Category: Adult Leagues

by Rob Jones

The first cracks of the bat

It was a bright, cold and sunny Monday morning. I had slept like a log, but another four hours of sleep wouldn’t have gone amiss. That’s what a couple of weeks of baseball can do to you. My arms ached and my pride was wounded but I had certainly had an interesting start to the 2013 season, writes Rob Jones.

The two games could hardly be more different. In the first, I was with the Raptors as they ran up a football score against Leicester 2Sox. In my second game, I was on the receiving end of a similar thumping as the Eagles were undone at Hemel by the Tonbridge Bobcats.

There was a consistent thread in both games — and that was my bat making lousy contact with the ball. I hit infield dribblers, comebackers, pop-ups and all sorts of rubbish. Horrid. It was crowned by a strikeout in each game, which is galling as two strikeouts is usually my total for a season, not a fortnight! Both were on third strikes which I considered high — especially the first of them — but I guess you live and learn.

Rob Jones
Your correspondent Rob Jones hits a sac fly in the closing stages of the Tonbridge game (pic: David Ames)

The bat-on-ball contact did get better as each game went along, so I take solace in that. I hit one decent single at Leicester, and then a single, double and sac-fly in the run-fest against Tonbridge.

My overall performance in the field was of a better standard. OK, yes, I dropped a pop-up on the infield against Tonbridge, and yes I should have been slapped for it. It was a classic lesson in not thinking about the people around you, and not thinking ahead to the impending double play. I failed to close my mind to these things, and paid the price. Duncan, who was pitching, also paid the price, as he had to go through it all over again. A lesson for us all.

Otherwise, I fielded all the ground balls which came my way, and I had put away a couple of outfield catches in my first-week outing. It feels good when you can slip back into baseball smoothly, after a long winter break. Training both indoors and back on the Grovehill diamond really help, but it is satisfying when any good work continues during a competitive game.

I felt that the fielding performance of both Raptors and Eagles was actually pretty good. There was some sloppiness which could be put down to rust, particularly with the Raptors, and to the first “game-time” situations of the year. But there were few howlers. The Eagles are fielding a lot of genuine rookies, who will learn fast, and Raptors eked out a tough win against the Old Timers in week 2, so must have improved!

There is just room for a quick word on my pitching debut for the year. I haven’t taken the mound since 2011, but I felt quite comfortable up there. Apart from walking the first batter, I did stick to my usual mantra of not giving away free passes. At this level, I have often seen walks eat away at a team and while I know I can’t blow away hitters, I also know that I can throw strikes. Unfortunately a hot-hitting Tonbridge team rather teed off on me.

I did get two outs — one thanks to a good stop by Mike Cresswell — and nearly got out of the inning. But we made some fielding errors, and missed fly balls. This isn’t a grumble against my team-mates, as one of the errors was by me when I picked up a bunt cleanly but threw high and wide to first base. But you do really feel the effect of those errors when you are the man on the mound.

I threw one or two curve balls that I was happy with, but probably stayed away from it too much for fear of walks. If the coach lets me get back up there, I must try to work batters more.

So that’s how 2013 opened for me. Barely days after becoming a big money transfer to the Herts Eagles, I found myself all suited up for Opening Day with the Raptors. Life’s full of surprises. And I headed up to a new venue for me, Leicester. Western Park is a nice little diamond. As undulating as most British ballparks, and with its batting circle and bases having the consistency of a slightly pebbly beach. But with a permanent backstop, a decent amount of cover from trees, and an overall good feel.

Milton Keynes and Haverhill will also be new experiences. And I am still looking forward to the year. Although I still need more sleep. It’s hard to tell what the season will be like, or what the story will be when summer fades away. But I like the opening chapters.

by Cristobal Hiche

The NBL has a new leader. Title race wide open.

Herts game two starter Robbie Unsell pitched a gem allowing only 2 earned runs

written by Cristobal Hiche

A Herts fanatic would try to find many excuses to justify two painful losses suffered this Saturday afternoon in Finsbury Park against the London Mets. The fact is London Mets won two hard fought games with determination.

They led every inning in both games besides the 1st inning of the 1st game because Falcons scored 2 runs in top of the 1st and looked poised for another high scoring Falcons victory. However Mets fought back in the bottom of that opening inning, tied the game, and slowly but surely kept scoring thanks to timely hitting throughout the game. By the 3rd inning it was 8-2 for the Mets. Offensively Herts looked nothing like previous outings but they looked to make a comeback in the 5th with 2 runs. Mets had none of that and scored 5 runs in the bottom of the inning. Herts wouldn’t give up scoring another 3 in the 6th, yet Mets made sure not to give a window of opportunity to mount a rally, and scored another 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to leave the score 16-7 (final score). Mets manager Erick Henson said: “The Herts team is always a great opponent. We just hit the ball really well. I need to look the stats with more detail but it felt that with even 2 outs and men on base, we were able to bring them in”.

Click to view game 1 stats

The 2nd game was quite the opposite with great pitching from Robbie Unsell and Pietro Sollecito. Although Robbie pitched a great complete game (7 innings) and gave up only 2 earned runs, it was Mets veteran Pietro who stole the show. Not having overpowering pitches and facing the best offensive team in the league, Pietro not only kept Falcons bats quiet but was throwing a perfect game until the top of the 5th and pitched a shutout until the top of the 7th. Up to this point, he just worked both sides of the plate, hitting the corners, and making sure Herts batters hit the pitches he wanted them to hit. Like any great pitching performance, defence also played its part making great catches to some solid hitting by Falcons players.

With the score 4-0 in the top of the 7th and the top of the order coming up, Herts took the approach to score at least 1 run to avoid the shutout for the 1st time in 2 years. This gave them the focus to be aggressive at the plate and on the bases. Before you knew it, it was 4-2 with man on 3rd and 2nd base with 1 out. Herts manager Lee Manning put pinch-hitter Ben Marques for Darrin Ward and Mets manager Erick Henson made the tough decision keeping Pietro on the mound with a reliever ready in the bullpen. Pietro didn’t disappoint his manager and induced the next 2 batters to hit fly balls and keep the runners on base. Great ending for a great game.

Click to view game 2 stats

It’s an unusual outcome for the Falcons who got swept for the 1st time in 2 years and didn’t look sharp all day long. As usual, it’s hard to tell if the loss was a product of the Falcons poor performance or Mets just playing better. Probably it was a combination of both. As manager Lee Manning mentioned in the post-game conference, “We hit very poorly. We didn’t field properly. Our pitching was good”. Regardless, expect 2 very good games next time they meet as the Falcons look to avenge these losses and the Mets try to confirm they didn’t get the Falcons on a poor day but rather they’re the team to beat this year.

These two wins for the Mets take them to the top of the NBL standings with a perfect 4-0 record, while the Falcons (5-3) are now in third place, a game back on the new leaders. Herts rest next week. They return to league action on 19 May as they travel across the county border to play against rivals Essex Arrows (2-4).

Team W L Pct GB GP RF RA
Mets 4 0 1.000 – 4 39 16
Mustangs 5 1 0.833 – 6 46 26
Falcons 5 3 0.625 1 8 70 39
Blazers 3 3 0.500 2 6 51 36
Diamondbacks 3 3 0.500 2 6 24 40
Nationals 2 4 0.333 3 6 44 43
Arrows 2 4 0.333 3 6 34 36
Pirates 2 4 0.333 3 6 30 60
Redbacks 2 6 0.250 4 8 41 83

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Triple Herts vs London clash this Saturday

While the Herts Eagles, Hawks, Raptors and Ravens take a break from league action this weekend, three other Herts teams are travelling to Finsbury Park for an almighty Herts-versus-London day of baseball this Saturday, 4 May 2013.

First up in the morning the Herts Harriers (U17) will meet the London Mets (U17) in a repeat of their Opening Day clash which was decided in extra-innings. This is only an exhibition game so it will not count towards league standings and quite a large number of players are away on other assignments but is still expected to be a mouth-watering encounter. First pitch is 10:00am

At 10:30am on the adjacent diamond the Herts and London U11 teams will meet in another exhibition game. Over the years the London U11 team has been superior to the much younger Herts U11 team but they are a year older now and it will be interesting to see the outcome of this game and assess the progress made by the Herts U11 programme.

Immediately after the end of the youth baseball games, everyone is looking forward to the NBL clash between the Mets and the Falcons. The Mets (2-0) have played only 2 league games so far due to a rainout against Harlow last month so it is difficult to say where the Mets are likely to stand in August. They are the only team with a 100% winning record and the only team to sweep the Lakenheath Diamondbacks this season. This would indicate that the balance of power in the NBL race could be shifting towards the Mets. All the scouting reports received so far seem to support this.

Herts Falcons (5-1) go into Saturday’s titanic clash tied at the top of the NBL standings with the Southampton Mustangs (5-1). They know that a sweep for the Mets would push them down into third place while the Mets will go into first. The first pitch in this doubleheader is scheduled for 1pm. If you don’t have anything else planned for this Bank Holiday Saturday, get down to Finsbury Park for this top-of-the-table matchup.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

London Metros dominate against Herts Ravens

The London Metros picked up two comfortable wins against the Herts Ravens in the British AAA League. In both games of the doubleheader the Ravens kept up with the pace of the Metros up to the fourth inning and were very much in the game, but devastating batting display by the team from the capital in the fifth and sixth innings took the games beyond the reach of the Ravens.

Seth Lipstock was back for Herts and he made the defensive play of the day. That sparked a discussion in the Herts Ravens dugout about giving Lipstock an outing on the mound and see if opponents can handle the heat (photo by Will Baxter)

The Metros had the luxury of their NBL team resting this weekend and were able to call upon the services of two of their NBL starting pitchers. Ordinarily, under the league rules NBL pitchers would not be able to pitch in the lower leagues, however by virtue of the fact that the London Mets had played only two league games so far, pitchers who have pitched less than 14 innings for the London Mets in the NBL were able to pitch in this AAA league game. Right-hander Pietro Sollecito gave Herts a concoction of breaking pitches mixed with a change of speed which the visitors were not able to cope with. Sollecito allowed only 4 hits in 5 innings. Carlos Casal, Carlos Velazco-Carus and Dave Westfallen seemed most likely to make solid contact with his pitches and they did produce 3 of the 4 hits. In the bottom half of the innings the Metros always seemed to threaten, even in innings when they were not able to score any runs.

Click to view Game 1 box scores

Jonathan Cramman, the other member of the London Mets (NBL) pitching staff, started on the mound in game two. He also allowed only 4 Herts hits over 6 innings of work. 3 of those hits came in the fourth inning which put the Ravens right back in the game with the score 3-2 to the Metros, but once again London’s bats came alive in the last few innings of the game to complete a deserved 12-2 win.

Seth Lipstock made his first appearance of the season for the Ravens and he showed why he was one of the top performers for the Herts Hawks last season in what was the defensive play of the day. With 1 out Lipstock made a spectacular flyball catch in left field and then threw the ball all the way to home plate on a frozen rope straight into the glove of catcher Jake Caress to apply the tag on the helmet of the oncoming London player who was trying to score on the sacrifice fly. The runner managed to make contact with home plate just before the tag was applied, but that didn’t take away from the impressive throw which fans would expect to see from outfielders like Ichiro or Jeff Francoeur, but not in a AAA League game.

Click to view Game 2 box scores

“We couldn’t have asked for any more from our pitchers Mike Cattermole ad Carlos Velazco-Carus. We just couldn’t produce offensively to keep us in the games” said Herts Ravens Manager, Carlos Casal at the end of the day. He added “Despite the heavy defeats, the score does not tell the full story of these games. There were many positives and my players performed very well”.

With four defeats in the opening four games of the season, this is not the ideal start for the Ravens, but the Hawks had a similarly difficult start last year and ended up in the AA-League postseason and the national semi-finals. The team will certainly stay positive in the knowledge that over these first four games they had to field two very different teams due to player injuries and unavailability. When players like Jon Lewys, Louis Hare, Nic Goetz, Pete Kikel and Rod Naghar – all with previous NBL experience – make their first appearance of the season, the Herts Ravens are expected to be in much better position to compete against the big guns of the AAA League.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Raptors come back to win against tough Old Timers

Pitcher Will Zucker was all smiles as he helped his team secure a vital win against one of the favorites in the Single-A League

Herts Raptors 19 Old Timers 18

BBF Single-A League

written by Ken Pike

The Herts Raptors have placed themselves firmly in pole position of the BBF Single A division after a hard fought four hour battle with arch rivals The Old Timers resulted in a thrilling comeback victory.

The team from Enfield visiting Grovehill had taken the early lead as the Herts defence committed a series of errors around the field, plating 2 runs in each of the first innings before the Raptors could bring their bats back to life in the bottom of the second, scoring 3 runs to get back into the game. Young pitcher Zack Longboy was showing a return to form on the mound, which helped keep the scores low, but some messy backup indicated the start of what would be at times a very difficult and painful fight.

A clean third inning for both teams gave signs that the Herts defence had woken up, but five runs in the top of the fourth tired Zack’s arm and put the Old timers in a commanding 6 run lead, with a further 2 added without reply in the fifth.

Another young pitcher had taken the mound for Herts though, and as Will Zucker started to find his stride, and catcher Ken Pike noticed the unhittable nature of the boy’s curve ball, the game’s momentum changed. Will cleaned out the batters in order for the sixth inning at the same time that the Old Timers let tempers fray over an umpiring call. The resultant lapse off concentration and change of pitcher led to the Raptors bat’s suddenly finding traction. Once around the order, 6 runs scored and a couple left on base left another Old Timer pitcher tired while tempers flared even further.

The Raptors, now only 3 runs down, were looking much more composed and took the initiative to come back swinging. Two Old Timer runs in the top of the seventh were answered by four from Herts and only 1 run in it. At this point the simmering tension from the away team boiled over with arguments across the field. The brilliant young Will Zucker boiled over with confidence instead and cleaned out another inning in order before going to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning to sign seal and deliver his demand for the game ball by slamming another double in an inning where six runs would put Herts into the lead for the very first time.

They went into the top of the ninth knowing that keeping the Old Timers to five runs or less would mean guaranteed victory, while even a greater dent could still be overcome in the bottom. However, Zucker’s arm was tiring, and one by one the Old timers started to make their mark on the inning. After several runners got home and no further outs to get into, coach Arnie Longboy made the tough, but correct choice of replacing the young star with seasoned closer Jeff Whitter who came in with a three run lead.

Jeff’s calm and accurate display let only one more runner in before the Herts defence did their jobs taking down the required outs in short succession. Whilst several players had lost count during the inning, some wondered if we had won or would need to go out to bat with a small but dangerous margin to overcome. The rest however knew that they had overcome a team they so loved to beat, and cheered jubilantly knowing that they were now in pole position for the league.

Click to view box scores

Stand-out performances from all pitchers garnered special praise from the manager while Short Stop Theo Scheeper’s potent hitting display nailed four hits, including one double and 5 RBIs.

Coach Arnie will be sure to demand that his team bring their best defensive performance much earlier in the game from now on and cut out some of the silly errors that so nearly cost them dear, but he will also be glad to see the offence create 19 runs against a strong defensive team like the Old Timers. The total of 61 runs from two games and a 100% win ratio is certainly the best of starts to the 2013 Raptors season and a stark contrast to the two losses that in the end cost them so dearly last year.

by Cristobal Hiche

Perfect Falcons travel to Harlow to sweep the Nationals

Cristobal Hiche hit the first Falcons home run of the 2013 season in the first game of the day (photo by Will Baxter)

written by Cris Hiche

The 9-0 in the 1st inning of the first game and 14-0 by the 2nd inning summarises the difference Falcons showed against the 2-time NBL champions Harlow Nationals throughout the day. A lot can be said about the game and both teams will draw their own conclusions. The fact is Falcons did everything perfect. Pitching was great, hitting was great, defence was great, and running was great. With such a high score, there’s bound to be great highlights and there were. Cris Hiche blasted the first home run of the season for the Falcons to right field. The defensive and impressive duo of Robbie Unsell (2B) and Xavi Gonzales (SS) was up to the highest level once again. John Bloise (LF), Barry Wiles (3B), Phil Clark (1B), and Dave House (C) were solid. However, Dave Tretheway (RF) stole the show with a tremendous diving catch.

It is important to note that Nationals looked awful out there and they’ll be the first to admit it. They committed an unusual amount of easy errors from experienced players and their bats were too quiet. Credit to winning pitcher Jordan Farkas, who although didn’t have the velocity of previous outings, managed to control the game. Nevertheless, Nationals is always a dangerous team and was able to score some runs to end up with a more “decent” final score of 16-8 for the Falcons. Pitcher Jordan Farkas said after the game: “My arm was dead since the first inning and didn’t have the speed. So I used my control to outsmart the always dangerous Nationals lineup. I got the run support which is always great for a pitcher.”

Herts pitcher Darrin Ward was in control in game two (photo by Project COBB Photography http://projectcobb.org.uk/)

And if you thought the second game would be much closer and hard-fought, well it wasn’t. It was a deja-vu with again solid defence, running, hitting and pitching by the Falcons. The player of the match was without a doubt pitcher Darrin Ward who with his vast experience shutdown their lineup once again. It was so one-sided that by the bottom of the 7th it was still 8-0 with 2 outs and no man on base. ‘Wardie’ relaxed a bit and walked the next batter. Of course baseball is about momentum and the Nationals used that little window of opportunity to score one run to spoil Darrin Ward’s perfect day and avoid a shutdown (Final score 8-1).

Some of the highlights of the game were some good defensive plays by several Nationals players (trying to stop the numerous Falcons hits) and as imagined, little can be said of the Falcons defence because they were barely challenged. Yet the only time the Nationals could have done something with man on second and one out with a deep fly ball to center, a ‘textbook, MLB style’ 8-6-5 relay was performed to execute the double play and finish the inning. Cris Hiche mentioned after the game: “I really enjoyed that double play. It was beautiful all the way and I love throwing people out like that. I enjoyed it more than the HR in the first game.” Manager Lee Manning summarised the day: “Two great games and is fantastic to sweep the Nationals. Our team played excellent in every aspect of the game and this gives us confidence that we can achieve our goal this year.”

With the next games on Saturday 4th of May at Finsbury Park against the London Mets, I really encourage all adults and youth players of the Herts family and those from other organisations to come watch two great teams battle each other and see these exciting Falcons try to make it 7-1 for the season.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles battle hard but go down in Milton Keynes

Eagles 16 MK Coyotes 34, BBF Single-A League

written by Duncan Hoyle

Herts Eagles were on the wrong end of a 34 – 16 scoreline at MK Coyotes on opening day, but can still take many positives from the game.

The Eagles have a completely new look about them in 2013, with several players now having moved up the Herts organisation. Only 2 players remained in the starting lineup from last seasons opening day, and it was last season’s joint Single-A Home Run Champion Adrian Smithers who got the Eagles off to a good start with a line drive to left field in the first at bat of the game. He would get in to score, along with returning catcher Geoffrey Thomas to start the ball rolling in the top of the first.

On the mound was manager Duncan Hoyle, making his first BBF league pitching appearance. Despite getting a number of first pitches in the strike zone, he wasn’t able to capitalize on this and after the end of the first MK had opened up at 6 – 2 lead, the Eagles being punished for a number of errors. But they responded superbly in the second to tie the game at 6 all, helped by 2 RBIs from Mike Cresswell and newcomer Jamie Lang, and some superb catching in left field from Will Belbin.

Manny Banson and Jamie Lang are just two of the many players who made their league debut on Sunday

At the mid point of the 3rd Herts had opened up a 9 – 6 lead but once again, made errors in the 3rd that got punished, and with Hoyle’s arm now beginning to tire MK score 9 times to lead 15 – 9.

Simon Roberts came in to pitch in the 4th, along with DH Adrian Smithers who moved to catcher. Roberts couldn’t find the strike zone with any regular accuracy, pitching all around the edges but not inside. MK went on to score heavily in the 4th and 5th and the Eagles batting had now ran out of steam with only 1 run being scored in the 5th and 6th.

Jamie Lang came on to pitch the 6th for the Eagles and he will be delighted to have secured his first strike out and to only concede 3 runs in his first attempt at pitching. Herts rallied well in the 7th to try to avoid a defeat on the “mercy-rule” but despite loading the bases could only score once.

The Eagles had a completely new look about them, with the vast majority of the squad beginning their first full season in baseball. Notable performances included a superb performance at 1st base from Dan Bartram, who in only his second week of playing the game looks to be a great signing, good performances in the infield from Mike Cresswell, Jamie Lang and Tom Kosak at 3rd, the latter two who were both making their first league starts. Adrian Smithers had a great game with 4 hits, 3 runs scored and looked good at catcher.

The ever dependable Will Belbin had a solid game at left field and 1st, with some solid hitting, 15 year old Adam Landau Smithers did all that could have been asked of him at centerfield with a good catch and 3 runs scored. Club favourite Manny Banson made his debut and scored to get his account opened with the club, and also debuts were given to Dans brother Andy Bartram, and James Holt in the closing stages to leave the Eagles with many positives to take from the day, and a great platform to build upon in 2013.

A special mention should be given to Joseph Osborne-Brade, who suffered a horrendous injury in the Hunlock Series, and instead of feeling sorry for himself has remained positive while he regains his fitness and has taken up the role of base coach, scorer and assistant to manager Duncan Hoyle and his presence has no doubt helped the Eagles make some excellent early season progress with their. Base-running game.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Spirited late Ravens rally not enough

Conner Brown impressed on his Ravens league debut (photo by Will Baxter)

The Ravens may have lost two games in heartbreaking fashion against the visiting Leones de Feltham, but they will be going into their next league games with plenty of optimism.

As their name would suggest, the Leones are a team made up of Latin American players with many years of baseball experience so this doubleheader was always going to be a difficult test for the Ravens. With some of the Ravens’ big guns away, it was good to see the club’s upcoming young talent step up and they didn’t disappoint.

GAME1: Leones de Feltham 8 Herts Ravens 4

Liam Green was the starting pitcher in the first game going 4 1/3 innings with 4 strikeouts and 4 earned runs. It was very positive to see improvement in Green’s control with the number of walks reduced significantly and most of them came at the end of his outing when his arm started to tire.

Moment of controversy - it makes a big difference when a professional photographer is covering the action. The photo appears to prove that umpire Dave Smith made the right decision to call Mike Cattermole safe as his foot seems to have made contact with the edge of home plate just as the ball entered the catcher's glove on a force-play at home plate (photo by Will Baxter)

This was a game where both teams showed some good pitching and defence and the score stayed at 2-2 right up to the fifth inning, but then the visitors opened up a 7-2 lead with a big 5-run fifth inning. Gilberto Medina came in to relieve Green on the mound and he kept Herts in the game allowing only 1 hit and no earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. The team couldn’t take advantage of this and was not able to mount a major come back leaving quite a large number of runners on base (11). Matt Johnston who made his comeback from a hamstring injury, had an outstanding day with the bat (3-4).

Click to view game 1 box scores

GAME2: Leones de Feltham 15 Herts Ravens 13

With Mike Cattermole on the mound for Herts in game two, they got off to a quick start and built up a 7-2 lead after just 2 innings. The heart of the Ravens batting order of Liam Green (2-5 3RBI), Gilberto Medina (3-5 2RBI) and Carlos Casal (2-2) was causing the Leones some real problems. However, the visitors started put up numbers in the next few innings to tie the game at 9-9 in the fifth. They also managed to silence the bats of the Ravens by bringing in their game one starting pitcher. He had pitched 7 innings in game 1 and pitched another 2 in the second game. When he came out for his third inning of game two (10th inning of the day) he threw one pitch at which point Herts Manager, Carlos Casal, referred umpire Dave Smith and the visiting Manager, Andres Maslowski, BBF’s rule 7 (pitching restrictions) which indicates that “If a pitcher pitches in both games of a doubleheader, he/she shall not accumulate more than 9 full innings over 2 games, however distributed (Doubleheader). A pitcher shall be considered to have violated these rules if he throws one pitch in an inning above the prescribed limits.” Under these regulations “The minimum penalty for violating these rules is automatic ejection from the game for the pitcher and his manager”, however the Ravens waived that penalty which allowed both the visiting manager and the pitcher to stay in the game.

By that time the team from Feltham had built a 15-10 lead and the Ravens had one last chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the last inning. 6 Herts players reached base to make the score 15-13 and loaded the bases but the Leones held on and secured the win.

Click to view game 2 box scores

Carlos Casal paid a compliment to his team. “We couldn’t have asked our players for more. A very positive performance giving us lots of optimism for the rest of the season. Several young players made their AAA-League debuts today and it will be exciting to see them develop and grow in the coming years.”

Next up for the Ravens is a visit to Finsbury Park next Sunday, 28 April, where they will meet the London Metros who are 1-3 so far this season but this is after playing against two of the AAA Leagu favourites, Bristol and Oxford, so tis will be a real test for Casal’s team.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

New look Raptors show their claws in season opener

written by Ken Pike

Theo Scheepers went 3-4, with 5 BB and 5R (photo by Rob Jones)

There is an old adage in competitive sports that goes along the lines that a season cannot be won in the first game. While that is certainly true, some common ways of describing opening fixtures include ‘rusty’, or ‘statements of intent’, and both of these were true of the Herts Raptors in their away fixture at Leicester 2Sox.

Preparations for the season were hardly ideal and the Raptors defence could be forgiven a few simple errors. Rain had prevented all but one HSL warm-up game, and the game that did go ahead had several first team members missing due to the Easter Weekend scheduling. A last minute friendly against the Herts Eagles – a sister team intended to be a training ground for newcomers – ended very one sided in the Raptor’s favour, and so the squad were largely untested against high calibre opposition. What’s more, no one knew what kind of opposition the Leicester were bringing to the single A league as they have only just this year moved over from the Midlands double A division.

As a result of this anticipation, and apprehension were both in high supply for Sunday’s visit to Western Park in Leicester. The top of the first inning looked to be going pair shaped with two outs and no runs on the board. However, the famous Herts 2-out drive kicked in and brought 7 runs across the plate. The batting abilities had clearly not been rain affected, and the new additions to the team all made a positive start alongside their more experienced team mates.

The bottom half of the inning however proved a different story. Young star pitcher Zack Longboy struggled to hit his usual devastating groove, and some sloppy fielding all round aggravated the issue allowing five 2Sox runners to get round the bags bringing it back to a 2 run game. This trend continued over the next two innings with Herts consistently batting in large additions to their score only to be pegged back in the bottom of the inning. Despite this, the small overall lead was growing and by the time veteran Raptor Jeff Witter came in to relieve the tiring young starter. The net difference at the turn of the fourth inning was four runs in the Raptors favour.

Raptors manager, Arnie Longboy, will be happy to start the seaosn with a win. (photo by Rob Jones)

Some individual great plays including a pair of difficult outfield stops from Warwick Byrne and Rob Jones and a diving grab behind his shoulder from catcher Ken Pike, along with Jeff’s assured pitching brought a confidence boost to the Raptors and a change of gear. A three up three down 6th inning blew the game wide open putting the Herts team in a commanding position – a mercy rule victory was a possibility with a big score and good defence in the seventh. Precisely that ensued with Herts beating up on the third pitcher to take to the mound for Leicester and ending the inning on a massive 42 run total and a lead well in excess of the 11 run mercy rule margin.

While the 2Sox made a spirited effort at a comeback in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and scoring runners, it was ultimately not enough. The inning finished leaving the 2sox trailing by 22 runs.

It looks like Ken Pike will be spending more time behind the plate this season (photo by Rob Jones)

For a team with so many changes since last year there was much to be happy about. Having lost some big bats in the form of Gilberto Medina, Glen Downer, and John Kjorstad, worries about weak hitting proved to be unfounded. The newly promoted Sony Lama and Theo Scheepers had been known for strong batting and baserunning abilities on which they delivered perfectly. Returning Raptors veteran Jeff Witter got the game ball from coach Arnie Longboy for a calm and assured performance on the mound, while Ken Pike’s first full game at his newly discovered position of catching only allowed for three pass balls all game and held the Leicester running game in check.

A mighty 42 runs crossing the plate for the Raptors is certainly a statement of intent for a team that is tipped to top their group, and in fact puts them at the top of the league after week one, but conversely conceding 20 runs means work has to be done to prevent stronger opposition from derailing a playoff push. A first test of that will come with the very next game against the Old Timers where a Herts win will turn a whispered statement into an assured proclamation.

Starting Lineup:

Zack Longboy – P (swapped to 1st base in 4th inning)

Rob Jones – LF

Arnie Longboy – 2nd

Ken Pike – C

Sonam Lama – 3rd

Theo Scheepers – SS

Amit Odedra – CF

Jeff Witter – 1st (swapped to P in 4th inning)

Warwick Byrne – RF