ss 2 0 0 0 SAIONJI Kimiyoshi 2b 2 2 0 0
DAVIS Ben 1b 5 1 4 3 WARD Darrin p 3 2 1 2
RODRIGUEZ A. cf 5 2 1 2 LINTON Troy 1b 4 1 1 1
SIERRA Oscar c 5 2 2 0 HARE Louis ss 2 0 0 0
DAVISON Gary p 5 2 2 0 LEWYS Jonathon rf 3 0 0 0
TRUELSON Chuck 3b 5 2 2 2 GOETZ Nic 3b 3 0 1 0
ARIETA Ross rf 5 2 2 1 DIMITROV Aspi lf 2 0 0 0
JOHNSON P. 2b 5 2 3 0 MANNING Lee c 2 0 1 0
COOPER A. lf 3 0 0 1 (t6) SHERMAN Perrie c 1 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 44 15 18 11 TEAM TOTALS 26 5 4 3
E: RODRIGUEZ A., DAVISON Gary, TRUELSON Chuck, HARE Louis(3), GOETZ Nic(2), LINTON
Troy, LEWYS Jonathon. LOB: Herts Falcons 5, Southampton Mustangs 10. 2B: DAVIS
Ben(3), DAVISON Gary, SIERRA Oscar, JOHNSON P., MANNING Lee. HR: RODRIGUEZ A.,
TRUELSON Chuck, WARD Darrin. SB: DAVIS Ben(2), TRUELSON Chuck, JOHNSON P., AIZPURUA
V., SAIONJI Kimiyoshi. CS: HARE Louis. SF: COOPER A..
Southampton Mustangs IP H R ER BB SO
DAVISON Gary W 7.00 4 5 2 5 6
Herts Falcons            
WARD Darrin L 7.00 18 15 8 1 2

  

   

 

BOX SCORES – GAME 2  

 

Southampton Mustangs at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Southampton Mustangs 3 3 1 0 4 0 0 11 12 5
Herts Falcons 2 0 3 0 0 3 0 8 6 5
Southampton Mustangs 11, Herts Falcons 8
Southampton Mustangs Herts Falcons
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
AIZPURUA Victor 2b-ss 5 3 3 0 PRASAD Mahendra cf 4 1 2 2
DAVIS Ben cf 5 2 2 2 SAIONJI Kimiyoshi 2b 2 1 0 1
RODRIGUEZ A. 3b-p 5 2 2 0 WARD Darrin 1b 3 2 1 0
SIERRA O. c 4 3 2 6 LINTON Troy 3b-ss 4 0 0 0
DAVISON G. 1b 3 1 1 2 HARE Louis ss-p 4 1 1 2
TRUELSON Chuck p 2 0 0 0 LEWYS Jonathon lf 3 1 1 2
(b4) JOHNSON P. 2b 1 0 1 0 (t6) ARNOTT Jim rf 1 0 0 0
ARIETA Ross rf 4 0 1 0 GOETZ Nic p-3b 1 0 0 0
BIBBY R. ss-3b 4 0 0 0 (b3) DIMITROV Aspi 3b 3 0 1 1
COOPER A. lf 4 0 0 0 NAGHAR Rodney rf-lf 2 1 0 0
          MANNING Lee c 2 0 0 0
          (b6) SHERMAN Perrie pr-c 0 1 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 37 11 12 10 TEAM TOTALS 29 8 6 8
E: BIBBY R.(2), DAVIS Ben, RODRIGUEZ A., AIZPURUA Victor, LINTON Troy(2), HARE Louis,
MANNING Lee, NAGHAR Rodney. LOB: Herts Falcons 5, Southampton Mustangs 7. 2B: HARE
Louis, PRASAD Mahendra, DIMITROV Aspi. 3B: PRASAD Mahendra. HR: SIERRA O.(2), DAVISON
G.. SB: AIZPURUA Victor(2), DAVIS Ben, JOHNSON P.. SF: SAIONJI Kimiyoshi.
Southampton Mustangs IP H R ER BB SO
RODRIGUEZ A. 4.00 3 3 1 1 2
TRUELSON Chuck W 3.00 3 5 1 3 2
Herts Falcons            
HARE Louis 4.67 7 5 2 0 3
GOETZ Nic L 2.33 5 6 3 1 1
HBP: by GOETZ Nic (DAVISON G.). . . . . . . Balk: RODRIGUEZ A.. T: 2:30. A: 89.
by AspiDimitrov

Let the Battle Begin

Richmond won the NBL and AA league titles last year.  Who will it be this year?

 

The grass is cut, the foul lines have been marked out, the baseball gloves are well-oiled and the bats are ready to hit one out of the park.  British Baseball prepares for the opening of the 2011 season.  Clubs around the country have been preparing for this moment for the last six months. The time for talking is over. Let the battle for the league title begin.

 

Just like all the other clubs around the country, the Herts teams are eager to get the show started.  The club’s top team, the Herts Falcons will go into the new season with many new faces in their roster.  They had a promising run of pre-season results against other National Baseball League (NBL) opponents so there is an extra spring in their step. Newly appointed manager, Lee Manning who has been a member of the club since it was founded in 1996, is excited about the team’s prospects. “Everyone is relaxed and excited about the season.  The atmosphere has been great, and we’re really looking forward to it”, said Manning.

 

The Falcons start their 2011 NBL campaign at home against the Southampton Mustangs, a team which made it to last year’s postseason playoffs in their first season in the country’s top league.  The two teams met on Opening Day last year.  The Falcons swept the Mustangs on that occasion but despite this Southampton ended up much higher in the league standings by the end of the regular season, so, whatever happens in these Opening Day series, it will not determine where these two teams will end up in August, but there is no doubt that both of them would want to get off to a winning start.

 

The Herts Hawks open the season away at the Thames Valley Bisons.  The Hawks roster looks much stronger than last year so it is not a secret that the club is very optimistic that the Hawks may have an outside chance of getting into the postseason playoffs. Co-Managers Greg Bochan and Andy Cornish have been preparing and planning meticulously for this day so now it is time to deliver.

 

The Herts Raptors ended last season with one win and twelve losses, but despite this it was a fun season with the team members embracing the underdog spirit.  Herts has once again attracted a wave of new players who are new to baseball so Manager Ken Pike will have the difficult task of turning them into a team which is capable of surprising the league against the odds.  The team had moments of brilliance during the Herts Spring League which included a spirited fightback against the Essex RedBacks only to lose 16-17 in the final inning, so the Raptors’ prospects may not be as bad as some may think.

 

OPENING DAY GAMES FOR THE HERTS TEAMS

Sunday, 17 April 2011

 

National Baseball League

Southampton Mustangs @ Herts Falcons (12:30pm)

Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead

 

AA League

Herts Hawks @ Thames Valley Bisons (12:00pm)

Thames Valley

 

A League

Cambridge Royals @ Herts Raptors (14:00pm)

Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead