Category: Club News

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)


by AspiDimitrov

HERTS GIANT-KILLERS RUIN LONDON METS PLANS

The four Herts adult baseball teams had a week away from league action and headed South to Croydon for the International London Tournament. Every year this event provides an opportunity for British Baseball clubs to have an All-Star week similar to the MLB All-Star week.

18 teams entered the tournament including teams from France and Holland. Herts Baseball Club was represented by a team which included a mix of all four of its adult teams, from a few experienced NBL players to first year Single-A League players. The team was drawn into one of the toughest groups of the competition with NBL teams like the Mildenhall Bulldogs, the Birmingham Maple Leafs who are leaders of the AA (Midlands) League, and a combined team from the NBL London Mets and the Dutch team Zuidvogels.

In their first game Herts faced Birmingham. The Hertfordshire team found it difficult to get on base in the early innings but stayed in touch in the hope of a big rally in the final innings. They managed to put several hits together and just when it looked like the team was coming back into the game, the rally was cut short by two questionable decisions by the two base umpires. After this 5-1 loss and with the London Mets/Zuidvogels winning a nail biting game against Mildenhall 8-7, Herts knew that they needed to beat the London Mets/Zuidvogels by 4 runs or more in the final group game on Saturday in order to make it into the elite bracket on the second day of the tournament. This was unthinkable as their opponents were all NBL-calibre players while Herts had an experimental squad made up of 40% Falcons (NBL), 7% Eagles (AAA), 33% Hawks (AA) and 20% Raptors (A).

The London Mets/Zuidvogels took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first and everyone who had gathered at field 3 in Croydon was expecting Herts to capitulate. Not even the most optimistic supporters of the Hemel Hempstead-based club could have predicted what was to follow. The boys from Hertfordshire started to put runners on base and a combination of some aggressive running and clutch hits gave Herts the lead in the second inning. The Herts assault continued in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings while at the same time precision pitching from Nic Goetz and solid defence was making the London Mets/Zuidvogels visibly frustrated. The Herts defence had to hold on to the required 4-run lead in the face of the Mets onslaught in the final three innings of the game, and they did. The 4-run lead was maintained every inning, 6-2 in the fourth, 8-4 in the fifth and 9-5 in the sixth and final inning. The game ended very fittingly with Herts centerfielder, Mahendra Prasad, making a spectacular diving catch.

The result meant that Herts were through to the elite bracket on the final day of the tournament while the London Mets/Zuidvogel team were relegated to the lower bracket in true FA Cup giant-killing fashion.

On day two Herts were hoping to continue the fairytale but it wasn’t to be as they came short against Richmond losing 6-1 and later had to battle against the eventual winners, Bracknell who had added an array of superstars including former GB players to their existing 2009 NBL-winning roster. No one could match them all weekend as they destroyed every single opponent that came up against them.

Overall this was a fantastic weekend for Herts as players from the four different adult teams had a chance to play side-by-side and also to cause the shock of the tournament. Herts had more reasons to celebrate on Saturday evening as its representative in the Home Run Derby, Kimiyoshi Saionji, reached the final and finished in third place with a total of 3 home runs. In second place was London Mets slugger, Daniel Williams, who put on a show with 6 massive homers, some of which reached distances of well over 400 feet. Mildenhall’s Mike McClure was the Home Run Champion after hitting 8 home runs.

 

Other news from the 2010 London Tournament

by AspiDimitrov

PRINCE HARRY THROWS OUT FIRST PITCH AT NEW YORK METS GAME

This article first appeared on www.telegraph.co.uk

 

The prince was given the honour usually reserved for presidents, politician and pop stars but did not disgrace himself despite his initial fears.

When asked how he felt before making his way to the pitcher’s mound the 25-year-old royal replied “don’t ask”, then joked “can I have a practice first?”.

 

Pointing towards his private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton he said: “He wants to bat against me.”

The prince appeared a little apprehensive when he finally walked out in front of the crowds and prepared to throw the ball to the catcher at the New York Mets’ Citi Field stadium in the suburb of Queens.

But he received a rapturous welcome from the near capacity audience of around 40,000 people who applauded and cheered as the prince was introduced.

He pointed at the Mets catcher Rod Barajas as if to warn him about the thunderbolt about to come his way.

Harry was wearing the local team’s blue baseball cap and a T-shirt supporting the Walking with the Wounded expedition.

The fundraising trek, which has Harry as its patron, will take a group of injured British servicemen on a gruelling trek to the North Pole next year.

The 25-year-old royal wound up his right hand to deliver the ball to Barajas, who was standing just behind home plate, and as he let go the pitch slammed into the sportsman’s glove and the crowd cheered wildly.

The prince took his cap off and wiped his brow in relief before running down the mound to shake hands with the catcher.

VIDEO: Click here to watch the Prince in action…Nice pitch! Atta boy Harry!

 

by AspiDimitrov

A DAY OF CELEBRATION OF BRITISH BASEBALL IN HERTS

 

As advertised, the NBL Summer Classic turned out to be a true celebration of British Baseball. The event started at 10:00am and ended just as the sun was going down at 9:15pm. It had everything from home runs, strikeouts, spectacular plays and late inning drama, to hot dogs and the signing of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in the …ninth inning stretch.

HERTS RED SOX SETTING THE PACE

The Herts Little League teams opened the day. The Herts Yankees and the Herts Red Sox picked up convincing wins against the Herts Cubs (14-1) and Herts Cardinals (8-0), respectively. This set up a top of the table clash between the Red Sox and Yankees and the Red Sox came out on top 13-5. This means that they are now leading the league with the Yankees one game back on them, followed closely by the Cardinals in third after they beat the Cubs 9-0.

 

Click here to view full Little League report by reporter Tracey Manning

BLAZERS EXTEND WINNING STREAK

At the same time the National Baseball League action commenced on diamond 1. 2009 champions, Bracknell Blazers were the hot favourites to win the clash against the Croydon Pirates, but the team from South London had plans of their own. They kept fighting and it was only the loss of concentration at critical moments that cost them the game at the end. This was the tenth consecutive league win for the Blazers with a chance to move top of the table depending on the outcome of London’s evening game on diamond 2.

FALCONS SURVIVE LATE ARROWS ONSLAUGHT

The game between the hosts Herts and rivals Essex saw a record attendance for an adult league game in the history of Grovehill Ballpark. This was thanks to the loyal support from the Herts Little League families who had packed the spectator area on the first base side and it was their support right up until the bottom of the ninth inning that contributed to the win for the Falcons.

Before the start of the game the newly built second diamond was officially opened by Mike Penning, Member of Parliament for Hemel Hempstead, who was one of a the many supporters of the Grovehill Ballpark project. Others who supported the project include Dacorum Borough Council, Awards for All, BSUK, Sport England, PropertyLandeArchitercture, Royal Bank of Scotland and many others.

The ceremonial first pitch is usually thrown out by one or two celebrities. On this occasion there were 40 ceremonial first pitches and they were all thrown at the same time by 40 celebrities from the Herts Little League. The unlucky player who had the impossible task of catching all 40 balls at the same time was Falcons catcher, Andy Cornish. Ultimately he didn’t manage to catch any of them, which was not a good sign for Herts ahead of this vital league game.

The Falcons took a comfortable early lead. Kimiyoshi Saionji’s home run was followed by two home runs by Pete Kikel. Despite this the Arrows never lost hope and produced a sensational come back. Going into the ninth inning Essex were on the verge of claiming their first win of the season trailing 12-10 with runners on first and second base and the winning run at the plate. Richard Chesterton came through with the clutch hit. It went over the head of centerfielder Jamie Munn and all the way to the outfield wall. With the runner from first rounding third base and being waved home to tie up the game, the Herts Falcons needed to execute the relay perfectly, and they did. With a runner in scoring position the Falcons needed to get one more out and they ended the game in style, Pete Kikel striking out Lance Louw.

Click here for box scores and images from the Essex vs Herts game.

SOUTHAMPTON IMPRESSIVE WIN

Southampton Mustangs maintained their strong recent form by dispatching the slumping Mildenhall Bulldogs with ease in the day’s only one-sided victory. The majority of Mildenhall’s players work at the airbase in Cambridgeshire and their team was significantly weakened by the absence of the majority of their roster due to an emergency military exercise. Despite this Southampton did produce an impressive performance to pick up another good win.Chuck Druelson pitched the win, with Oscar Sierra clubbing a home run.

LONDON STILL TOP THE LEAGUE

The showpiece game of the day was the match-up between London and Richmond. A large crowd had gathered at the new diamond to watch this eagerly anticipated clash, and then the storm came resulting in a rain-delay. This did spoil the occasion slightly but when the game was restarted it did not affect the quality of baseball with both teams producing a real classic. The Londoners broke out early, cashing in on a number of Richmond errors. The Flames managed to claw their way back, only to fall just short. Jason Roberts claimed the win, pitching a complete game that required over 200 pitches, with Kyle Hickson adding a home run for the Mets.

 

For full NBL report and reaction from the teams click here.

Images from the NBL Summer Classic.