Category: Adult Leagues

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players have started registering for the 2018 Hunlock Series

The 2018 BBF league season will soon be coming to a close, but arguably the best part of the season is still to come.

Every year, just when the MLB season enters its most exciting stage, players come to Grovehill Ballpark for a competition in memory of Herts Baseball Club’s number 36, the late Kyle Hunlock.

This is the thirteenth year of the Hunlock Series. In its inaugural year in 2006 two teams were involved, the Falcons and the Hawks. Herts Baseball Club has been growing rapidly since then and the format of the competition has evolved. As players sign up over the next few weeks we will know how many teams will enter the Series this year.

SERIES FORMAT

This year’s competition will be played over three Sundays. The opening games will be played on Sunday, 23 September. The second round of games will take place on Sunday, 30 September, with the final round scheduled for Sunday, 7 October. If weather conditions affect the first three weeks, 14 October is available as a backup date.

In 2014 we introduced “The 9th Inning Games” where games are played over a single inning. We will be doing this again this year. This format recreates the tension and drama of the ninth inning. Can the teams manufacture the all important go-ahead run? Can they deliver the walk-off hits? Can the pitchers and defence execute with the game on the line?

THE DRAFT

As in previous years, the teams will be selected by the team managers during the Hunlock Series Draft. Who will be the first round picks? How will minor league players and newcomers perform alongside NBL players?

Over the years we have seen how decisions made during the Draft can shape the outcome of the Series before a pitch has been thrown. The managers will have to make carefully-calculated decisions if they are to put together a team which can compete for the Hunlock Series title, otherwise they face miserable few weeks.

With all of the club’s managers and coaching staff observing these games, players who have been pushing for promotion to a higher league team will have the perfect opportunity during the Hunlock Series to make a claim to play on the bigger stage in 2019. The club has also received enquiries from many potential new members over the last few weeks and this event is the ideal opportunity for them to come and play.

HOW TO REGISTER

Existing Herts players are currently registering ahead of the Draft by simply updating their availability in the online Clubhouse. New players and players from other clubs can also sign up by contacting Herts Baseball Club.

There has already been interest from non-Herts players located in other regions of the United Kingdom and overseas. They are all welcome to sign up and play in these games. Just like last year, the Hunlock Series could provide a glimpse at new players who could be wearing the Herts jersey next season.

To be eligible for selection during the Draft, players must register and enter their availability details online by Friday, 14 September. If you miss this Draft deadline or the first one or two weeks of games, don’t worry. Players will still be eligible to play but would be added to teams as free agents. To be eligible to play in the Hunlock Series, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2018.

by Rob Jones

Hawks’ wings clipped by Latin Boys

The Herts Hawks travelled to face the East London Latin Boys on Sunday (19th August) to fight for a place in the national final of British baseball’s Double-A league.

The fixture renewed a rivalry which had brought some tight and dramatic games over the past two years. In 2018, the Hawks were the only team to beat the Latin Boys, who had won their division and claimed the number 2 seed for the playoffs.

Veteran pitcher Darrin Ward was on the mound again, after his complete game win over Bournemouth last week. That game ended 10-9 to the Hawks thanks to a ninth-inning rally and a walk-off. Things would be different this time.

Ward surrendered an early 1-0 lead, but pitched well to keep it tight until the middle of the fourth inning.  Then a Herts fielding error proved costly, and Latin Boys jumped out to a 4-0 lead.

The home side’s starting pitcher Jeffrey Aguilar was dominating the Herts lineup. Only Ward and second baseman Jon Lewys were able to get notable hits.

Latin Boys starter Jeffrey Aguilar

 Latin Boys had another big inning and took a 10-1 lead into the seventh. There was to be no dramatic comeback from Herts this time and it ended 11-1.

 Hawks manager Michael Cresswell tipped his hat to the home side, saying they deserved their place in the final. Herts had gone one better than last year, and will return to action in the Spring with their eyes on a title.

In their team statement, the Hawks said that while the result was not what they wanted, there were still smiles all around. “Sometimes it’s just not our day, but we still love the game of baseball.”

 

Hunter Devine and Jon Lewys (all photos: Jamie Lang)

Latin Boys face Bristol Badgers in the Double-A final at Farnham Park near Slough, the home of British baseball, next Sunday (26th August)

The Herts Raptors had finished their season in Single-A, but played one more game this past weekend against the Guildford Millers. It was a fixture which was rained off early in the year, but it had been impossible to reschedule it.

Raptors jumped out to a big 20-run lead after 3 innings, and were within a squeak of a mercy rule victory after 5. They led by 14 runs. But Guildford kept plugging away and fighting back.

Home runs from Herts veteran Arnie Longboy and rookie David Grindstaff had powered the offense, and after seven innings they still led by 9. However, it would end with the impressively Single-A score of 36-35. And Guildford were the winners.

It was a fun finale to the year.

The Herts Falcons have one more regular season game to play, a make-up game against the London Mets at Finsbury Park. Then they, too, hope to be heading to playoffs.

The exact permutations for the NBL have not been decided yet, but follow hertsbaseball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and we will keep you updated.

by Rob Jones

Last gasp drama brings playoff win for Hawks

The Herts Hawks built an early 5-1 lead in their playoff game at home to the Bournemouth Bears on Sunday (August 12th) – but the ultimate victory was anything but routine.

This was the Hawks’ second year in the Double-A league after storming to the Single-A title in 2016. Bournemouth were new boys to the league, and had never faced Herts.

Ward pitching, with Cresswell waiting in the wings

Darrin Ward was on the pitching mound on a cloudy and cool day at Grovehill, which was interrupted by showers. He went along steadily for five innings as the Hawks scored 5 runs to back him up.

But Bournemouth’s starter was also showing his mettle, and in the fifth the visitors battled back to get their bats going too. They pushed across some runs, and took advantage of a brief mental lapse from the Hawks to score again. It was now 5-4.

Herts responded with a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth, and centre fielder Kimi Saionji led off the bottom half with a double to left field. Right fielder Hunter Devine followed him onto the bases, and then manager Michael Cresswell.

But, frustratingly, they would leave them loaded. Bournemouth induced two pop-outs and a K from the meat of the order.

And in the top of the seventh, with two outs, the Bears finally tied the game at 5-apiece.

The Hawks’ defence had been playing smartly, always retiring the lead runner, and making good throws. Greg Bochan was a rock at third, Louis Hare at short. But Herts had to score to get back on the front foot.

In the bottom of the eighth, Saionji again got it started with a single. Then Devine drove a triple deep into the right field corner to bring him home and retake the lead. He came across to score on a pass ball.

Jon Lewys tried to tack on one more, racing from second on a drive to right by Ward. But the Bears were quick enough and accurate enough and cut him down at the plate.

So Herts were defending a 7-5 lead going into the ninth. A chance to close it out. Bournemouth’s first hit boomed to the fence in left field. Another runner got on. Herts got one out.

Then things threatened to really turn sour. Bournemouth found the gaps. Herts fielders bobbled the ball. The Bears sniffed an opening and not only levelled but took the lead, 9-7. What is more, Herts catcher Bryn Coughlan hurt his knee as he scrambled to catch a foul pop-up.

There was a delay while medical help was sought, and he was helped from the field. When it was over, Herts faced the challenge of saving the game.

Greg Bochan led off with a single. Then substitute Antony Lavender – who had been called suddenly into action – made an immediate mark with a double to right field.

Kimi Saionji brought home the first of the runners, then Devine struck again.

The game was tied. Saionji was on third.

At the plate stood first baseman, Michael Cresswell, first year manager of the Hawks. He wasn’t going to pass up this moment.

Cresswell slapped a pitch down the third base line, and — leaping onto the plate to score– Saionji ended the game. It was 10-9 to the Hawks.

Kimi scores the winner

Bournemouth Bears had been superb, and battled hard. They played with a smile and a cheer and graciously checked in on the injured Herts catcher.

But the day belonged to Herts. Ward took the complete game win, Cresswell the walkoff. But the entire team had contributed.

The Hawks travel to face the East London Latin Boys next, and will take heart from being the only team to beat them in the regular season.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

British baseball players and coaches to work with former Miami Marlins pitcher this August

Herts Baseball Club is preparing to welcome Chris Squires, a pitcher who eight years ago was drafted by the Miami Marlins. He will be visiting the United Kingdom in the first week of August and Herts will be making the most of the opportunity by running a number of events and clinics which will give players from Herts and from other British baseball clubs a chance to work with him to polish their mechanics and generally to improve their game.

The 30-year-old spent three seasons in the Marlins organisation playing for the club’s various Minor League affiliates. In the last 3 seasons he has been with the Dornbirn Indians in the Austrian League, where in 2016 he played alongside Herts Falcons player-manager, Cris Hiche. Despite being only 30 years of age he is already heavily involved in a coaching capacity working with both adult and youth teams.

Chris Squires interview on the day he was drafted by the Miami Marlins in June 2010

The first event will be from 6pm to 8pm on Friday, 3 August, at the club’s venue in North West London. On the following day, Saturday, 4 August, the action moves to Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Apart from clinics with coach Chris Squires, the day will include a Home Run Derby, games, food, drinks and a lot more. In addition, at 5pm on Saturday coaches will be able to join Chris Squires for an informal evening to chat about throwing and pitching mechanics, pitcher development, mental aspects of pitching, and his experience playing in professional baseball. This will take place at the Hilton Hotel in Watford. On Sunday 5 August, coach Squires will run private lessons, one-to-one (£15 per hour for one player) or in small groups (£20 per hour for groups up to 4 players). Contact us if you are interested to book a private lesson with coach Chris Squires.

These events are for adult and youth players. See event timetable below for more details. With exception of the private lessons on Sunday, all other sessions on Friday and Saturday are free entry.

 

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Friday, 3 August (venue Hampstead Heath Extension, NW London)

6:00pm-8:00pm: Training session with Chris Squires – for Adult (ages 14 to 55+) and Youth players (ages 8 to 17)

 

Saturday, 4 August (venue Grovehill Ballpark)

09:45 – 12:00: Training session with Chris Squires and Herts Falcons Manager Cris Hiche – for U13 and U11 youth players (ages 8 to 12)

12:15 – 12:45: Home Run Derby, food and drinks

13:00 – 16:00: Training session with Chris Squires – for Adult (ages 14 to 55+) , U17 and u15 players (ages 13 to 17) Note: U17 and U15 players report at 12:00pm

16:00 – 16:15: Wrap-up.

17:00: Evening Coaches Meeting:  (venue Hilton Hotel, Watford) An informal evening to chat about throwing and pitching mechanics, pitcher development, mental aspects of pitching, his experience in pro-ball, and more.

 

Sunday, 5 August (venue Grovehill Ballpark)

09:00-14:00: One-to-One or small groups private lessons with Chris Squires (Contact us for more details and to book a place for these private lessons)

by Rob Jones

Hot hitting: Big homers lead to big wins

The Herts Falcons claimed a big scalp in the National Baseball League (NBL) with a stunning victory over the powerful London Mets at home at Grovehill (on Sunday 1st July). It was another perfect sunny day for baseball, and the team got into a groove quickly.

Zack Longboy pitched a gem, backed by a home run from GB catcher Conner Brown, to give the home side a narrow 10-9 lead entering the final inning. Far from crumbling under pressure, the Falcons piled on.  Both Phil Clark and Will Zucker — fresh from claiming a national baseball title with his university side — drove in runs.

Falcons’ Cris Hiche at bat (file photo)

The coup de grace was a grand slam homer from manager Cris Hiche. That sealed the deal and ended the game to give Herts a 21-11 win.

 Game 2 of the double header saw London take revenge. Zucker started on the mound, but the Mets scored 11 in the first inning on their way to a 20-1 win. Herts’ only hits both came from NBL rookie Tom Carson.

Over on Grovehill’s other diamond, the Herts Hawks went down 10-2 in the first half of their double-header at home to Sidewinders in the Double-A league. One big inning undid the Hawks, and despite excellent relief pitching from Aaron Witter the bats could not make a dent on the visitors’ lead.

Herts also fell behind early in Game 2. But this time they rallied back dramatically. There were hits from Hunter Devine, and Gilberto Medina.

The Hawks’ manager Michael Cresswell put an exclamation mark on the comeback by hitting his first ever home run in the top of the seventh. It capped an 11-9 win.

A home run trot for the first time for Michael Cresswell

 In the Single-A league, the Herts Raptors stayed close to the pace-setting London Musketeers for 2 innings. Smart pitching from Paul Auchterlounie and a double play turned by second baseman James Emblow helped.

But the visitors’ bats came alive in the third, and tacked on in the fourth. As a hot day at Grovehill drew towards an end, London had the game by the scruff of the neck.

Another strong relief appearance by Giuseppe Basilea slowed the scoring, and Simon Radford – returning from injury — got his debut hit for Herts. But it wasn’t enough to prevent a 24-5 defeat for the Raptors. They travel to Richmond this weekend, looking to get back to winning ways.

Giuseppe Basilea at bat for the Raptors
by Zack Longboy

Resilient Falcons Fall Just Short

Without two of their top starting pitchers and three middle of the order hitters, the Falcons knew it would be a battle – tooth and nail – in the two-game set against top-ranked Southampton. Sunday was a day of crafty pitching, solid defense, Griffey-like, back-to-back production from a father-son duo, and above all, resilience from a Falcons side who refused to quit.

Wade Lynch got the start for Herts in game 1, fresh off a busted nose in the Falcons’ winning effort against the Birmingham Bandits last week. The crafty veteran pitched well, allowing only 1 run over the first three frames, and showcasing a varied mix of off-speed pitches.

While Lynch continued to keep the Mustangs hitters off-balance, a series of weak contact hits put runners in scoring position, before the middle of the Southampton order drove them in. In all, the flurry of Mustang bats amounted to 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th (Despite being played at Grovehill, the game was technically a home for Southampton due to scheduling).

ABOVE: Veteran 2B Moises Vasquez watches the opposing pitcher intently. After a pinch-hit single in his only at-bat of Game 1, Vasquez was moved up to the four-hole for Game 2 where he tacked on a long double.  

On the other side of the rubber, Southampton’s Chris Gregory kept the Falcon’s hot bats in check, allowing only 3 runs over 6 innings and striking out 9. After another flurry of hits by the Mustangs in the 6th, led by Giovani Escalona and Ambiorix Hurtado, the score stood at 9-3 Mustangs with 3 innings to play.

The Falcons managed to add two runs in the 7th with back-to-back singles from John and Brian Morgan, a father-son duo making their Griffey-esque, Falcons debut. RF Adrian Achitei also added two hits in the effort. However, with reliever Walter Bates on in relief of Lynch, the Mustangs tacked on 3 more in the bottom of the frame, bringing the score to 12-5 Southampton.

The score would stay this way until the top of 9th, where the Falcons, with only three outs remaining, proved that they wouldn’t go down easy. With production up and down the order, the Falcons batted through the lineup against reliever Callum Vinall, dinging him for six runs. With the chance to tie, the bases were loaded with two outs and the Falcons’ best hitter of the day, Walter Bates (3-6, 2 RBIs) was at the plate. After working the count full, Vinall executed a perfect pitch down in the zone and retired Bates, stemming the bleeding and giving the Mustangs the 12-11 win.

It was a brilliant comeback effort from the resilient Falcons, although the final out was a microcosm of the team’s struggles in Game 1. Three times, the Herts side left the bases loaded with less than two outs, not capitalizing on run-scoring situations. Despite this fact, all 11 players who came to the plate for the Falcon’s in Game 1 had a least one hit. This was one of the many positives that Manager Cris Hiche took from the game. “Game 1 was a difficult game in which we were behind the entire time,”

Hiche said. “I’m gutted we fell short after a 6-run 9th-inning rally, however, I’m very happy how the team never gave up and fought till the very end.”

Game 2, slated as a 7-inning contest, hoped to be more promising for a Falcons side with all the momentum from the recent late-inning comeback.

The Falcons bats added one run in each of the first three innings, however, left men on base each time against the young, inexperienced Mustangs pitcher.

On the other side of the ball, Zack Longboy got the start for the Falcons, blanking Southampton side over the first three innings and striking out 6 over six frames. A hard double by Vinall and a two run-shot by big first-baseman Oswaldo Rodriguez drew the score even at 3-3 after 4 innings.

Despite adding another run in 6th, on C Andy Roberts’ first home-run in a Herts uniform, the Falcons couldn’t muster any more firepower. Gary Davison had come on in relief in the fourth inning, and his mix of breaking balls kept Herts hitters flummoxed over the second half of the contest. Davison ended with 7 K’s. Meanwhile, two misplayed balls, and doubles by Davison and Alberto Rodriguez, gave the Mustangs some insurance. Final score: Southampton 7, Herts 4.

“I’m disappointed we fell short on Game 2 as [Longboy] pitched another brilliant game and kept us always in the game [sic],” Manager Hiche said. “As a team, we are hitting over .300 but somehow we couldn’t score more than 3 runs against a weak pitcher” in the first three innings. We need to do better in those circumstances if we want to win more games.”

WHAT’S NEXT

The homestand continues for the Falcons, doubleheader versus the top tier London Mets up next on Sunday, 1 July.

Game 1: 11:30 a.m.

Game 2: 15:00 p.m.

Location:

Grovehill Ballpark,

Washington Avenue,

Hemel Hempstead,

Hertfordshire, HP2 6NH

by Rob Jones

Father-son duets do the double for Herts

At times, it looked as if the Herts Raptors would struggle to get a team together for Sunday’s trip to the Tonbridge Bobcats, as Father’s Day stripped away a few regulars from the line-up.

In the end, the 9 players they got together played one of their best all-around games of the season to secure a win. New father and son recruits were central to it, but more of them later.

We will start at the top of the first, when rookie Harvey Blenkarne led off with a hit to centre field. He advanced around the bases to score, as did manager Matt Jackson.

James Emblow at bat

Raptors loaded the bases, but some miscommunication about an infield fly ended the threat. Tonbridge struck back with two runs of their own, but in the second innings Herts were able to cash in more of their base-runners.

Doubles from Jackson and from Rob Jones helped bring in 5 runs this time, with the Bobcats getting only 1 in reply.

Herts veteran Arnie Longboy was on the mound for this one, and worked steadily in and around the strike zone. Andrew Sharp for Tonbridge picked up more strikeouts, but Longboy and his catcher, Ken Pike, kept the Bobcats swinging, and the defense backed them up.

Edward Liu, switched to first base for this game, was a rock, while Matt Jackson made excellent plays in a rare appearance at third base.

Shortstop Rob Jones – whose career highlight is probably a sliding infield catch at Tonbridge – made a sliding infield catch which was almost a carbon copy. He was able to dash in for a dying quail which had just enough to get past the pitcher, but not enough to reach anyone else.

Raptors led 10-4 after four innings. Solid, but far from decisive in Single-A. Whereas in the past, the team has sometimes lost a bit of focus at times like these, they stepped it up this time.

That father-son duo we mentioned earlier was Brian and Josh Morgan. Brian (senior) slipped smoothly into a job at second base, and got a hit every time he came up.

Josh (the younger) took time to warm up against the pitching. But when Herts needed the production to seal the game he hit a superb double to the outfield. He capped that with a steal of home, a cloud of dust as his exclamation point.

Herts scored 11 in the top of the fifth, with James Emblow contributing a double, a single and a run. It put a mercy rule win within sight. Tonbridge got runners on, and scored 2 as they loaded the bases.

But they ran out of outs. Matt Jackson made the final play from third to cap off a 21-6 victory and move his side to 5-2 on the season.

The Herts Hawks at Grovehill

Back at Grovehill, the Herts Hawks were hosting the Norwich Iceni, last year’s unbeaten champions in Single-A. Norwich had won the first encounter between the teams in Double-A this year, a rain soaked affair which went to extra innings.

The Hawks bats helped them jump out to an early lead, and pitcher Darrin Ward held the visitors to just one hit in the first two innings. Norwich did manage to rally.

But the Hawks showed their power to surge ahead. Ward and Andy Cornish both hit doubles, while there was a triple for Gilberto Medina. 10 runs in the fourth inning put Herts in control, with a 17-4 lead.

Manager Mike Cresswell got on base every time he came up while Drew Mayhew – playing his first Herts game for two and a half years, hit a double.

The Hawks celebrated a 20-5 mercy rule win and they are now 8-2 on the year.

At this game, the father-son combo was Louis Hare, who played a great game as ever, and Geoff, one of the country’s leading umpires. It seems you can play baseball and celebrate Father’s Day at the same time.

 

by Rob Jones

Happy Hawks hang on, Falcons bounce back

The Herts Hawks travelled to the riverside venue of Richmond to take on the London Marauders in the AA-division (don’t ask why). They were looking to build on last week’s wins and cement their position as a force in the AA-division this year. 

Game 1 started out as a pitching duel and it was scoreless through three innings. London took a one-run lead in the fourth, then the Hawks struck back with hits from catcher, Bryn Coughlan, and Darrin Ward to lead 2-1.

 It stayed that way until the final inning, when shortstop Gilberto Medina hit a triple to drive in three runs. Pitcher Leigh Coke held the Marauders to just one in reply to finish off his complete game, and secure a 5-2 win.

 The second game was tight too, but more high-scoring. Ward also pitched a complete game for Herts and they won 14-13, surviving more final inning drama by stranding what would have been the tying run on second base.

Defense was key to their success, with an amazing diving catch in the outfield by Anthony Lavender, and several fine plays at shortstop by Medina.

 In the NBL, the Herts Falcons were in Birmingham to face the newcomers to the league, the Bandits. Their day was dogged by some personnel troubles, but they battled through.

Wade Lynch was hit in the face during batting practice, but had to soldier on and play. (He would later need stitches). Starting pitcher Rob Ackerman did not arrive until near game time so the Falcons started off with reliever Walter Bates on the mound.

The two teams exchanged runs in the early going, with the Bandits 4-3 up after two innings. Ackerman then came in and was able to close down the Birmingham bats.

Rob Ackerman (file photo)

Meanwhile, up and down the lineup, Herts were hitting well and they won comfortably, 18-5. Carlos Casal Jr made his 2018 debut for the team after a transfer was completed during the week. 

The second half of the double-header was a closer affair. The roster went down to 9, meaning Lynch had to stay on and Ackerman tried to squeeze some more innings out of his arm.

Manager Cris Hiche again pitched well as a reliever, and another burst of runs from the Herts bats helped the cause. It was 7-2 after three innings, but the Bandits chipped away, closing the gap to 7-6 before Herts put it to bed with 4 runs in the top of the seventh.

The Falcons secured the victory, 11-7. Alex Deacon got his first NBL hit, and Hiche was proud of how his team had battled throughout a tiring day.

In Single-A, the Herts Raptors got a walkover win against the Old Timers, who couldn’t get enough players to Grovehill for a full team. The two sides still played a game with the people they had got, and won that too — and everyone had a good time in the Hemel Hempstead sunshine!

That meant that Herts won five out of five games, the second time this year the club has secured a full sweep on a Sunday.

 

by Zack Longboy

Falcons’ hot bats, strong pitching spoiled by resilient Capitals

On a sunny day at Grovehill Ballpark, Game 1 of a double dip with the London Capitals was off to a good start for the Herts NBL side.

Despite taking place at Grovehill, the Falcons were the away team throughout the two-game set, as a result of scheduling difficulties with London’s home field. Led by CF Walter Bates, who went 6-7 on the day with 3 BB, the Falcons’ offense exploded for 17 hits. Adding to Bates’ dominance was  C Conner Brown, who followed up Bates’ no-doubter HR in top of the 4th with a solo shot of his own. 3B Phil Clark added a solo shot and 1B Cris Hiche an RBI double to chase Capitals starter, Timmy Ssali after only 4 innings.

CF Walter Bates and C Conner Brown Hit Back-to-Back HR in the 4th.

On the mound for Herts, Zack Longboy was dominant early in his return from university in the U.S. Buoyed by strong run support, Longboy held the hot-hitting Capitals to three runs over the first six frames.

In the 7th however, a walk, HBP and another walk caused manager Cris Hiche to turn to young reliever Aaron Witter. With the Falcons up 10-3, the Capitals’ DH, Adam Gelman(who had already hit a two-run bomb in the bottom of the 2nd) dug in to face the young righty. With the bases loaded, Gelman hit a grand slam home run over left field, narrowing the score to 10-7. It was a brand new ballgame.

Back in the game, Capital’s manager turned to David Bedard who held the Falcon’s lineup in check over the last three innings of the game. Hiche on the other hand, went with closer Conner Brown for the potential 9-out save.

Both teams traded zeros until the bottom of the 9th, when the Capitals began to mount a comeback. With runners on, a double by Bedard pulled the score tied and a walk and a passed ball put the wining run only 90 feet away.

In a move that caught everyone in the ballpark by surprise, heavy-hitting 1B Ben Marcal laid down a squeeze bunt, scoring the winning run from third, and giving the Capitals an 11-10 walk off win.

“We played a great game in all aspects and we deserved the win,” said Manager Cris Hiche.”I made some errors in my managerial decisions which proved costly… but credit to the Capitals who fought back, got some very timely hits, and executed the squeeze play to perfection.”

Despite the swing in momentum, Falcons’ bats started hot again in Game 2. With singles from Bates, RF Tom Carson, and a double by 2B Moises Vasquez plating 3 runs in the top of the first.

The bottom of the 1st however, proved eventful as the Capitals’ bats sprang to life. When all was said and done, the London side had plated 8 runs and Herts starting pitcher Wade Lynch had been ejected from the game. Hiche came on to relieve, after Lynch recorded only 1 out in the first.

After the flurry of early runs, both sides traded goose eggs in the middle innings. It was a particularly masterful performance by Hiche, who took the ball reluctantly but finished with a dominant line of 5.2 innings pitched, zero earned runs, and only 3 hits allowed.

A late rally with another Brown laser shot over left (his second home run of the day), and a single from Witter plated two runs, bringing the score to 8-5. However, the Falcons’ hitters couldn’t capitalise with runners in scoring position (most notably a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the top of the 6th, and the game would end 8-5 to the Capitals.

“The Capitals started full blast [in Game 2], said Manager Hiche. “I think we were a bit down from the result of Game 1.. the Capitals took full advantage of it in the first inning and that made all the difference.” Hiche added, “The positive I take out, which I’m extremely happy to see, is that we never gave up and fought back until the end. This hasn’t happened [over] the last few years!”

The two loses, 11-10 and 8-5, to the Capitals bring the Falcons record to 4-8, which despite having 1 more win than the fourth place Essex Arrows, places Herts fifth in the NBL standings. However, despite the two losses, the Herts side played well throughout the day. Two stellar performances by Longboy and Hiche, as well as the flurry of offense all the way through the lineup (with standout performances from Bates and Brown) are definite positives for a team looking to improve in the second half of the season.

WHAT’S NEXT

For the Falcons, a long road trip to Birmingham awaits, where the they will play a double-header versus the bottom-seeded Bandits on Sunday, 10 June.

Game 1: 11:30 a.m.

Game 2: 15:00 p.m.

Location: Birmingham Bandits Field, Marston Green CC, B37 7EL.

by Rob Jones

Too hot to handle: Raptors baked by Millers

Going into the top of the ninth inning at Guildford, the Herts Raptors needed seven runs to save the game. It had been a hot, long day in the sunshine, and a tight game, but the Millers had suddenly taken a commanding lead in the eighth.

Herts heads had perhaps dropped a little, as the team’s pitching faltered in the late innings, they felt aggrieved about some strike calls,  and the offense was unable to push across runs.

Giuseppe Basilea at bat

But — led by manager Matt Jackson — the Raptors gave it everything and nearly pulled it off. Jackson walked, stole second, stole third, then scored on Arnie Longboy’s single. With two outs and two strikes, Darren Priest singled to keep it alive.

In the end, needing seven, Herts scored six and had to endure a 24-23 defeat.

The early exchanges had been tight, and unusually low-scoring for a Single-A game. Raptors’ starting pitcher Paul Auchterlounie limited Guildford to just two hits and four runs in the first three innings.

Herts loaded the bases twice, thanks largely to walks, but couldn’t get the key hits against pitches which looked inviting — but which were frustratingly easy to pop up. The Millers led 6-3 after four.

And then in the fifth, the Raptors finally solved the pitching. Catcher Rob Jones led off with a strong single, John Kjorstad and Giuseppe Basilea both stroked doubles. The visitors batted around, scoring five runs to take back the lead.

Jones made the final out thanks to a spectacular diving catch by Guildford’s centre fielder Christian Schmidt, who should be in the queue for some postseason awards.

Harvey Blenkarne on base; he made his catching debut

There was plenty of good fielding on show in this game, between two sides who seemed evenly matched. Guildford’s Miles Buckton made a dramatic leaping grab at second base to take away a hit in the eighth.

For Herts, Paul Auchterlounie had flashed his leather in the seventh to retire a runner, while Longboy at shortstop made several good, tough plays.

The Raptors piled on again in the sixth but then Guildford got their own bats going. When Giuseppe Basilea came on to pitch in relief, he struggled to make his strike zone match with the umpire’s.

Nobody is ever going to agree about every call, but frustration started to show with Herts as they felt this one slipping away. John Kjorstad, a multi-talented veteran with many skills, but not normally a pitcher, came in to try to simply lob in some strikes. But even that didn’t work.

Priest, coming off the bench after injury to pitch, finally ended it, but Guildford now led 24-17.  Their young relief pitchers had also had struggles with control, but the last of them – Tom Sullivan – is a recent GB call-up and they were offering more of a challenge when in the zone.

So Herts had to get it together for a last stand. After Jackson and Longboy scored, Auchterlounie — who ended the day with 3 hits — drove one to the fence to bring in a fistful of runs, and it seemed the Raptors could do this.

But it ended with one last groundout. The Millers deserved their hard-fought win. The Raptors will feel disappointed that it slipped away, but there were lots of positives to take home.

Paul Auchterlounie should be happy with his day

Herts now move to 3-2 on the season, and will hope that Old Timers can fulfil their fixture this coming week. If they do, it will be the first time in 2018 that the team has managed to play games on two Sundays in a row.