It feels like an eternity since the Falcons were last in the Premiere League. The 2006 season started well enough as Herts took an early 3-1 record – good enough for second place in the standings. What followed was nothing less than disastrous. The Falcons failed to perform week after week, and a precipitous 13-game losing streak saw Herts slide to 11 games under .500.
No one thing was to blame. Rather, a combination of weak offence, lackluster pitching, error-laden defence and managerial turnover meant that every Falcon donned his pessimism at some point between buttoning up his jersey and lacing up his cleats. We simply could do no good.
September brought closure to the losing season… but also a crucial relegation playoff game against the lower division's second place team, the Burgess Hill Colts. In a dramatic (and all-too-predictable) finale to 2006, Herts took an early lead only to see it squandered by sloppy defensive errors. In the bottom of the ninth-inning with the game tied at 12, Herts loaded the bases (for the second time that inning), but the Gods were not smiling on Hertfordshire that day and the game-winning run was stranded just 90 feet from home plate. Burgess Hill's Gary Davison struck out 16 in his complete game win… Herts lost the game 13-12 in 10-innings… and the Falcons were relegated to BBF Division 1.
Defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory.
2007 became a rebuilding year. Under new management the Falcons retooled, retrained, and recovered from the embarrassment of their demotion. Weaker opposing pitching and immeasurable defensive strides led to an 18-2 record, a Division 1 Championship, and automatic re-promotion to the newly-christened BBF AAA (formerly the Premiere League).
But the lessons of 2006 have been drilled into our skulls with the force of a 90-mph heater. Nothing has been taken for granted… and complacency has no quarter. From mid-January 2008 the Herts Baseball Club has been conditioning, training, and emphasising player development. Club President Aspi Dimitrov manufactured a Spring Training League – akin to its Cactus and Grapefruit cousins in America – so the Falcons could flex some muscle well before Opening Day. Dimitrov even invited Herts’ onetime nemeses to take part – the Burgess Hill Colts.
The teams clashed horns in vintage style. Again with Colts hurler Gary Davison on the mound, the Falcons played tug-of-war ushering an 8-8 tie into the final inning. But this was a new year… and a new team. The Falcons connected for five runs in the 7th and walked away from the diamond with their heads high and their newfound optimism soundly intact.
Now comes the test of time – the great equaliser in baseball. Will the Falcons maintain their control and confidence week-in and week-out…? Can they keep their players healthy and off the disabled list…? Will they roll with the inevitable punches that undoubtedly lie in store…? Or will the bitter taste of a single defeat send the squad into an all-too-familiar tailspin from which they cannot recover…?
Yogi Berra said, “If you don't know where you're going, you'll end up somewhere else.” Ask any Herts player, and he'll tell you that – this year – all roads lead to a winning season. No bags are packed. There's no need. The Falcons plan to stay put.
Category: Adult Leagues
HERTS HAWKS OPEN SEASON WITH A WIN
Posted on behalf of Herts Newswire Correspondent, DAVE HAMILTON
The Hawks got their season off to a flying start at Grovehill on Sunday, putting in a strong all-round performance to beat the Northampton Bucks 12-7 in their league opener.
After watching the Falcons starting their season with a pair of wins, the Hawks were keen to make it a clean sweep for the home team, and did well to quell an early threat from the Bucks without conceding any runs.
With their manager's team-talk ringing in their ears, the squad then produced an impressive combination of patient hitting and aggressive baserunning to take a 2-0 first inning lead, that they never lost throughout the game. After two quick outs, Humberto Concalves sparked the rally with a base hit, coming round to score on starting pitcher John Oliver's two run single.
Paul Auchterlonie's lead-off triple in the second inning helped the Hawks to extend their lead to 3-0, and Oliver held the Buck's hitters in check with the help of some excellent defensive work, right fielder Ross Asquith combining with first baseman Louis Hare to turn the Hawks' first double play of the season in the third inning.
The Hawks blew the game open in the fourth inning, extending their lead to 7-1 with another two out rally to capitalise on some mistakes from the Bucks, and while
A mention should go to Bucks’ Lithuanian pitcher Marius. Fans of Herts Baseball Club remember him well as the pitcher who shut down the Herts Falcons in last year’s Final 4 when he was playing for the Humber Pilots. Marius threw over 200 pitches in a complete game effort, but ultimately it was the Hawks' day as they completed victory behind the left-right pitching combination of Oliver and Hare.
Manager
| Northampton at Herts Hawks | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Northampton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 8 |
| Herts Hawks | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 10 | 4 |
| Herts Hawks 12, Northampton 7 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Hawks | Northampton | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Ross Asquith rf | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Geoff Finning 3b | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Russell lf | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Edward Redgrave ss | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Humberto Goncalves 2b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Tim Tamakucho c | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 |
| (t5) Kal Dimitrov 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jason Mathews cf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Louis Hare 1b-p | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | Ben Alexander lf | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| John Oliver p-1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Marius p | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| (t8) Larry Martillo 1b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Simon rf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Carlos Casal 3b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Ross 1b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dave Hamilton cf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | John 2b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Paul Auchterlounie c | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Luis Goncalves ss | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 39 | 12 | 10 | 4 | TEAM TOTALS | 36 | 7 | 13 | 7 |
| E: Louis Hare(2), Humberto Goncalves, Carlos Casal, John(3), Marius(2), Ross(2), Edward Redgrave. DP: Herts Hawks 2. LOB: Northampton 10, Herts Hawks 11. 3B: Paul Auchterlounie. SB: Carlos Casal(2), Ross Asquith(2), Louis Hare(2), John Oliver, Nick Russell, Luis Goncalves, Edward Redgrave(4), Simon(2), Ross, Jason Mathews, Tim Tamakucho, Geoff Finning. CS: Edward Redgrave, Simon, Ben Alexander. SB: Luis Goncalves. |
| Herts Hawks | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| John Oliver W | 5.00 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Louis Hare | 4.00 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Northampton | ||||||
| Marius L | 8.00 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| HBP: by Marius (Carlos Casal). . . WP: Louis Hare, Marius(5). PB: Tim Tamakucho. T: 3:00. A: 60. |
(VIDEO) HERTS RAPTORS MAKE LEAGUE DEBUT IN THEIR FIRST EVER SEASON
posted on behalf of Herts Baseball Newswire reporter, ROB JONES
The Herts Raptors learned some harsh lessons in their first competitive game, against the Old Timers of Enfield. The score was tight heading into the bottom of the fourth, but then defensive lapses by Herts, and aggressive base-running by the home team, blew the game open. The Raptors were on the wrong end of several close umpiring calls, but kept their heads up to score some late runs, finally going down 33-8.
| Herts Raptors at old timers | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Herts Raptors | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 18 | 3 |
| old timers | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 33 | 27 | 5 |
| old timers 33, Herts Raptors 8 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| old timers | Herts Raptors | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Player 1 2b | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 | Ilya Dimitrov rf | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Player 2 c | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | Jonathon Lewys p-lf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Player 3 1b | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | Andy Ringrose c | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Player 4 p | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | Paul Hawes 1b | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Player 5 3b | 5 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Andrew Slater 3b | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Player 6 ss | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | Hunter Devine 2b | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Player 7 lf | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Rob Jones cf | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Player 8 cf | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | Pete Cox ss | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 9 rf | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | Jake Kikel lf-p | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 45 | 33 | 27 | 29 | TEAM TOTALS | 42 | 8 | 18 | 6 |
| E: Player 4(2), Player 5(2), Player 7, Jonathon Lewys(3). LOB: Herts Raptors 10, old timers 13. 2B: Player 2, Player 3, Hunter Devine(2), Paul Hawes, Jake Kikel. 3B: Player 2, Player 9. HR: Player 9. SB: Player 3(8), Player 6(6), Player 5(6), Player 7(5), Player 4(4), Player 1(4), Player 8(4), Player 2(2), Player 9(2), Hunter Devine(3), Rob Jones(2), Ilya Dimitrov, Paul Hawes, Andy Ringrose. CS: Jonathon Lewys. |
| old timers | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Player 4 W | 9.00 | 18 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| Herts Raptors | ||||||
| Jake Kikel L | 4.00 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 13 | 2 |
| Jonathon Lewys | 3.00 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 1 |
| HBP: by Jake Kikel (Player 1). . . . . . . . WP: Player 4. PB: Player 2. T: 2:55. A: 41. |
ASL EAGLES CLINCH THE 2008 HSL1 TITLE IN DRAMATIC LATE INNING RALLY
The ASL Eagles managed to score five runs in the final inning of the deciding game against the Herts Falcons, coming back from a 5-3 deficit to win the 2008 HSL1 title. The Eagles did it in dramatic fashion in the final inning of the final game.
Before the game the ASL Eagles and the Herts Falcons were tied at the top of the standings both with 100% records, which meant that the winner was going to be the first ever Herts Spring League champion.
The Falcons scored three runs in the first inning but the Eagles kept in touch with two runs of their own. Both pitchers settled down after that which made for an exciting game for the purists. Falcons starter, Darrin Ward, who played his first game after being called up from the Herts Hawks pitched 5+ innings showing great control allowing only 1 walk. Overall the Falcons pitchers, Ward and Kikel, did not have a single earned run in the whole game.
In the middle of the 6th inning the Falcons were holding on to a slender 5-3 lead. A combination of 3 hits, a walk and critically 3 errors resulted in 5 runs for the Eagles. This was a dramatic come back which was met with loud cheers from the bleachers which were packed with Eagles fans.
The Falcons had three outs left to try and stay in the game, but the Eagles’ starting pitcher and the strong defence stayed focused and won the game in style.
This was a win which the Eagles thoroughly deserved, displaying fine pitching, fielding and hitting. Congratulations to the ASL Eagles players and coaches and a special thanks to every member of their staff for their hospitality and for hosting a fantastic baseball day.
One play deserves a special mention. On a hard hit fly ball the Eagles centerfielder made an incredible diving catch. This was applauded by home and visiting players and fans acknowledging the amazing skill and athleticism required to make such a spectacular play. The loudest applause actually came from Lee Manning, the Falcons batter who in the process was robbed of a fine hit which would have resulted in a triple or even an inside the park home run if the centerfielder did not execute the play. If this was an MLB game and the play was captured by ESPN it would have been shown again and again as a candidate for play of the year.
| Herts Falcons at ASL | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Herts Falcons | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 5 |
| ASL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| ASL 8, Herts Falcons 5 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASL | Herts Falcons | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Player 1 p | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | Rodney Naghar rf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 2 c | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Lee Manning lf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 3 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Player 4 2b | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | Jason Greenberg c | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Player 5 3b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Peter Kikel 3b-p | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Player 6 ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Marty Cullen 1b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Player 7 lf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Nick Goetz ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 8 cf | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Aspi Dimitrov cf | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Player 9 rf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Darrin Ward p-3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| TEAM TOTALS | 28 | 8 | 10 | 7 | TEAM TOTALS | 31 | 5 | 9 | 4 |
| E: Player 6, Player 9, Nick Goetz(2), Jason Greenberg, Peter Kikel, Rodney Naghar. LOB: ASL 4, Herts Falcons 6. 2B: Player 1(2), Jason Greenberg, Peter Kikel. SB: Player 9, Player 4, Player 5, Aspi Dimitrov. SB: Player 8. |
| ASL | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Player 1 W | 7.33 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Herts Falcons | ||||||
| Darrin Ward L | 5.67 | 10 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Peter Kikel | 0.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PB: Player 2(2). T: 2:00. A: 108. |
FALCONS TOO STRONG FOR AN IMPROVED NORTHAMPTON TEAM
In the first game of the day the Herts Falcons won 15-2 but the score does not tell the full story. This was a much improved Northampton team from the side which played in the first HSL Sunday. Some of their key players were back in the lineup and they put up a good fight against the team from Hertfordshire.
13 of the 15 Falcons runs were scored in two of the innings when the Falcons bats really came alive. 7 of those runs were scored in the third inning and all of them came after Northampton had retired 2 batters with no one on base. The Falcons followed this with 6 hits including a triple by Andy Cornish and a 2-run inside the park home run by Lee Manning.
Herts baseball fans will be relieved to learn that Andy Cornish passed through the game without aggravating the shoulder injury which he sustained in a diving play against the Nottingham Thieves last month. Another positive for the club was the return of Nic Goetz after a week-long flu which had threatened to keep him out of the final HSL games. He had a good outing on the mound allowing only 2 runs in 4 innings.
| Northampton at Herts Falcons | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Northampton | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Herts Falcons | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 15 | 11 | 1 |
| Herts Falcons 15, Northampton 2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Falcons | Northampton | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Lee Manning ss | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | Player 1 p | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | (b4) Sub 1 p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Greenberg c | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Player 2 c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Peter Kikel 3b | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Player 3 1b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Marty Cullen 1b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Player 4 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Darrin Ward dh | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Player 5 3b | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Greg Bochan lf | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | Player 6 ss | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rodney Naghar rf | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Player 7 lf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Cornish cf | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Player 8 cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Goetz p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Player 9 rf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Aspi Dimitrov p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 24 | 15 | 11 | 12 | TEAM TOTALS | 19 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| E: Lee Manning, Player 3(2), Player 6(2), Player 4, Player 9. LOB: Northampton 5, Herts Falcons 7. 2B: Jason Greenberg, Greg Bochan, Player 3, Player 5. 3B: Andy Cornish. HR: Lee Manning. SB: Lee Manning, Greg Bochan, Darrin Ward, Kimiyoshi Saionji, Player 1(2), Player 5, Player 6, Player 2. SF: Darrin Ward, Peter Kikel. |
| Herts Falcons | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Nick Goetz W | 4.00 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Aspi Dimitrov | 1.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Northampton | ||||||
| Player 1 L | 3.33 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| Sub 1 | 1.67 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| HBP: by Player 1 (Jason Greenberg), by Player 1 (Marty Cullen). , by Player 1 (Andy Cornish). , by Player 1 (Marty Cullen). . . WP: Player 1. T: 2:00. A: 60. |
SIDEWINDERS BECOME HSL2 CHAMPIONS
The Sidewinders won the title in HSL2 with a 19-5 victory over the Herts Raptors. They scored 8 runs in the top of the first inning. The Raptors who are a brand new expansion team for the British Baseball League came back strong with 5 runs of their own after singles from Ilya Dimitrov and Nick Russell and a 2 RBI double from 2005 Hawks Batting Champ,
Unfortunately for the Raptors, these were their last runs of the day as the Sidewinders switched gears to take control of the game. There were many positives for the Herts Raptors to take from this game.
| Sidewinders at Herts Raptors | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Sidewinders | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 1 |
| Herts Raptors | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| Sidewinders 19, Herts Raptors 5 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidewinders | Herts Raptors | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Player 1 p | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Ilya Dimitrov rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Player 2 c | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | (t4) Robert Crouch rf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Player 3 1b | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Paul Hawes 1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 4 2b | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | (b3) Jonathon Lewys 1b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 5 3b | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | Andy Ringrose c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Player 6 ss | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Mark Hoffman p | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 7 lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | (t5) Jake Kikel p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 8 cf | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | Pete Cox 2b | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 9 rf | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | Nick Russell sf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Rob Jones cf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Andrew Slater 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Steve Nippress lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 33 | 19 | 19 | 12 | TEAM TOTALS | 24 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
| E: Player 2, Jonathon Lewys(3), Andy Ringrose, Pete Cox, Andrew Slater. LOB: Sidewinders 6, Herts Raptors 7. 2B: Player 5(2), Player 3, Rob Jones. HR: Player 4. SB: Player 9(5), Player 1(3), Player 6(2), Player 8(2), Player 2, Player 7, Player 5, Andrew Slater, Ilya Dimitrov. CS: Steve Nippress. |
| Sidewinders | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Player 1 W | 6.00 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Herts Raptors | ||||||
| Mark Hoffman L | 4.00 | 16 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| Jake Kikel | 2.00 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| HBP: by Player 1 (Paul Hawes), by Player 1 (Pete Cox). . . . , by Mark Hoffman (Player 9). , by Jake Kikel (Player 5). . WP: Player 1, Mark Hoffman(2). PB: Player 2(3), Andy Ringrose(2). T: 2:59. A: 78. |
BLAZERS DO THE DOUBLE OVER THE HAWKS
This high-scoring victory meant that the Sidewinders had a 100% winning record and the only team that had a chance to overtake them in the HSL2 standings were the Bracknell Blazers. They played in the second game of the day and met the Herts Hawks. The Blazers once again had packed their lineup with members of their National League team. The 85mph+ pitching kept the Hawks off the bases. The Hawks who will be playing two tiers below the National League in 2008 can be very proud in the knowledge that the did not give up against a formidable opponent and in effect prevented the Blazers from winning the title by holding their lead to single digits. Hawks starter Louis Hare was certainly a key reason for with a solid pitching performance supported by a strong defence in the face of a powerful batting lineup.
The Blazers ended their HSL campaign with a 100% record (2-0) but critically their run differential was lower than that of the Sidewinders by 7 runs.
DRAGONS AND HAWKS PRODUCE A THRILLER
The final game of the 2008 Herts Spring League was a dramatic match up between the Richmond Dragons and the Herts Hawks. An early 3-run lead for the visitors from Richmond did not last long as Herts Hall of Famer, Stuart Boast, delivered a crushing 3-run homerun. The Hawks were playing their second game of the day with a severely depleted squad and a shortage of fresh arms.