Category: Club News

by AspiDimitrov

EAGLES ONE STEP AWAY FROM THE NBC

 

The whole club will be getting behind the Eagles this Saturday as they go for glory in the AAA postseason

 

The postseason playoffs are coming to Grovehill Ballpark tomorrow.  With the Falcons dramatic exit form the NBL postseason last weekend, they and everyone else connected with Herts will be right behind the Eagles with the hope that they can keep the Herts flag flying high all the way to the National Championships on 4-5 September.

 

The Eagles meet the always dangerous Bracknell Inferno. The two teams have been involved in some epic encounters so far this year so this playoff game is a mouth-watering prospect. Can the Eagles do it?

 

The game starts at 12:00pm this Saturday, 28 August, at Grovehill Ballpark (Directions). 

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS IN THE NEWS: EAGLES AND FALCONS HOPING TO FLY HOME FOR SHOWPIECE

The following article was first published in the Hemel Gazette

 

With any luck two Hemel Hempstead-based baseball teams could be back at their Grovehill home for the end-of-season showpiece event.

 

Herts Falcons and the Eagles will hope to be back for the National Senior Baseball Championships (NBC) on September 4 and 5. The club, which just this season completed its second pitch, has been chosen to host the event much to the delight of president Aspi Dimitrov:

“A lot of people have really got involved with the project over the last few years and it’s great the British Baseball Federation have given us the vote of confidence by awarding the event to us. “Hopefully we will not disappoint.”

 

The champions of each of the four leagues will be decided at the championships. The NBL division Falcons, the top team at the club, have an uphill task ahead of them. They have just four games left to earn a place in the qualifying rounds for the finals. Their latest result was a double-header split against Croydon Pirates on Sunday.Falcons lost the first of their away games at Pirates 8-2, but came back in the second to win 11-6. They go up against the Essex Arrows this weekend.

 

The Eagles, meanwhile, are more sure of a spot in the finals, and could by-pass the qualifying round should they finish in top spot come next weekend, when they face league-leaders Oxford Kings. Eagles strolled to two easy victories as they kept up the pressure on the league-leaders on Sunday.The AAA-division side beat the London Metros 15-5 and 11-1, extending their winning streak to nine games. A win this weekend will make sure they finish top of the pile and hence head straight into the final four.

 

“We really want to make sure the Eagles and Falcons make it,” added Aspi, who also plays for the Falcons.

 

Elsewhere on the weekend the AA-League Herts Hawks took on the Windsor Bears but lost 19-9 and 18-8. In the A-League, the Old Timers of north London beat the Raptors for the second time this season.

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS GLOBETROTTERS

Apart from reporting on the Herts adult and youth teams, the Herts Baseball Newswire also keeps Herts fans updated on news from overseas related to Herts Baseball Club.

 

This summer Herts was represented in the European qualifiers for the Little League World Series.  Herts Little Leaguer, Mikito Ariga, was selected to play for team England.  The games were played at the baseball complex in Kutno, Poland.  Despite a difficult start losing to Italy (L0-10), England bounced back with wins over Lithuania (W7-1), Belgium (W7-3) and Poland (W10-0).  Mikito’s team rounded up their group stage schedule with a loss to the Netherlands (L5-4).  England’s 3-2 record placed them third in the group standings and they qualified for the next stage where they beat Ukraine 10-0.  This took them to the Semi-Finals where they once again faced Italy and once again the Italians came out on top (L2-9).  England came very close indeed to qualifying for the World Series and potential live coverage on ESPN, but it wasn’t to be. 

 

Mikito and his family have now returned and are getting ready for another exciting postseason with the Herts All-Stars next month.  Mikito was a member of the 2009 Herts All-Stars who produced the incredible run of 5 consecutive wins to reach the final where they lost 1-0 to the London Mets.

 

Another player representing Herts overseas is Jesse Reinebold.  He and his father, Jonathan, joined the club this year and apart from appearing for the Herts All-Stars Jesse played alongside his father for both the Herts Raptors in the British Single-A League and the Herts Hawks in the AA League.  Jesse is now in America where he is the official bat boy (pictured right at work) for the South Bend Silverhawks, which is the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

Like Mikito, Jesse is also scheduled to return in time to join up with the Herts All-Stars in the postseason.

by AspiDimitrov

NBCs ARE COMING TO HERTS FORTHE FIRST TIME IN THE CLUB’S HISTORY

 

Grovehill Ballpark has been chosen to host the 2010 National Baseball Championships

 

The British Baseball Federation has announced that the National Senior Baseball Championships (NBC) event has been awarded to Herts Baseball Club. It will take place on the weekend of 4 and 5 September at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Major development of the venue has taken place over the last few years and this year a second baseball diamond was added to the venue. It is now the only baseball venue in the country with two diamonds and permanent outfield wall on both of them.

The NBC is the showpiece event in the British Baseball season to decide the 2010 champions in the four British Baseball Leagues. The NBL and AAA League NBCs will adopt last year’s double-elimination format with four teams battling it out over a total of six games in each League over the two days. The champions in the AA and Single-A Leagues will be determined over a three-week knockout playoff format with the two best teams in each league meeting in their respective Finals on 5 September 2010.

Some of the teams have already booked their place in the NBC, others are still fighting for automatic qualification or entry via the playoffs which will be played on Saturday 21 and Saturday 28 August at different venues around Great Britain.

 

 

The Herts Falcons (Left) and the Herts Eagles (right) have a big battle ahead of them but they must reach the NBCs

 

This news is fantastic for everyone connected with Herts Baseball.  The key now is for the Herts teams to reach the Championships.  The Herts Falcons are involved in a dramatic battle with Croydon and Mildenhall to clinch a playoff place in the NBL.  Only two out of the three teams will make it.

 

In the AAA League the Herts Eagles have a 4-game winning streak which has taken within touching distance of the league leaders, Oxford.  The two teams meet in the final game of the regular season on Sunday, 15 August.  Whoever come son top will go to the NBC automatically.  But first the Eagles face the London Metros this Sunday at Grivehill Ballpark.

 

The Hawks and Raptors may be out of the AA and Single-A races, respectively, but players in those teams may still play a part in the postseason if they are called up by the Falcons or Eagles.

 

Click here to view full details and schedule of the postseason Playoffs and NBCs.

by AspiDimitrov

CROYDON, HERTS AND MILDENHALL CHASE A PLAYOFF SPOT IN NBL

The Croydon Pirates all but booked their top-six spot and Herts and Mildenhall split their crucial doubleheader in the only Week 15 National Baseball League action on August 2.

 

NBL Special Correspondent Simon Fitzjohn reports:

 

MILDENHALL BULLDOGS @ HERTS FALCONS

Mildenhall and Herts both have a chance of claiming sixth spot after the teams split their doubleheader in wildly contrasting games.

 

The Falcons squeezed to a 6-5 win in Game One, Pete Kikel outdueling Barry Wiles on the mound. But the Bulldogs responded with a 19-8 blowout in Game Two. John Blose took the win in this game, with Dan Kerry (pictured right) launching a home run.

 

Herts’ Aspi Dimitrov said: “We left the field quite disappointed, but after a day or so I think we will look at it differently. We are as we were, but with a round of games less to play, which means that the remaining games become even more important. “We missed an opportunity to move up in the standings” Dimitrov continued, “but we have not lost any ground in the race for the play-offs.”

 

ESSEX ARROWS @ CROYDON PIRATES

An understrength Essex side was put to the sword by the Pirates, who boosted their record to 9-15 with a sweep of both games. The 7-0 and 17-4 wins saw Croydon pitchers Tim Ssali and Jose Sosa pick up the victories, with Matt Gilbert and Richard Chesteron the Essex losers. With the Arrows struggling for numbers, 64-year-old coach Phil Chesterton was even pressed into playing first base in Game Two. Phil Chesterton said: “The key for us is to get through to the end of the season without forfeiting a game. We knew when we entered this season we were going to face some hard truths and we have not been disappointed. “That may sound negative,” Chesterton continued, “but it isn’t. We are definitely a work in progress and I think next season will be when all the hard work starts to pay off.”

 

photos courtesy of www.HP2photographic.com

 

GAME 1 BOX SCORES

 

Mildenhall Bulldogs at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Mildenhall Bulldogs 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 5 7 4
Herts Falcons 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 6 6 0

Herts Falcons 6, Mildenhall Bulldogs 5
Herts Falcons Mildenhall Bulldogs
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
CASAL Carlos 2b 2 1 0 0 KLINO cf 4 0 0 1
GONCALVES Luis c 4 2 2 0 TYLER ss 2 1 0 0
SAIONJI Kimiyoshi rf 4 0 1 2 PEREZ Leo 1b 4 1 2 2
KERRY Dan lf 2 0 0 0 WILES Barry p 3 1 1 0
KIKEL Peter p 2 1 1 0 BERK c 3 1 1 0
MARTINEZ Marc 1b 3 0 0 0 BLOSE John 2b 2 0 0 0
DEAL Brandon 3b 2 2 1 1 CULVER Kevin 3b 3 1 2 1
GOETZ Nic ss 3 0 0 0 HOUSE lf 2 0 0 1
MUNN Jamie cf 3 0 1 1 BERK Brook rf 2 0 0 0
          (t7) PIERCE rf 1 0 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 25 6 6 4 TEAM TOTALS 26 5 7 5

E: V Player 2, V Player 5, V Player 7, V Player 9. DP: Mildenhall Bulldogs 1. LOB:
Mildenhall Bulldogs 4, Herts Falcons 6. 2B: GONCALVES Luis, MUNN Jamie, V Player 7.
HR: V Player 3. SB: GOETZ Nic, DEAL Brandon, CASAL Carlos, V Player 1, V Player 7.
SF: V Player 8.

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
KIKEL Peter W 7.00 7 5 3 2 5
Mildenhall Bulldogs            
WILES Barry L 6.00 6 6 4 1 4

HBP: by V Player 4 (CASAL Carlos), by V Player 4 (KERRY Dan), by V Player 4 (KIKEL
Peter). . . . . , by V Player 4 (CASAL Carlos). , by KIKEL Peter (V Player 2). WP: V
Player 4(3). PB: GONCALVES Luis, V Player 5(2). Balk: KIKEL Peter. T: 2:05. A: 48.

GAME 2 BOX SCORES

 

Mildenhall Bulldogs at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
Mildenhall Bulldogs 0 1 8 2 4 4 19 12 4
Herts Falcons 2 3 0 0 2 1 8 9 6

Mildenhall Bulldogs 19, Herts Falcons 8
Mildenhall Bulldogs Herts Falcons
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
KLINO cf 4 2 2 1 GONCALVES Luis p-ss 3 0 0 2
TYLER ss 3 2 1 0 DIMITROV Aspi rf 3 2 2 0
PEREZ Leo lf 3 2 0 0 SAIONJI Kimiyoshi 2b 2 1 0 0
WILES Barry c 3 2 1 2 KERRY Dan cf 2 1 1 3
PIERCE 1b 5 3 2 1 KIKEL Peter 3b-p 3 0 2 1
BERK 2b-3b 5 5 2 0 CULLEN Marty c 3 0 1 0
BLOSE John 3b-p 4 2 2 2 DEAL Brandon ss-1b 2 1 1 0
HOUSE rf 5 0 2 2 MUNN Jamie lf 2 2 2 0
CULVER Kevin p-2b 3 1 0 0 MARTINEZ Marc 1b 1 1 0 0
          (b3) GOETZ Nic p-3b 2 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 35 19 12 8 TEAM TOTALS 23 8 9 6
E: V Player 1, V Player 3, V Player 6, V Player 9, GONCALVES Luis(2), KIKEL Peter(2),
CULLEN Marty, GOETZ Nic. LOB: Herts Falcons 4, Mildenhall Bulldogs 7. 2B: V Player
1(2), V Player 7(2), V Player 6, V Player 8, DEAL Brandon, MUNN Jamie. HR: KERRY Dan.
SB: V Player 6, V Player 5, MUNN Jamie(2), DIMITROV Aspi, MARTINEZ Marc. SF:
GONCALVES Luis(2), KERRY Dan.
Mildenhall Bulldogs IP H R ER BB SO
Jon BLOSE W 5.00 7 6 2 1 1
CULVER Levin  1.00 2 2 2 2 0
Herts Falcons            
GONCALVES Luis L 2.67 4 9 2 5 3
GOETZ Nic 2.00 5 6 1 1 0
KIKEL Peter 1.33 3 4 2 1 1
HBP: by GONCALVES Luis (V Player 3). . . . , by GOETZ Nic (V Player 4). , by V Player
7 (MUNN Jamie). WP: V Player 9(2), GONCALVES Luis(4), KIKEL Peter(3). PB: V Player 4,
CULLEN Marty(5). Balk: GONCALVES Luis(2). T: 2:20. A: 48.

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS DRAWN AGAINST HORSHAM IN THE PLAYOFFS

The British Baseball Federation has confirmed the seedings and the format of the 2010 National Under-14 (Bronco) Playoffs the winners of which will progress to the National Baseball Championships.

The Herts fans played a key role on the road to the National Final last year.

Can their support help the All-Stars go one better this time around.

 

Herts will be represented by the Herts All-Stars team which is selected from among all of the players who are members of the Herts Little League. To determine the Playoff seedings the Herts All-Stars took part in six games against teams from other regions. They won all six of these games and are the only team in the Under-14 League with an unbeaten record so far this season. However, the fact that several of the other teams have played more games has been taken into account by the British Baseball Federation and as a result Herts has been seeded as the third team in the Southern Conference. The team seeded in first place is the London Mets, followed by the Forest Glade RedBacks (affiliated to the Essex RedBacks), Herts are third, Horsham fourth and Bracknell are seeded fifth.

Herts know the top seeded London Mets very well after last year’s dramatic National Final which the team from Hertfordshire narrowly lost and had to settle for a runner-up spot. 12 months have passed since then and the Herts All-Stars will be looking for revenge.

 

 

There were tears after the Herts All-Stars narrowly missed out on becoming National Champions

last year in that unforgettable Final against London which ended with a score 0-1

 

But before that they have to once again do it the hard way through the playoffs. As the third seed they have been drawn to play against Horsham. The two teams met at the same stage of last year’s playoffs when Herts came out on top winning 9-6. Horsham proved to be one of the most difficult opponents which Herts faced in 2009 and they needed a 4-run rally in the final inning to win the game. The draw has not been kind to either Herts or Horsham and the “do-or-die” nature of the playoffs means that the loser will be out of the competition, so there will be a lot of pressure on the players to perform on the day.

If Herts win against Horsham, they will face the loser from the game between London and the Forest Glade RedBacks.

The games will be held at the home of the London Mets in Finsbury Park on Saturday, 11 September 2010 (See full Playoff Schedule below)

2010 National Under-14 (Bronco) League Playoffs (Southern Conference)

Saturday 11th September, Finsbury Park, London

10:00 – Field 1 – Game 1 – #2 Forest Glade @ #1 London

10:00 – Field 2 – Game 2 – #4 Horsham @ #3 Herts All-Stars

13:00 – Field 1 – Game 3 – #5 Bracknell @ winners game 1; winners qualify for NBC

13:00 – Field 2 – Game 4 – Losers Game 1 @ Winners Game 2; winners qualify for NBC

16:00 – Field 1 – Game 5 – Losers Game 4 @ Losers Game 3; consolation game

 

 

 

by AspiDimitrov

HAWKS GO DOWN AT RICHMOND

A severely under strength Hawks side travelled to Richmond on the 18th of July hoping to extract revenge for the thrashing the Knights handed out to them last time the two met. Unfortunately — despite a much improved performance — it was not to be, with Richmond winding up 19-4 winners. They still sit comfortably at the top of the table.

On the mound, the Hawks welcomed back their manager, Greg Bochan, from injury. He valiantly pitched the full 7 innings. However, nine errors along with eighteen Richmond hits took their toll and allowed the home side to rack up the runs.

 

Offensively, the Hawks bats were relatively dormant, only managing six hits and four runs in response to Richmond’s effort. The positive for Herts was the contribution made by several Raptor players who, due to missing personnel, got their chance at AA level and did not disappoint. Simon Elkington led the way with three hits and a run, Tak Ashida managed a hit and a run and Jeff Witter got himself an RBI.

 

The effort of these Raptors, however, would not be enough and the game ended in the seventh inning on the 10 run slaughter rule. It was still a much better outcome than the previous performance against Richmond.

 

by AspiDimitrov

NEW HERTS BASEBALL CAP AT THE HERTS SHOP FROM TOMORROW

 

 

 

The new Herts Baseball Caps have finally arrived. They will be available to buy at the ballpark starting from Sunday, 25 July, during the adult league games and in the following weekends at most Little League and Adult events.

The new Herts cap is a premium model fitted cap available in three different sizes. It features a 3D raised stitch logo as well as “hertsbaseball.com” on the back. The manufacturer’s brand name is embroidered on the left side of the cap.

This is a higher grade cap and its price is slightly higher than the previous model. The price is £12. Registered Little League players receive a discount so the price for them is £10.

 

 

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS FALCONS STUN LEGENDARY PITCHER CODY CAIN. SAIONJI TAKES HIM DEEP

 

This report by Simon Fitzjohn was firtst published on www.britishbaseball.org

 

It was the day of the underdogs in Week 13 of the BBF’s National Baseball League on Sunday, July 18 as both the Croydon Pirates and Herts Falcons sprang surprises. Expected to be brushed aside by heavyweight rivals London Mets and Richmond Flames, both Croydon and Herts each battled to earn a split in their two-game sets. In other action, Southampton Mustangs boosted their top-four aspirations with a sweep of Essex Arrows.

NBL Special Correspondent Simon Fitzjohn reports:

RICHMOND FLAMES @ HERTS FALCONS

Herts kept their season alive by fighting their way to a split in two wildly contrasting games. Game One was a real pitching duel between Herts’ Pete Kikel and Richmond’s Cody Cain, with the Falcons pitcher emerging triumphant thanks in part to Kimiyoshi Saionji’s home run in a 2-1 win. The Flames bounced back in Game Two, breaking open a tight contest late. Carlos Mancheno and Grant Delzoppo clubbed homers, helping Michael Osborn to the 11-6 win.

Grant Delzoppo said: “I am disappointed we had to settle for a split, as I thought we had chances to win both games. We had lots of opportunities in Game One but didn’t take them, so I am pretty happy that we came back in Game Two like we did.”

Herts’ stand-in coach Marty Cullen said: “I am really happy. We had nine guys out there who gave their all and it was a real gritty display. If we had had a decent bench we could have even have won both games, but we are happy with picking up the one win.”

LONDON METS @ CROYDON PIRATES

In one of the biggest turnarounds of the season, the Croydon Pirates responded to being thrashed 11-1 in Game One by stunning the league leaders by the same scoreline in Game Two. Jason Roberts earned the win in the first game, sentencing Jose Sosa to defeat, but Tim Ssali pitched a gem for Croydon in the second game, with Callum Woods saddled with the loss. Beaming Croydon coach Dave Ward said: “For us to come back in that fashion is fantastic. We completely turned things around. I think they were shocked by how we came out in Game Two. “We rested Tim last week so he would be ready for today,” Ward continued, “and he was almost unbeatable. It was a great performance and a great day.”

 

ESSEX ARROWS @ SOUTHAMPTON MUSTANGS

Southampton kept things ticking over nicely by seeing off the Arrows by way of 5-3 and 12-6 scorelines. Lee Ralph took the mound honours in Game One, with Gary Davison smashing a home run, and it was Davison himself who pitched the win in Game Two. Mustangs coach Ben Davis said: “If someone had offered us this record at the start of the season we would gladly have taken it. I don’t think anybody expected this. “We are really proud of what we have achieved so far,” David added, “and we just need to keep plugging away for the rest of the season.”

 

Photos by www.HP2photographic.com (click for more images of the Herts Falcons memorable 2-1 win)

 

 

by AspiDimitrov

CUBS AND CARDINALS GAIN GROUND. HERTS ALL-STARS EXTEWND UNBEATEN RUN

Report from Herts Little League Correspondent, Tracey Manning

 

There was an early start for the Herts Little Leaguers on a fine Saturday morning of week 6 of the Herts Baseball Little League.

Cardinals Vs YankeesYankees batting first, many big hitters Cameron Ross, Jose Morillo and Marty Cullen Jr, but with the Cardinals on top form stopped the Yankees from making much head way as they only managed 2 runs in this fast game. Cardinals Kieran Manning hit a triple sending home fellow team mates left the end score 8-4 to the Cardinals.

 

Redsox Vs Cubs
Both teams put members in different positions for a new feel this giving Cubs Alexander Deacon his debut as pitcher. On the mound for the Red Sox was Michael Davis who kept the score at a close 7-6 to the Cubs.

The teams played only one league game each, and this was followed by the Herts All-Stars double header against the Essex Redbacks in the afternoon.

 

HERTS LITTLE LEAGUE STANDINGS (as at 17 July 2010)


 

Majors
Team W L % F A Run +/- GB Streak
Herts Red Sox 6.5 3.5 0.650 41 30 11 – L1
Herts Cardinals 6 4 0.600 39 26 13 0.5 W1
Herts Yankees 4.5 5.5 0.450 39 42 -3 2 L1
Herts Cubs 3 7 0.300 26 47 -21 3.5 W1
Minors
Team W L % F A Run +/- GB Streak
Herts Tornados 1 1 0.500 18 19 -1 – L1
Herts Crocs 1 1 0.500 19 18 1 – W1

 

 

Herts All-Stars vs Essex RedBacks

 

Herts All-Stars welcomed the Essex Redbacks and got down to business.


In the first innings no-one from the Redbacks got on base Nick Martinez made sure of that and the balls which were put in play were swiftly passed to 1st base. Kyle Lloyd-Jones hit his first home run for the Herts All-Stars this year. May many more follow for this power hitter. Another big hit came from Jonny Compton-Weight. Herts kept the game going at a fast pace to get 5 runs each of the first 3 innnings. Zack Longboy was the closing pitcher in this game leaving the score at 20-0 to Herts.

On the mound in the second game of the day was Marty Cullen Jr. Redbacks got a second wind and scored 5 runs in the 1st innings. Not to be outdone, Herts also drove 5 runs in. Carlos Casel hit a triple, Nick Martinez, Jose Morillo and Marty Cullen Jr all got ground rule doubles. Charlie Mayhew seems to be king of the inside the park home runs and achieved his second one in as many weeks. Redbacks fought back and also hit a home run but alas this wasn’t enough to win. Herts scoring 20 runs to their 11.

photos supplied by Ward Davis (click here to see more image from week 6 action or for images from the Herts All-Stars vs Essex RedBacks game click here)