The Herts Falcons’ season had already been eventful. New recruits. Big homers. A dramatic win over the defending champions. A trip to Europe.

The finale was to be the playoff weekend for the National Baseball League at Farnham Park. Herts were seeded third and would face the London Capitals, seeded 2. They had played some tight games in the regular season but the London side had the better of the results.

In the first game of the weekend the reigning NBL champion London Mets had beaten the Essex Arrows to book their place in the final. Herts were the only side to beat the Mets this year, so they would be able to draw on that memory — if they could make it through.

Unlike last year’s windswept Saturday at Farnham Park, this was a hot, still and dusty day.

The shortstop Miguel Rodriguez led off for the Falcons, and worked the count to 3-1 before grounding out to the second baseman. Carlos Casal and Ryan Trask both made good contact but the ball flew to the outfielders. A steady enough start, but no runs.

Dom Hill was on the mound for the Falcons. He was solid, but in many ways this first frame set the tone for the day. Everything would just work out well for the Capitals, and they would execute their plan in a way Herts simply couldn’t.

The first London runner got on base, but only by half a step with a soft infield hit. He stole second straight away, showing the aggressive approach which London would adopt all game.

The only solid contact of the inning, a single to left field, brought him home and the Capitals took a 1-0 lead.

Jarrod Pretorius was the first Herts base-runner of the day, talking a walk. But that was all the Falcons could manage, and in the bottom of the second frame some loose fielding cost them dear.

The Capitals’ leadoff man again got on base and stole second, the next batter reached on the first error of the inning. Hill fought back to get the next two outs, including his first strikeout. But another bobble on the infield allowed the third run to come in.

London were able to do more damage in the bottom of the third, helped by a scattering of walks. An excellent running catch by Casal in centre field helped hold the base runners in a tough situation.

But the Capitals were able to bring in four more runs, before Falcons manager Cris Hiche made his first pitching change. Gary Davison came on with two outs, and the bases loaded, and got a strikeout to close the inning.

London now led 7-0. In the top of the fourth, Herts got their first hit when Davison drove a ground ball up the middle. He was advanced to third by a double from Pretorius, before Walter Bates took a walk to load the bases and Herts threatened for the first time.

But remember that tone we talked about in the first inning? It could be seen here. Phil Clark grounded to the pitcher, who threw out the runner at the plate, and the catcher just – just – doubled off Clark at first. The roll of the dice did not go Herts’ way, and the Capitals executed perfectly.

Herts retired the side in order in the bottom of the fourth, throwing up their first donut of the day. And in the top of the fifth they got on the scoreboard.

Moise Vasquez came off the bench in to the 9 spot in the batting order, and hit a one-out double that roused the bench. After advancing to third on a single by Rodriguez he then went a step further in making things happen.

Rodriguez stole second and when the catcher tried unsuccessfully to gun him down, Vasquez took off for home. He slid in, in a cloud of dust, to score the first Falcons run.

Herts kept the line moving but a pair of fly-outs ended another rally. And the Capitals were able to respond this time.

A pair of walks and a flurry of hits padded the lead which had only recently seemed under threat. Davison was pulled with the bases loaded and one out, but reliever Carlos Casal then battled to throw strikes. Alex Deacon replaced him, walking his first batter before striking out his second to end the fifth.

The walks were part of the undoing of Herts on the day – 12 base on balls, compared with 6 strikeouts. The Falcons didn’t exactly agree with all the calls – in fact, manager Cris Hiche was ejected for arguing the point with the home plate umpire – but they couldn’t change them.

London scored six in the fifth, to take their lead to 13-1. But Herts showed spirit to rally again, and this time pushed some runs across the plate. Pretorius, Clark and Marco Pestana got aboard, with Moise Vasquez applying the blow to drive in the Falcons’ second run.

Another followed when Rodriguez was hit by a pitch, and more on an infield hit by Deacon. But the fairytale opportunity for a grand slam by Pretorius did not materialise, as he was struck out to end the inning.

The score moved to 13-5 but the Capitals couldn’t be kept quiet and they led 17-5 going into the top of the seventh. Herts needed something big to extend the game, and though Walter Bates led it off with a hit, and finally came round to score (driven in by Vasquez, of course) it wasn’t enough.

The Capitals sealed their place in the final 17-6 in seven innings.

The Falcons’ manager Cris Hiche was clearly disappointed, but also reflective: “Today just wasn’t our day”, he said.

“We were flat and, against a team that was firing on all cylinders, it was too much for us. Although we could have given the Capitals a much tougher fight, they executed every opportunity flawlessly.”

The Falcons were the only Herts team to make the playoffs, after some setbacks for the Hawks and a controversy about the Londoners. But it has been a tremendous year of growth for the club, and of success in other ways.

Hiche is already looking ahead to how to improve: “It’s a real shame for all our Herts fans and also the wider public who expected a close game, like we have always had against the Caps. No doubt we’ll learn from this loss though, and come back stronger next year.”

The focus now turns to youth baseball in September, with Herts looking to enter teams in the Youth National Baseball Championships at Farnham Park. The club will then host its own Herts Futures Tournament on September 21st, attracting clubs from around the country.

 

 

 

 

Herts Falcons have announced that Great Britain Under-23 National Team infielder Johnny Fretheim has joined the club. He will make his debut in Sunday’s doubleheader against the reigning National Baseball League champions, the London Mets. The game starts at 12pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

Fretheim is currently at Texas State University and will be with the Falcons for a limited period of time as he will be joining up with the Great Britain U23 National Team for the European Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, from 7 to 11 August.

Herts fans are well acquainted with Johnny Fretheim as he has come up against Herts adult and youth teams over the years including the dramatic 2013 Under-17 National Final when Herts lost 6-9 to the Cobham Cougars.

This will be his debut in a Herts uniform but there are many familiar faces for him on the Falcons roster, including Miguel Rodriguez and Conner Brown with whom he has attended MLB Elite Academy Camps over the years.

Herts Falcons’ pitcher, Robert Smith, received the exciting news that he has been selected by the South Africa Under-18 National Team to compete in the 29th WBSC Baseball World Cup which will be held in South Korea from 30 August to 8 September 2019.

South Africa is ranked 23rd in the world and has been drawn in a particularly difficult group with the number one and two seeds, Japan and USA, respectively. They will open their World Cup campaign against the USA in a night game on 30 August.

The games will be played at the impressive newly-unveiled Gijang-Hyundai Dream Ballpark in Busan (pictured above).

Robert Smith’s family moved from South Africa to the UK in 2016 when he joined Herts Baseball Club playing for the Herts U17 team. He immediately impressed the Herts coaches and soon after joining was added to the Herts Falcons which is the club’s first team playing in the National Baseball League which is Britain’s top league tier.

Rob Smith up to bat for Herts in the 2017 UK Little League Qualifier

Smith will be one of only two players in the South Africa 20-man roster who are based overseas. This adds an additional financial burden on his family.  Herts fans and anyone who wants to help Rob Smith to raise funds to play in the World Cup can do so by going to the online crowdfunding campaign which has started already.

Welcome to Better Know a Falcon, where we get to know a bit more about the team off the field. First up to bat, new signing #50, Dennis Grogan.

When did you start playing baseball? How did you end up here in the UK?

I started playing when I was a kid back in Toronto, Canada, and so I played a few years up in the Northern League. I took a bit of a break and about seven years ago I started again. I played for Birmingham, for Leicester, and this year [Herts] because this was the closest National League team. I’ve played against them in the past and there are some really good people. I thought, OK, I’ll give it a shot, and tried out for the Herts team.

Were you always a pitcher?

No! I only started pitching in the last few years. I just try to throw the ball in the right place, and when someone’s trying to give more complicated signs I’m just kind of standing there, but, no, it’s fun. It’s good to pitch, I do have fun pitching, and I think it’s a key role to help get the team running in the right way for the game.

What do you do when you’re not playing baseball?

I’ve got a wife and three kids. Our eldest lives in Liverpool so we were in Liverpool last weekend for the bank holiday. I [also] have a 20-year-old and a 13-year-old.

Do they play?

No, unfortunately my son played for a little bit, but as kids get older they get girlfriends and start jobs and lose a bit of interest. On the weekends, because he works during the week, he likes spending [time] with his girlfriend.

We’re both Canadian, so we’re both from a country where baseball isn’t the number one sport…

No! Hockey.

Why do you think more British people should pay attention to baseball?

It’s basically two different games, I think, because if you have really great pitching, it’s a pitchers’ duel. Now, some people may find that boring but for me it’s great because the pitchers are really on the game and striking guys out. On the other hand, when it’s a good hitting game and runs are scoring, I think that’s what the British people would like. They like seeing goals and runs and that’s when it’s exciting because there’s all different things to do. A lot of strategy happens within the game as well. So I think, yeah, if they spent some time and looked at the game and watched a few they would get right into it.

So you just joined a new team, and I was just thinking of Vladimir Guerrero Junior who just joined our favourite team [Toronto Blue Jays]. What do you do when you join a new team?

Yeah, joining a new team, most of the time [you] know the [other] players because you’ve played against them for years, but, again, some teams have brand new players as well, so it’s a good mix. You come in, you know a few people, so you kind of gel quite quickly. A lot of guys in the British leagues…everybody knows each other so we’re very welcoming. Even if a new person doesn’t know anybody, they’ll know someone’s life story after the first week.

Is there a Falcon you were especially excited to play with?

That’s a hard question! In particular, actually, one of the new Falcons, Gary [Davison]. I’ve always respected Gary when I’ve played against him. He was always a hard batter to throw to, but he was one of those… it was always a good challenge as well! I think he won most of those challenges. Yeah, it’s good that he’s on my team now, and even though I’m 47 I’m still learning, and he’s a really good player to take some pointers off of.

If you could have a dream coaching session with any professional player, who would it be?

Oh, [former Blue Jays manager] Cito Gaston! Cito Gaston definitely.

Is there a Falcon you want to learn more about? Feel free to tweet me @pygmyslowloris!