Category: Raptors

by Ken Pike

The long dark offseason of the soul

written by Ken Pike

Dear Santa. Please get me a time machine so I can skip past Christmas. If you could deliver it now, that would be peachey.

Bloomin Christmas. Baahhhhhhh Humbug. It’s not sunny. I’m not playing baseball. That horrific whiney sound of Mariah Carey ‘singing’ that fe**in ‘song’ that sounds like a mating call for bats (the flying rodent type, not the maple-wood Louisville type). People eating turkey at every chance, ignoring the dry tastelessness that cause them not to eat it for the rest of the year. Shopping department and well known soft-drinks manufacturers saturating tv and Facebook with something designed in equal parts to tug at our heart strings and purse strings. A billion pointless cards to make you feel guilty about not having sent a card to your long lost fifth cousin twice removed, and oh YAY, a jumper featuring a reindeer. That never gets old. FFFUUUUUUU….and breathe…I hate it. Hate it all. Humbuggery all round.

On a plus note, with the club’s AGM out of the way, we can at least reflect that Herts baseball club had a tremendously successful season in 2013. Staggeringly successful in fact. Several teams (both youth and adult) seeing post season, the Falcons finishing top of their league, and the continued growth of the club and wonderful development of our entry level teams. The Raptors for one shed their traditional “Craptors” tag from a couple years back in wonderful style while the Falcons came top of the regular season league. Amazing results really, especially when you consider that most teams were working on a shallow roster to facilitate having five teams compete.

All of these aspects combined are surely a great testament to the hard work that everyone, not least out board and managers, have put into developing the individual teams and the club as a whole. We all deserve a massive collective pat on the back, and especially Aspi, Lee and co for making it all possible. Thanks guys.

BUT..

but…

One thing in that list of achievement rankles. It bugs me. Its sits horribly at the back of my mind…(a bit like Mariah’s bat-mating song)…and festers. Despite all the success, the growth and the progress….there was a distinct lack of trophies at the end of it all, and to make it worse, all three teams that made it to playoffs were most certainly capable of going the whole way. Ultimately any team that makes the knock-out rounds of any competition can go all the way in the right circumstances…bit of luck here, good call there, nice strategy then…

I blinking hate off-season, not just because of the aforementioned ‘festive’ twaddle, but also because its the one time of the year that you absolutely cannot do anything to improve your league position, personal game, etc. You just get to think about the things that nearly went right. Hopefully you have a nice stockpile of things to think about that did go right, and we have more this year than we ever have before, so that is a good thing, but I can’t help but replay my last out at Farnham Park, that one dropped catch that could have closed that one inning out slightly sooner, that one bad throw to second that could have stopped that scoring runner dead had it not been two…ok… five feet wide. Yeah you win and lose as a team, but lets face it, that one individual’s performance can, and often does, make the difference, so I get a few long winter months to ponder if I could have been that person.

I know, defeatist introspective navel gazing talk is never productive, but these are the facts, and that brings me to my main point (“Finally!” they say, “stop insulting our 2013 results!”-I’m not, honestly!). I imagine many, if not every single player in the club, will share my desire to get back into the swing of things. (I nearly said ‘yearning desire’ but that sounds a bit weird.) Training and pre-season really can’t come soon enough if you ask me. I for one had an absolute blast last year. It was easily the most enjoyable year of baseball in my six year long ‘career’, but having come so painfully, tantalisingly, and agonisingly close to a trophy but falling short at the last means the hunger to play, to win, has grown beyond all belief. I’ve joined a football team to quench the competitive thirst, but frankly they are rubbish and while its helping to maintain fitness it’s doing little to replace the crack of the bat, the snap of the pitch, and that enigmatic sound “STEEEERAAAIIIIK!” which is a simultaneous joy for one bunch of people and an agonising cringe for another bunch. I guess at least my beloved Broncos are doing well, but it’s just not the same as my beloved Herts doing well. It’s certainly not the same as playing and (occasionally) doing well myself.

So I look forward to the first training session, seeing if my vague attempts to keep fit have worked…. finding out what new additions have joined the club… seeing if that talented young prospect from last year who showed glimpses of raw ability has grown a couple inches in height, gained a few pounds of muscle and developed the calm confident swagger that will translate to hits, strikes, outs, you name it….seeing if the existing talents, and developing players of last year have continued that trend and seeing which of them make a push for promotion up the teams….seeing the aging and experienced players and the young newcomers alike all struggle with rust, match fitness issues, aches and minor pains from pushing too hard too early….seeing the managers scrutinise every play, and noting how the players groan with the same anguish as they would missing a playoff play in the knowledge that each slip takes them further from promotion….its exhilarating, addictive, wonderful, and terrible all at once.

I don’t care if it’s two foot deep in snow come January. I will happily run up and down an outside court chasing a ball I can’t see for whiteness. I don’t care if I can’t feel my nose, I will happily don a glove and mask and work on zoning in the target for our young pitchers (I can’t feel my nose anyway and certainly don’t need it for baseball). Heck, I don’t care if the ball has icicles hanging off it, that won’t stop me from trying my best to smack it with a bat. At least until I land flat on my arse for the first time.

I for one know that as Christmas approaches and I munch yet another bland and slightly chewy turkey-related food item whilst listening to my other half humming the tune to Wham, or Slade, Pogues, or Live Aid or whatever other horrendous 80’s pop band Christmas-tune/travesty-of-music she last heard on the radio , I will be thinking of the crack of a bat every time I hear a Christmas cracker, and there will be a little ditty running through my head all along that I really won’t mind hearing again and again and again…. “Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd…dum di dooodidooohhhdidaaa……….aaallll I wan’t for Christmaaaass…is a ball game.”

Merry Christmas everyone…see you in January. Bring yer game faces.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2014 Herts Raptors manager confirmed

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that Arnie Longboy will continue as the manager of the Herts Raptors in 2014. He was out of the country in the week of the Annual General Meeting therefore this appointment was confirmed subsequently.

Longboy has held the managerial position since the start of the 2012 season and has had two very successful seasons so far. In 2012 the Raptors just missed out on a Single-A League playoff spot with a regular season record of 6-4 finishing in third place one-and-a-half games behind the leaders. In 2013 the team stepped up its efforts and finished at the top of their Single-A Division with 10 wins and 4 losses. They reached the national championship semi-finals where they lost 10-6 against the Haverhill Blackjacks.

We understand that the executive Board of the club will soon be looking at the question of how many Herts teams to enter and in which tiers of the British leagues. Over the years this has always been a very difficult process with so many different factors to consider. Which league will Arnie Longboy be managing the Herts Raptors in? We will keep you updated as soon as the club makes further announcements.

We are also waiting for news of who will be the manager of the Herts Eagles in 2014. Those who are interested in the Herts Eagles Manager role or would like to receive more information, can contact the club.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Cruel end to Raptors’ outstanding season

Theo Scheepers driving in Will Zucker to make the score 6-3 (photo by Rob Jones)

Single-A League Semi-Final, Farnham Park

Haverhill Blackjacks 10 Herts Raptors 6

Some of the Herts Raptors players were in tears on Saturday after a late Haverhill rally knocked them out in the semi-final. This was the first time that a Herts team had reached the semi-final stage of the Single-A League and the Raptors had one foot in the final with a 6-3 lead and just 3 innings left to play. Herts scouts were also monitoring developments in the other semi-final and the news filtering through was that the favourites, London Marauders, were about to get knocked out by the Richmond Dukes who had used their ace pitcher in the process, which meant he would not be able to pitch in the final. It seemed like all the pieces were falling into place to reward the Raptors with a trophy at the end of a season, which they put every last ounce of energy into. But the game of baseball can be very cruel sometimes.

The Raptors 15-men roster reported for duty bright and early on Saturday morning. Manager, Arnie Longboy, had the difficult job of deciding which 6 players will start on the bench and the unpleasant task of giving them the bad news. However, all of the players who were on the bench stayed professional and they did all the things which do not show up in the box scores but certainly contribute to the team’s performance. It was a privilege just to be part of the team and this was emphasised by the large number of players from the other Herts teams who had come to support the team.

The Raptors had waited for this day for more than a month and during that time they had planned and prepared meticulously. Herts fans outnumbered any of the other sets of supporters who had made the trip to Farnham Park in Slough, so they went into the game with optimism.

Arnie Longboy entrusted 16-year-old pitcher Will Zucker with the daunting task of starting on the mound with all the pressure of the occasion and elimination baseball. There was no margin for error and Zucker was outstanding. From the first to the 95th pitch of his outing, his sidearm delivery was effective against a powerful Haverhill lineup.

Raptors shut down the Blackjacks offence, but there was no respite at any time during this semi-final (photo by Rob Jones)

The Blackjacks took a 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the second inning. The Raptors responded with 3 runs in that frame to make it 4-2 which included a 1-run double by first-baseman, Jeff Witter. In the third, Will Zucker lined a 2-out triple into right field and Theo Scheepers drove him in to make the score 6-3.

Haverhill hits and several defensive mishaps turned the game on its head. 3 runs came in to score. We were going into the final inning with the game tied 6-6. Will Zucker had reached his 95-pitch limit which applies to players under the age of 17 and had to be substituted. Relief pitchers Brodie Caress and Theo Scheepers tried to halt Haverhill’s momentum, but were not able to. 4 runs came in to score in the top of the seventh. It was going to take something special from the Raptors to come back in the bottom of the final inning. They put 2 runners on base, but were not able to pull the trigger.

Credit must be given to the Blackjacks who started the game losing a player during warm-up followed by another two players during the course of the game through injury, but kept going to the end to reach the final in their first year of existence.

The Raptors camp will feel down for a considerable period of time. At a time when they should be proud of their outstanding achievement, the feeling of coming so close but missing out will haunt them all winter, however the pain they are feeling now will spur them on when they report for Spring Training in 2014.

by Rob Jones

Baseball gods, birthday gifts, baked goods

The first pitch was up around my shoulders. I left it, and it was called a strike. The second pitch was a little higher, but I swung at it anyway, and missed.

This being a training game between the playoff-bound Raptors and the cobbled-together Herts Rebels, I was still ribbing the umpire — and being ribbed by the catcher — when the third pitch came down. It was low in the zone and somehow I managed to stroke it imperiously towards the outfield. And thus began my 41st birthday present from the baseball gods.

The Herts club has had an amazing year, and still has the prospect of three teams winning post-season silverware. So there is a lot to talk about. But the advantage of having a personal quasi-blog is that I can still talk about my own fun on a baseball field.

My standing excuse remains that my own experience reflects that of many British baseball part-timers, and I am sticking to it. If the game is not about a collection of great personal moments creating a greater whole, then what is it?

And so, back to the story. As warm late summer sunshine bathed Grovehill I was taking part in a loose but nonetheless competitive training game for the Raptors. And I had just driven that 0-2 pitch over and past the centre fielder. I was running hard out of the box and straight to second base and as I approached I could see the ball was still at the base of the fence. So I kept going.

Heading for third I shouted for a clear sign about what to do and was met with a wheeling arm. Carry on. As the Rebels bench rose in encouragement, and the catcher began to set up to take the throw, I wrung the last out of my newly-aged legs to head for home. It wasn’t a classic Major League slide taking me through the plate and into a pop-up. It was a desperate slide to simply get a toe to the plate and grind to a halt.

But it was a success. And it was, unquestionably, an inside the park home run. Never in over a decade of baseball have I scored a home run. Elsewhere on this blog you will find references to the hits which have come closest. And there have been times when overthrows and blatant errors have allowed me to get all the way round in one go. But this was the real deal.

My sister characterises baseball as “Swing, miss. Swing, miss. Swing, miss. Sit down”. Wag that she is, she asked if I still had to sit down after scoring a home run. I replied that no, I had to lie down, as it was exhausting!

It had been six weeks since I played any baseball at all and the pace was hard to handle. After the first ten minutes or so of fielding drills at second base – not only taking my own grounders, but covering first and going to second for cut-off throws – I was thoroughly knackered. But somehow this turned into a day when everything went right.

At the plate, I hit two more singles, and didn’t make an out.  In the field, I tagged out two runners at second. Both were a credit more to the pickoff move of young Zack, and the arm of the Hawks catcher Hunter Devine. But they were fun outs to get.

As the day came to an end the remaining players split to make two seven-man teams so we could continue. One hit got through and sped away into our vacant outfield, but I sprinted after it, made a good throw to Adam, who made a great cut and relay and the batter — who was outrageously trying to follow my earlier example and score an inside-the-parker — was cut down at the plate. Result.

Finally, as the sun sank so low behind home plate that the batter and catcher became an anonymous silhouette, I made my final stellar contribution – as a relief pitcher.

My memory may be tinted by rose-coloured sunglasses, but the way I recall it – and how history will now mark it — is that I got the final two outs to save the win. (Yes OK so I walked in a run first, but that’s being picky)

It all ended with me fielding a sharp comebacker off Eagles slugger Adrian Smithers, despite barely being able to see the ball. A simple throw to first and it was over.

This had been my 41st birthday. And it had been a good one. There were home-made cakes, courtesy of my long suffering wife, for everyone involved. Quite literally, icing on the top of a fine day.

The year had once again thrown up many obstacles to prevent my regular appearance in a Herts uniform, and I’m not sure that I made it to a single training session at Grovehill. But there is something deeply satisfying about a storybook ending, and I will call this one of those. The sun shone. Everyone was relaxed and was just having fun. And doing some simple things right made it even more fun.

Will it be champagne-time this Saturday as the Herts Raptors try to win the Single-A League national championship

The next few weeks hold great promise for the club, with the Raptors the first to step to the plate. They have a great spirit and a lot of talent and they deserve success. The Falcons, having secured the NBL pennant, can now top that by going one better than last year and winning the playoffs.

I will be watching from the sidelines, but at all times I will be willing for those players to experience the exuberant feeling I know you can get from playing baseball.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Raptors chasing the Single-A National Championship this Saturday at Farnham Park

The British Baseball Federation has just announced the format and schedule of this Saturday’s Single-A League National Championship. Herts Baseball Club is represented by the Herts Raptors who reached the Semi-Final stage by finishing top of their division and are the second seed overall with 10 wins and 4 losses in the regular season.

A win for the Haverhill Blackjacks over the Guildford Mavericks in the quarter-final on Sunday has determined that the Blackjacks will be the Raptors’ opponent in the Semi-Final.

Haverhill had a record of 7 wins and 7 losses during the regular season. In their head-to-head meeting on 23 June the Raptors came out on top with a 31-12 win, so the team from Hertfordshire may have the psychological advantage but the form guide goes out of the window in the postseason as shown by the very closely fought quarter-final games last weekend.

Herts Raptors manager, Arnie Longboy, will have some difficult decisions to make when determining his starting lineup. One of them will be to select the team’s starting pitcher in this knockout game. Among the potential starters are Under-17 players Brodie Caress, Charlie Mayhew, Will Zucker and Zack Longboy, but the team also has several older pitchers such as Jeff Witter, Jim Arnott and Theo Scheepers.

Both semi-finals will be played at Farnham Park this Saturday, 7 September. The Herts Raptors vs Haverhill Blackjacks game will start at 11:00am. The winners will meet in the final on the same day with estimated start time of 3:00pm. The brand new baseball venue is expected to be packed with baseball fans as eight other teams are in action on the same day as part of the AAA and AA-League semi-finals.

 

by Ken Pike

September blues? Not this time.

 

Raptors celebrate making post season
The Herts Raptors celebrated a successful season despite losing their last game.

By Ken Pike

Well that’s it, another season said and done for the Raptors. Time to pack our backs, go home for a long off-season and chill ou….wait…what? Finals? Funny guy, pull the other one. Oh, you’re serious? Well I never! The erstwhile ‘Craptors’ have shed  the mantle of rubbishdom in exuberant style and made it to the post season. This is a team that three years ago struggled to get any wins and now they are through to Farnham Park! Not as a wildcard either, but as one of the top two seeds. Probably second, as the Marauders at the time of writing need 1 win from their last two. While Milton Keynes could give them a run for their money it would be a BIG upset were they to lose to the 2sox (and I mean no offense to Leicester who have played with heart and soul, but not the same level of success as the Marauders).

Either way that means a first round bye, home field advantage in the semi finals on September 7th. If they get to the finals they would also enjoy homefield advantage against any team except (possibly) the Marauders. Admittedly there were a couple of stumbles along the way. Mid season saw a run of two defeats to sister-team the Eagles (congrats to them for a very respectable four wins from the season) and pool rivals the MK Coyotes, while the end of the season saw them trip up again in the last two games against the Dukes and Tonbridge. But despite those blips they have also beaten each of the other pool leaders, and every second placed team bar the Dukes as well so they can go to Farnham confident of being capable of beating any team they face. Sadly they won’t have the air of impenetrability and momentum that they had mid-July though. That said, they should benefit from the return of their young pitchers Zac Longboy and Will Zucker whom they were deprived of for almost all of those four losses, and, subject-to-appeal the powerful bat of Glen Downer who could return from a long absence.

So who have been the standout performers that got the Raptors to this stage? First plaudits have to go to Arnie Longboy. The first Raptors coach to take the team to post season will put him in Herts history books, and his (usually) calm and considered leadership saw the team play with a competence and level-headedness that saw them come back from behind to win in style on several occasions. I believe it is his firm  insistence on base running discipline that has led the Raptors to being the most offensively dominant team in the league despite not having any real power hitters to speak of.

As for play, starting from the mound and going round, the afore mentioned Zac and Will have been leading lights joined by Brodie Careess. The young trio have two wins a piece and truly demonstrated indomitable nerve and supreme skill in dispatching of side after side. Longboy leads the way between them on ERA but they have all been key to the Raptors success. That said they were joined at various stages by stand-ins Theo Scheepers and Jeff Whitter who also pipped a win to their names each (and in Whitter’s case two saves as well.)

Behind the plate Ken Pike received the vast majority of pitches in what was his first full season as a catcher. Being as I am the one writing this article I can hardly sing my own praises but I have been assured by Zac and Arnie that I did a good job of the issue. While I still have much to learn I am looking forward to continuing in what has been the position I have enjoyed by far the most, and taken to with relative comfort.

First base duties were initially taken on by Jeff Whitter and covered in his absences by Charlie Mayhew. Both performed outstandingly throughout the year being solid and generally error free despite some occasionally errant throws coming their way. Jeff’s amicable and calm nature made him one of the on-field captains helping to calm the team in times of frustration, while Charlie’s continual improvement saw a climax in the final game against Tonbridge where a series of amazing full-stretch catches helped to keep the game very close indeed.

Second and short were shared intermittently between the young pitchers, Theo Scheepers and coach Arnie, while by Sonam Lama, in his first year with the Raptors, demonstrated the kind of arm power capable of easily reaching first base and thereby cemented third base as his own. The coach again led the way from the front demonstrating the fewest errors per game for an infielder, and in fact one of the lowest numbers for the whole team. That said it will be fielding errors that he will want to cut out the most, preferably by post season but certainly by next year with nearly half of the team’s conceded runs coming un-earned.

Outfield was shared by Warwyk Byrne, Charlie Mayhew (when not at first), Mark Caress and Andy Bartram. Andy has made a solid case for rookie of the year (not just by virtue of being the only rookie on the team, but also by having the lowest error-per-game rating of any of the regular players. His assured glove, good arm, and fast pace to reach the ball made him a reliable and key player for left and centre.

Along the way there were notable performances by players who only joined for brief periods too. Matt Kiddie’s pitching against the 2sox at mid-season blew the side away and showed unbelievable pace, whilst two grand-slam homers from Ben Marques against the Mavericks helped to seal the game that confirmed the Raptors as Pool winners. Raptors Veteran Glen Downer was sadly occupied elsewhere for most of the season but managed to get in two games where he played solidly in the outfield. He is appealing for special dispensation to the commissioners to be allowed to join the team for post-season.

Defensively the Raptors were 5th in the league for runs conceded, but as for batting, well that’s where the stats really get interesting. While Arnie has not shared the statistics including the last two games, the production was spread throughout the team and at game 12 the numbers were as follows:

  • Runs leader was Ken Pike (41), followed by Arnie (35) and Sonam (35).
  • Hits went to Arnie (24) followed by Pike (20) and then Sonam and Brodie on a par (19).
  • Home run leader by a mile is Ben Marques (2) followed by Jim Arnott (1).
  • On Steals Ken Pike led by some distance (41) over Lama (25) and Arnie and Charlie (24 each).
  • Base on balls leader was Charlie Mayhew (26) followed by Theo (22) and Arnie again (18).
  • Arnie lead the way for AVG, SLG and OPS too but was closely followed in all three by a variety of people including his son Zac, while OBP leader Charlie Mayhew was clear of the rest of the field by some way.

While Arnie, Ken and Sony consistently led the line-ups between them, the whole team demonstrated consistency and ability at the plate averaging 24 points per game and having scored 46 runs more than any other team over the season. They had 7 games in which they scored 30 runs or more.

So in summary? Well the team will be relying on that offence to see them through at Farnham, but that being said the defence had consistently improved throughout the year and should they play to the kind of levels that saw them hold pool B leaders the Blackjacks to 12 or the Eagles and Archers to 4 and 6 respectively then they will be a real danger team. They have proven themselves fallible, but they have also proven that when they set their minds to it they are a force to be reckoned with, and they will surely be fired up to the max in Slough come September. Key warm-up friendlies, hopefully against higher division opposition such as the Hawks, will be key to preparing the team up for things to come. Meanwhile, we all cross our fingers and get our lucky charms at the ready and pray for a successful post season.

Please note, any players from teams not going to Farnham park, your assistance either as, experienced base coaches, bat men, general helpers and especially supporters will surely be massively appreciated and you will get to be a part of Herts Baseball history with the Falcons and Raptors both set to feature. Give Arnie and Lee a shout if you can help out in any way.

 

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Is Marques the first British player to hit 2 grand slam home runs in the same game?

On Sunday the Herts Raptors won at the Guildford Mavericks to stay top of the British Single-A League and in the process catcher, Ben Marques, hit two grand slam home runs. For readers who are new to the game, a grand slam is a home run with the bases loaded to score four runs with one swing of the bat.

According to legendary pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine “chicks dig the long ball” (see their Nike video below) and we asked Marques whether he has experienced a surge in interest from females since Sunday. He said “my phone has been ringing off the hook all day and night”.

 

Marques’ achievement is certainly a first for Herts Baseball Club. The club has had the back-to-back-to-back 3-homerun game by Jim Denison in the Herts Falcons vs Cambridge Monarchs AAA League game in 2005, but there have been no Herts players who have hit two grand slam homeruns in the same game.

We are now going through the records to see if this feat has been done by any player in any of the British leagues. We contacted Joe Gray of Project COBB for assistance, who said “from my records for the top tier I have only one instance where two grand slams were clobbered in the same game, but that was by two different players (Robbie Unsell and William Schmitt on 21 August 2011 in a Bracknell Blazers vs Richmond Flames NBL game). I don’t have anything formal for lower league tiers, but I have done a fair bit of reading of old match reports and never come across this occurrence”.

Gray added: “Many congratulations to Ben for a tremendous achievement. I just hope that he does not do a “Tony Cloninger” who hit two grand slams in his entire MLB career, and they came in the same game while playing for the Atlanta Braves in 1966.”

If you have come across a player hitting two grand slams in the same game in Great Britain, we would be interested to know, so please contact us or send us a message via facebook or twitter.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts pick up Tournament Bronze Cup. Attention firmly on upcoming league games.

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Herts players prepare to face the Midlands All Stars (photo by Rob Jones)

Similar to the All-Star Week in America, British clubs had their traditional midsummer break at the weekend taking part in the International London Tournament. Herts was represented at the event by a team made up of players from its various squads of the four tiers of the British baseball leagues. They had a difficult start losing their first two games to the Milton Keynes Bucks and the Midlands All Stars. Herts bounced back on Sunday with wins over the Milton Keynes Coyotes and the South London Pirates to claim the Tournament’s Bronze Cup. Sunday’s games saw Herts Falcons pitcher, Darrin Ward, hit two homeruns.

Tom Everex-Armstrong was one of many Herts players who wore the Great Britain National Team jerseys this weekend (photo by Rob Jones)

The various Great Britain National Baseball Teams, from Under-16 to Under-23, were also involved and they featured a large number of Herts players.

The focus now turns back on the all important league games as we enter the final 6 weeks of the regular season which will determine who will play in the postseason playoffs to decide the national champions in the four senior and two youth league tiers.

The Herts Falcons will host the Lakenheath Diamondbacks this Sunday, 21 July, in a doubleheader. They cannot afford to slip up. Anything less than two wins and the chasing London Mets and Southampton Mustangs could leap over them into first place. The game starts at 12:00 at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead (free admission).

On the same day the Herts Ravens will face the Triple-A League-leaders, London Metros. This game will also start at 12:00pm at Grovehill Ballpark.

The Herts Hawks currently occupy the last playoff spot in the Double-A league, which is the third league tier of British Baseball. This Sunday they will travel to Richmond to face the Dragons, who are just outside the playoff zone and will see this as their golden opportunity to overtake the Herts Hawks. The Herts Raptors and Herts Eagles travel to Guildford and Essex, respectively, in the Single-A League. The Raptors have already secured a playoff spot, but need to keep their winning run going for a higher playoff seeding.