The Southampton Mustangs brought an end to the Falcons 4-game winning streak, but that setback was only temporary as the team from Herts quickly recovered to win the second game of the double-header.

Before today’s third round of NBL games the Herts Falcons were the only unbeaten team in Britain’s top league, however the Mustangs have proven to very difficult to beat over the last two years. Jordan Farkas started on the mound for Herts and he had another good outing allowing only 1 earned run, 4 hits and 2 walks over 6 innings which would usually be sufficient for a win, all else being equal. However, not all else was equal. The Herts defence had a particularly bad game committing 11 errors allowing 6 unearned runs to score.

The team looked to repair the damage offensively late in the game scoring 4 runs in the last 3 innings, including doubles from Cris Hiche, Liam Green, Dave Tretheway (2RBI) and Ryan Bird (2 RBI) who made his debut in a Herts jersey. That late rally wasn’t enough and the Falcons went down 7-5. Alberto Rodriguez picked up the win for the Mustangs.

Mike Osborn started on the mound in game two looking to make it 3 wins in 3 games on the mound this season. He pitched a complete game allowing only 2 earned runs on 8 hits and 1 walk. The Falcons defence had regained its composure after the nightmare in the first game. The South African duo of Dave Tretheway (3B RBI) and Ryan Bird (2B and 2 RBI) once again delivered big extra-base hits for the team. Jordan Farkas and Kimiyoshi Saionji also contributed with the bats driving in 3 ore runs. The 3 runs scored in the top of the final inning gave the team a little extra insurance for Mike Osborn to complete the game and confirm a 7-3 win for the Falcons.

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, felt that the results of both games were fair. “Southampton deserved to win the first game. We deserved to win the second. The wind played a big part causing major problems throughout the game. We made far too many errors in game one. We came back well in the second game and we now have to turn our attention to the next games against the London Mets” said Manning.

The team remains top of the NBL standings. However, they are now neck-and-neck with the reigning Champions, the Harlow Nationals, who swept the Essex Arrows and now have 5 wins and 1 loss, same as the team from Hertfordshire.

When the schedule was first announced, coach Lee Manning had highlighted the 2nd week matchup against the Essex Arrows. It would be the first time that Herts would face the former Falcon great Darrin Ward. Ward had been an integral part of the Falcons roster over the past few seasons and led them in almost every offensive and pitching category in 2011.

Darrin Ward’s first start against his old team would be short lived as the Herts Falcons exploded for 8 runs in the first three innings. Ward would be relieved by former Falcon prospect Mario Escobedo who gave up another 7 runs. The top of the Falcons order gave Essex trouble all afternoon. Jake Michels had 2 triples, a double 4 runs and 5 RBI on the day. Hitting behind Jake was heavy hitting Dave Trethway who seemed to also find his swing as he had 2 doubles, 1 triple and 6 RBI.

The Chilean speedster Chris Hiche sparked the Falcons offence with 4 runs and 5 stolen bases. Coach Lee Manning was very pleased to see his new additions dominate at the plate on Easter Sunday. Game one starter Jordan Farkas picked up his 2nd win of the season as the Falcons disposed of the Arrows in a 15-7 rout.

Essex came out in game two with something to prove and put up four quick runs off of Michael Osborn who was battling a stomach virus all day. The first inning would be the last time that Essex would score.

The resilient Falcons quickly responded to score in the second, third and fourth inning. After the rough first inning, Osborn settled in and would only allow one more hit the rest of the way as he earned his second win on the hill.

In the first two weeks of the season the Falcons have showed a lot of heart; they now have two come from behind victories. In game two the Falcons left side of the infield flashed the leather, Mike Cattermole and Jake Michels made several stellar defensive plays to keep the Arrows at bay. Lee Manning and Liam Green shared the catching duties and provided strong backstops for the pitchers.

After the games coach Manning said, “We felt we deserved the wins today. The team played good baseball and we are very pleased with the start we have made this season. We are still missing several players, some on the DL, but the roster we put together this winter will gradually be coming together over the next few weeks and hopefully we will be at full strength very soon. Great start but we have to keep our feet on the ground and focus on our next game which will be a difficult one at Southampton next Sunday“

One significant absentee from the Herts Falcons lineup in the NBL Opening Game against Bracknell on Sunday was 2011 Falcons MVP, Mahendra Prasad.

The Sri Lanka National Team player sustained a knee injury in the Spring Training game playing for the Sri Lanka All Stars at Grovehill Ballpark on March 4. Later in that month he played in the HSL games for the Falcons but it appears that he returned to the team too quickly and aggravated the injury.

Prasad is one of the fastest players in the NBL and it would be interesting to see whether he, Cristobal Hiche or Robbie Unsell will be the leadoff batters in the Falcons line up when Prasad recovers from this leg injury and Unsell arrives from America for his Herts debut. Prasad is expected to miss Sunday’s top of the table clash with local rivals, Essex Arrows.

Everyone connected with Herts is hoping for Prasad’s speedy recovery.