Category: Adult Leagues

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.

by Rob Jones

Falcons fight back, while Hawks lose their way

The Herts Falcons had suffered a frustrating day at home to the London Capitals in their National Baseball League matchup (on Sunday May 13th).

In the first half of the double-header, they fell into an early hole, and couldn’t quite fight their way out.  When they went 8-2 behind in the second game, things looked bad.

Falcons’ John Blose at bat

But they dug deep. As manager Cris Hiche put it, “the bats came alive”. NBL rookie Tom Carson was one of those making his presence felt. He came off the bench to get two hits, including a double.

Tyler Badenhorst had started sharply on the mound, but then struggled with his control and the relief corps stepped up. Aaron Witter and Walter Bates held firm, and Conner Brown contributed three innings of “phenomenal” relief pitching. The Falcons won it 14-8.

The first game had ended 7-4 to London, but that is only part of the story.

London had scored 6 in the first inning – with 2 home runs inching over the short fence in right field.  Rather than turning into a blowout, this one was tight. On the mound, Herts’ Rob Ackerman made adjustments after the early shelling, to pitch a complete game.

A tough-luck loss for Rob Ackerman

Hiche hopes his team can ride the momentum from their comeback and continue improving. They are now at .500 on the season.

Across Grovehill on the other baseball diamond, the Herts Hawks had an unusually error-strewn game against Sidewinders in the AA-league. It was a top of the table clash, and the Herts side will be disappointed with their performance.

The first exchanges were tight. But then they gave up 5 runs in the top of the second, with batters getting to veteran pitcher Darrin Ward and the defense unable to help him out.

Hawks were able to rally back to 11-6, and loaded the bases more than once. They got hits from new boy Leigh Coke and returning hero Kimiyoshi Saionji.

Unmistakeably – and irreplaceably – Kimi

But they could not keep Sidewinders in check. More mistakes allowed more runs, and in the end the visitors took it 19-11.

The Hawks manager Mike Cresswell was clearly frustrated but looked quickly towards rebounding in the coming weeks: “We bring our heads up high, and move on to the next”, he said. “And nobody can be upset when we witnessed the return of Kimi!”

The Herts Raptors had to sit out the week’s action, but still ended up with a victory. The Old Timers were hampered by injury and had to postpone their planned game in Single-A.

They felt unable to turn this week’s fixture into a double-header so the Raptors win by forfeit, and move to 2-1 on the season.

 

by Rob Jones

Break out the brooms: Herts sweep at home

Five games. Five wins. On a Bank Holiday weekend which saw the best sunshine of the year so far, the sun also shone on the three Herts adult teams.

Moise Vasquez shows the way for the Falcons

The Hawks started bright and early on a packed day at Grovehill, kicking off their double header against the Bracknell Inferno at 10am.

Darrin Ward went the distance on the pitching mound in this one. Backed by the bats of Hunter Devine and Jon Lewys, Herts jumped out to a 3-1 lead.

Anthony Lavender hit a double and hosed a runner from the outfield to help the home side to a 7-3 lead in the middle of the fourth, and Herts ran away with it from there. It ended 14-4, and another win for Ward.

The second game saw the Hawks give debuts to some new recruits. Adam Huxley, Leigh Coke and Bryn Coughlan all contributed to an even more convincing victory, 14-0. Coke pitched a one-hit shutout for the W.

The Hawks now move to 4-1 on the season and can be very happy with how things are shaping up.

Darrin Ward of the Hawks

Over on the other diamond, the Herts Falcons were hosting the new boys in the National Baseball League (NBL), the Birmingham Bandits. This was a fixture rearranged from the Opening weekend washout, and the weather couldn’t have been more different.

In the first half of the double-header, solid hitting helped the home side back up Wade Lynch. He pitched 5 strong innings with 5 strikeouts. Walter Bates went 4-for-4, while a 2-run double from Moise Vasquez was one of the highlights.

The Falcons blew Birmingham away in the bottom of the fifth to secure a mercy rule 17-7 win.

Game 2 was a tighter affair, with Birmingham fighting back after a good start from the Falcons. It was 7-5 to Herts in the middle of the sixth.

But the home side was able to finish it off, Vasquez going 3-for-4 and Dany Bueno contributing 4 RBIs. As the shadows started to lengthen, the Falcons wrapped up a 13-7 win with a catch deep in the left field corner. Aaron Witter, Charlie Mayhew and Phil Clarke combined with the pitching.

Falcons manager Cris Hiche puts some work in

In the Single-A league, the Herts Raptors were hosting the Bracknell Phoenix and going in search of their first win of the season.

A couple of strikeouts by starting pitcher Lee Manning couldn’t stop the lead off batter getting round to score. But he threw a chair to the number 6 hitter and closed the door on any more runs.

Then the Herts bats went to work. Bracknell would probably kick themselves that were unable to make some plays, but the Raptors did what they had to do and put the ball in play to make things happen.

There were hits for Giuseppe Basilea and Paul Barton, while James Emblow hit a fine double. By the time it was over, Herts had scored 12 runs to take a stranglehold on the game.

It did all settle down a bit from there. Phoenix hitters got tougher at the plate and chipped back some runs – 2 in the second, 4 in the fourth to make it 20-7.

But Herts were determined not to take their foot off the gas on this day. Manager Matt Jackson scored a run every time he came up, while the only out which Michael Johnson made was a booming fly ball caught near the fence in centre.

Giuseppe Basilea pitching (file photo)

Defensively, Herts were sound too, turning a double play to help contain Bracknell. Substitute second-baseman Arnie Longboy took a ground ball up the middle, stepped on the bag and threw on to rookie Tim Bohknecht at first base.

Giuseppe Basilea came on to pitch two excellent innings of relief. And then in the bottom of the fifth Herts needed two for a mercy rule win.

Barton scored the first of them on a groundout, leaving the bases empty. Then Longboy manufactured the winner all by himself with a walk, a steal, a steal and an overthrow.

Raptors celebrated a 24-9 win to go 1-1 on their young season and secure Matt Jackson’s first league victory as manager. Manning got the W as pitcher.

by Rob Jones

Hawks go the distance for a close finish

The Herts Hawks were faced with their longest road trip of the season, and maybe (hopefully!) their toughest weather conditions when they travelled the 120 miles to Norwich, writes Jamie Lang.

The Iceni were coming in to the matchup riding a 19 game winning streak. In 2017, Norwich had repeated the Hawks’ 2016 feat of winning the Single-A title with an undefeated season — so the first contest between these teams in Double-A was always going to be special.

11 Hawks, as well as two very dedicated fans, had made the journey, and they immediately knew they would need to adjust to the conditions when they were greeted with weather more suited to rugby than baseball.

Herts pitcher Darrin Ward (library photo)

 Soaked through and shivering before a pitch had even been thrown, the Hawks knew that it would be a challenging day, and it proved so when Norwich held them scoreless in the top of the first inning. Hawks’ star pitcher Darrin Ward was working in unfamiliar surroundings with no mound to pitch from, and it may have contributed as Norwich plated 3 runs in their half of the inning.

 The game settled down a little from there. After several players used the changing room hand dryer in an attempt to stave off frostbite, Herts got on the board in the top of the third with a double from manager Mike Cresswell.

They then went on to tie the game at 3 in the top of the fourth on an infield single from catcher, Hunter Devine. Originally called out by the infield umpire, Norwich’s first baseman sportingly admitted that his foot was off the bag when he caught the ball, and the correct call was eventually made.

 Players from both teams employed many different methods to try and keep warm and dry, and Greg Bochan’s balaclava clearly wasn’t inhibiting his vision as he made several nice plays at third base to keep the game close. The Hawks finally took their first lead of the game in the sixth inning, a 2-run double from Darrin Ward giving them a 6-5 lead in the middle of the sixth.

Norwich would again rally back though, and they were leading 8-6 after seven innings before substitute left fielder Jamie Lang tied it up with a single in the eighth.

 At this point the tension began to rise, and the inexperience of Norwich’s umpire may have started to show, with both teams feeling like they deserved more strikes than they were being given. Needing a run in the top of the ninth to extend the game, Herts struck three times to take a 2-run lead; two of the three runs scoring on a hit from shortstop Mike Cattermole.

A sense of the murky, wet conditions

The Hawks looked to close it out in the bottom of the ninth, but unfortunately it was not to be as Norwich tied the game. They had an opportunity to win it with a man on third and 2 outs, but Cattermole was involved again, catching a sharp line drive at shortstop to end the inning.

 After some debate about potentially ending the game as a tie, considering the weather and the long journey home for the Hawks, it was decided that they hadn’t come all this way for a tie, and to the 10th it would go.

With the Norwich pitcher clearly struggling with both the conditions and an injured hamstring, Herts were able to capitalise, plating 4 runs and again looking to close out the game and stop the Iceni win streak at 19. Starting pitcher Darrin Ward was still on the mound, but an inspired performance from Norwich led to a final comeback and an eventual 16-15 win on a walk-off infield single.

 A game which at times had become heated ended with both teams exchanging handshakes as soon as the winning run had scored. Both teams had given it their all, and unfortunately this time the Hawks came out on the losing end. A long journey and the cold and rain had not ended as hoped, but such is baseball, and such is life.

Norwich Iceni called it “a hell of a game”, and paid tribute to the performance of their visitors. The Hawks’ Manager Mike Cresswell offered congratulations on the win, adding:“The loss hurts but we continue. We go again and we go again winning.”

The Hawks, now with a 2-1 record, will return home to Grovehill next week for a double header against the Bracknell Inferno.

by Rob Jones

Hawks start strong; struggles for Falcons, Raptors

The first BBF league action at Grovehill ballpark in 2018 saw the Herts Hawks facing the London Marauders in the AA division. The Hawks reached the playoffs last year in their first season back at that level, and have their eyes on even better this year.

It didn’t begin well, though. Starting pitcher Andrew Slater was shelled for eight runs in the top of the first inning, including a home run.

The Hawks struck back with three runs of their own and, although London were able to tack on another run, the home side completed the comeback to tie the game at 9-9 in the fourth.

The Marauders are always a solid team and this was a tight game until Hawks took a 12-11 lead into the final inning and locked down the victory. Slater was credited with the win, Louis Hare got the save.

Michael Cresswell stretches at first base

Crafty veteran Darrin Ward was on the pitching mound for Game 2 of the double-header, making his Hawks debut. The early exchanges were tight but both Ward and the Herts bats soon established dominance.

The home side led 11-3 by the bottom of the third inning, and ran out 13-3 winners. A sweep and a come-from-behind victory are both good elements to start the season.

On Grovehill’s other diamond, the Herts Falcons of the NBL were also making their first home appearance after splitting last week’s double-header in Essex.

A powerful Southampton Mustangs side had much the better of Game 1, winning 12-2. Wade Lynch pitched 5 innings for Herts and Phil Clark pitched 2, but mistakes in the field cost the Falcons dear.

Game 2 was a different prospect. Both sides hit well in the opening exchanges, and it was tied at 8-8 by the third inning.

The Falcons young star, Conner Brown — who spent part of last season playing with the Cologne Cardinals in Germany – pitched all seven innings superbly, and delivered with the bat, too.

Conner Brown consults with coach Duane Badenhorst

Southampton edged ahead, but Herts tied it again at 10-10 in the top of the fourth and, as the shadows lengthened, the game built to a climax. In the end, the Mustangs had too much and they won 12-10 to go 4-0 on the season.

The last game of the day featured Herts’ Single-A side, the Raptors. The team, with a good sprinkling of rookies, was taking on one of the strongest contenders for the post-season, the London Musketeers.

The visitors took advantage of some defensive stumbles to strike first and take the lead. The Raptors’ new centre fielder Liam Roberts got on base when Herts came up to bat, but things quickly turned sour when he suffered an injury stealing second base. He was diagnosed with a  dislocated elbow and a fracture, but is now recovering and the club wishes him a swift return to health.

After a long delay, London imposed themselves on the game with more runs. Herts loaded the bases in the bottom of the second but couldn’t capitalise and the visitors had taken a 5-1 lead.

The Raptors suffered a couple of more minor injury problems, and London hit and fielded well to put the game out of reach. There were high points for the home side – Oliver Durer made an exceptional catch deep in the outfield, and DH John Kjorstad delivered consistently with his bat.

Herts loaded the bases up again in the fifth as they tried to prevent an early end to the game on the mercy rule, but could only score one run and London won 17-5. The youngsters and rookies performed well and learned valuable lessons.

Herts fielders pay close attention to London baserunner
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Arrows, Mets, Hawks and Musketeers win the 2018 HSL titles

 

In the NBL Division the Essex Arrows and Birmingham Bandits were the favourites going into the final weekend of the 2018 Herts Spring League (HSL). Despite losing to the Herts Falcons, the earlier win over the London Mammoths was enough for the Arrows to clinch first place.  The Birmingham Bandits had two shots at overtaking them but first the London Mammoths and then the Southampton Mustangs took the wins in closely fought games.

Their strong performance in the second week was enough for the London Mets U19 to win the HSL Triple-A title. The rain on Saturday scuppered the eagerly awaited encounter between them and the Lakenheath Regulators which was built as the title-decider in the Triple-A bracket.

In the Double-A Division the Herts Hawks’ record of three wins and no losses secured first place for them.

In the Single-A Division calculators were needed to break the tie between the London Musketeers and the London Archers. The Musketeers clinched it thanks to conceding fewer runs per inning, 0.111 compared to the Archers’ 0.556 runs per inning.

The 2018 Herts Spring League proved to be a major struggle in the face of sub-zero temperatures and snow in week one and torrential rain on the final Saturday which flooded both diamonds. These certainly were the worst weather conditions in the 11-year history of the HSL, but, despite this, 21 games were played which is 53% of the original schedule.

View HSL scoreboard

View HSL standings

We saw home runs, spectacular defence, lights-out pitching, many players who will be making their BBF league debuts in 2018 and a whole lot more over the last three weeks of the HSL.

With Spring Training completed, British baseball teams up and down the country will hope that this will be their year. The NBL teams will open the 2018 season next Sunday, 8 April, while the other three leagues start later in April. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for a comprehensive coverage of the 2018 baseball season.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts teams announce preliminary 2018 rosters for the HSL

The managers of the Herts teams which will be playing in the 2018 Herts Spring League over the next 3 weeks have announced their preliminary rosters. We understand that these rosters are not fixed and it is very likely that there may be movement between teams over the course of the HSL. Some players may be asked to play for more than one team as managers look to evaluate players ahead of the announcement of the 2018 Opening Day rosters.

New players are registering every week, therefore some new names may be added over the course of the HSL and into the league season.