Herts Baseball TV brings you exclusive interviews from the 2009 Herts Baseball Awards Night. Today, we bring you Marty Cullen's interview with Matt Johnston. Don't miss Monday's interview with Herts Falcons' RBI machine Andy Cornish.
Category: Club News
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH 2009 RAPTORS MVP JON LEWYS
Herts Baseball TV brings you exclusive interviews from the 2009 Herts Baseball Awards Night. In the coming days you will be able to see Herts Baseball TV Presenter, Marty Cullen, look back at 2009 and preview the 2010 season with members of the four Herts teams. Today's intrerview features the most powerful man in the Northern hemisphere, Jon Lewys. Tune in on Saturday to find out the reason why female fans were coming to Grovehill in their droves in 2009.
VIDEO: INTERVIEW WITH HERTS RAPTORS MANAGER KEN PIKE
Herts Baseball TV brings you exclusive interviews from the 2009 Herts Baseball Awards Night. In the coming days you will be able to see Herts Baseball TV Presenter, Marty Cullen, look back at 2009 and preview the 2010 season with members of the four Herts teams. Today, newly elected Herts Raptors Manager, Ken Pike, is under the spotlight. On Thursday, it will be the turn of 2009 Raptors MVP, Jon Lewys.
43 TROPHIES PRESENTED AT 2009 HERTS BASEBALL AWARDS NIGHT
The 2009 season was officially put to bed with the announcement of the 2009 award winners of Herts Baseball Club’s adult programme. The achievements of the Raptors, Hawks, Eagles and Falcons over the past 12 months were recognised at the club’s annual end of season event.
For the Raptors one name kept coming up throughout the night and that was the outstanding Jon Lewys. He will need to make some extra space at home if he is to fit the five trophies which he picked up, including, Batting Champion (.750), Stolen Bases (29), Home Run Champion (2), Play of the Year Trophy and the prestigious Most Valuable Player Award voted on by the players themselves.
The Hawks voted their Manager, Marty Cullen, as the team’s MVP in 2009. Cullen also collected the Hawks Batting Title (.562) and the Most RBI’s (13).
Similarly, the Eagles players also chose their Manager, Dave Westfallen, as the team’s Most valuable Player, but it must be noted that the vote was very close indeed with Louis Hare and Mike Wakelam receiving a very large proportion of the votes. They didn’t go empty-handed though. Hare picked up the Eagles Coach’s Award, Best Pitcher and Home Run Champion Award which was shared with Wakelam who also received the Most RBI’s (16) trophy.
Darrin Ward was confirmed as the outstanding player of 2009 for the club’s National League team, the Herts Falcons. He received three trophies in total, Best Pitcher, Batting Champion (.413) and the coveted Herts Falcons MVP Award.
Matt Johnston was awarded the 2009 Rookie of the Year Award (a club-wide award) to add to his Herts Hawks Outfield Gold Glove. He announced at the awards ceremony that he will be choosing baseball over American football in 2010 which is a tremendous boost for the club. A lot will be expected of him in the coming seasons.
Herts Baseball living legend, Andy Cornish’s contribution and dedication was recognised when he was presented with the Excellence in Leadership Award.
More images from the 2009 Awards Night
FULL LIST OF 2009 AWARDS
HERTS FALCONS
MVP, Darrin Ward
Batting Champion, Darrin Ward (.413)
Infield Gold Glove, Luis Goncalves
Outfield Gold Glove, Dan Kerry
Best Pitcher, Darrin Ward
Most Stolen Bases, Luis Goncalves (10)
Home Run Champion, Jason Greenberg (1)
Most RBIs, Yuchih Lin (15)
Most RBIs, Andy Cornish (15)
Coach's Award, Riley Fisher
HERTS EAGLES
MVP, Dave Westfallen
Batting Champion, Carlos Casal (.515)
Infield Gold Glove, Rod Ariss
Outfield Gold Glove, Dave Hamilton
Best Pitcher, Louis Hare
Most Stolen Bases, Carlos Casal (17)
Home Run Champion, Louis Hare (1)
Home Run Champion, Mike Wakelam (1)
Most RBIs, Mike Wakelam (16)
Coach's Award, Louis Hare
HERTS HAWKS
MVP, Marty Cullen
Batting Champion, Marty Cullen (.562)
Infield Gold Glove, Hunter Devine
Outfield Gold Glove, Matt Johnston
Best Pitcher, Greg Bochan
Most Stolen Bases, Matt Johnston (10)
Home Run Champion, Tim Grant (1)
Most RBIs, Marty Cullen (13)
Coach's Award, Liam Green
HERTS RAPTORS
MVP, Jonathon Lewys
Batting Champion, Jonathon Lewys (.750)
Infield Gold Glove, Jeff Witter
Outfield Gold Glove, Iwan Evans
Best Pitcher, Andrew Slater
Most Stolen Bases, Jonathon Lewys (29)
Home Run Champion, Jonathon Lewys (2)
Most RBIs, Andrew Slater (23)
Coach's Award, Paul Curtis
CLUB AWARDS
Excellence in Leadership, Andy Cornish
Rookie of the Year, Matt Johnston
Most Improved Player, Ilya Dimitrov
Play of the Year, Jonathon Lewys
Nob-Out Award (Stuck in the Mud), Marty Cullen & marty Cullen Jr
THE GREEN GREEN GRASS OF HOME
For the first time in the club's 13 year history Herts Baseball Club members have been praying for rain.
Since the start of September this part of the world had not seen any rain at all. This was very good for the Club's events in September and October such as the Herts Futures Tournament and the Kyle Hunlock Series, but it was not helping the growth of the newly planted grass seeds on the second diamond which Herts is creating.
Thankfully, just 24 hours after the last Herts event of the year, the rain came. Members of the club who have not visited Grovehill Ballpark in the last few weeks would be pleased to learn that the first blades of grass appeared last week.
Click here for more images of the new grass taken this weekend.
The lack of rain may result in the unveiling of the brand new second diamond taking place two or three weeks after Opening Day of the 2010 British Baseball season, which was the original target date.
BLACK WIDOWS IN LEAD; ROOSTERS, DOGS IN SEMI-FINAL
The Black Widows have emerged top-of-the-heap after week two of the 2009 Kyle Hunlock Series. After crushing the Blue Dogs 12-3 in the morning opener, they went on to hand the Red Roosters their first loss of the Series by a score of 12-7. While this left the Roosters and the Widows each with a 3-1 record, the Widows mountainous run differential was just too steep for the Roosters to climb; although they beat the Blue Dogs 15-2 in the final match of the day, they would have needed another 16 runs scored to surpass the Widows and take first place.
BLUE DOGS 3 @ BLACK WIDOWS 12
In the morning matchup the Blue Dogs got off to an early lead off Widow hurler Mark Hoffman. Although “the Hoff” quickly tallied a pair of strikeouts, a Widows error followed by a walk and a clutch single from Blue Dogs manager Andy Cornish brought the first run across the plate.
But that was all the offence the Dogs would see until the fifth inning. Hoffman settled down and pitched three scoreless innings, followed by two solid innings from Marty Cullen. Altogether, Hoffman and Cullen wracked up 7 strikeouts with only 3 walks and 3 runs allowed on 6 hits.
The Widows offence was timely. Marty Cullen went 4-for-4 with 4 RBI, and fellow-American Greg Bochan was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Luis Goncalves and Arnie Longboy had a hit each, and both crossed the plate multiple times. Newcomer Marcus Capper – while hitless – still scored two runs for the Widows.
BLACK WIDOWS 12 @ RED ROOSTERS 7
The Roosters had high expectations after hitting the field fresh at midday to face a (hopefully) game-weary Widows lineup. Newcomer Mike Vasquez took the mound for the Red squad, but he surrendered 4 walks and 2 hits in the first inning, and his team committed 3 errors behind him. Altogether that amounted to 7 Widows runs, which proved the difference in the game.
The Roosters fought hard to battle back, putting up crooked numbers in the second, third and fifth innings. They were aided by a 2-for-3 performance from first baseman Dave Baird, but it was too little too late. The Widows had the momentum. Luis Goncalves went 2-for-3, Chris Barnes 2-for-2 with 2 RBI, and Amit Odedra came into the game in the bottom of the fourth inning and had a clutch 2-run single with a stolen base.
RED ROOSTERS 15 @ BLUE DOGS 2
The Blue Dogs failed to score a run until the final inning of this third game. The Roosters were out of the gates early with a 2 RBI double from Jason Greenberg, who finished the day with a second 2 RBI double. Young Liam Green was 1-for-1 with an RBI, and the mighty Edwin Alcantara went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI.
The only Blue Dog RBIs came from Jonathon Lewys, who also delivered an inning of work from the hill allowing 2 runs on 2 hits.
The pitcher of the game was most certainly Pete Kikel, who upped the speed on his fastball by 5-10mph over game one, and walked away with 4 strikeouts in 3-innings of scoreless baseball.
WIDOWS AWAITING THEIR PREY IN WEEK THREE
After two weeks of Hunlock action, the Black Widows are sitting pretty. They can rest up and watch the 2nd/3rd place action on Sunday morning to see which squad they’ll face in the ’09 Series Final.
The Blue Dogs have an uphill battle in store. They’ve now lost to the Red Roosters by scores of 8-7 and 15-2. If they hope to find their stride and coast into the championship game they’ll have to get by a resurgent pitching rotation of Pete Kikel, Dan Kerry and Mike Vasquez, who in particular will be looking for a solid rebound on the mound. The Dogs will be aided by the emergence of late-coming teammates Nic Goetz and Jamie Munn, and returning sluggers Louis Hare and Riley Fisher, all of whom were missing from the week two action.
Which squad will emerge victorious? It all comes down to 18 innings of riveting Herts Baseball.
GAME ONE
| Blue Dogs at Black Widows | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Blue Dogs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Black Widows | 3 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 9 | 5 |
| Black Widows 12, Blue Dogs 3 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Widows | Blue Dogs | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Luis Goncalves ss | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Ken Pike ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arnold Longboy lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Iwan Evans cf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Greg Bochan 3b | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Jeff Witter p | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Marty Cullen 1b | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | (t3) Reagan Wood 3b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Chris Barnes c | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Kal Dimitrov c | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jose Morillo cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Andy Cornish 1b | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Mark Hoffman p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jonathon Lewys 3b-p | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Andrew Slater 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | (b4) Nick Russell pr-p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Capper rf | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Phil Crooks 2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (b4) Tom Green rf | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Perrie Sherman rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (t4) Lin Yuchih rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Nick Read lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| (t4) Paul Auchterlounie lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 25 | 12 | 9 | 7 | TEAM TOTALS | 21 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| E: Chris Barnes, Marty Cullen, Mark Hoffman, Marcus Capper, Ken Pike, Jonathon Lewys, Phil Crooks. LOB: Blue Dogs 7, Black Widows 8. 2B: Marty Cullen, Luis Goncalves, Kal Dimitrov, Andy Cornish. 3B: Greg Bochan. SB: Mark Hoffman, Marcus Capper, Chris Barnes, Marty Cullen, Nick Russell(2), Andy Cornish, Iwan Evans, Paul Auchterlounie. CS: Mark Hoffman, Andy Cornish. |
| Black Widows | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Mark Hoffman | 5.00 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Blue Dogs | ||||||
| Jeff Witter | 2.00 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| Jonathon Lewys | 1.67 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Nick Russell | 0.33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
WP: Mark Hoffman. PB: Kal Dimitrov. T: 2:00. A: 69.
GAME TWO
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Black Widows | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 4 |
| Red Roosters | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| Black Widows 12, Red Roosters 7 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Widows | Red Roosters | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Luis Goncalves ss | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Aspi Dimitrov 3b-lf-2b | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Arnold Longboy lf | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Peter Kikel ss-p | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| (b4) Amit Odedra lf | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Edwin Alcantara dh-3b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carlos Casal 3b | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Jason Greenberg c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marty Cullen p-1b | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | David Baird 1b | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Chris Barnes c | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Dan Kerry cf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Bart Schouwenaars cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Rob Jones lf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Hoffman 1b-p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hunter Devine 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Andrew Slater 2b | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | (t5) Ilya Dimitrov rf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (t4) Greg Bochan 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Ben Alway rf-lf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Tom Green rf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Mike Vasquez p-ss | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| (t4) Stuart Boast rf | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 25 | 12 | 10 | 7 | TEAM TOTALS | 22 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| E: Luis Goncalves, Carlos Casal, Bart Schouwenaars, Mark Hoffman, Peter Kikel, Hunter Devine, David Baird, Jason Greenberg. DP: Black Widows 1. LOB: Red Roosters 3, Black Widows 6. 2B: Luis Goncalves, Arnold Longboy, Dan Kerry. SB: Chris Barnes(2), Carlos Casal(2), Marty Cullen(2), Luis Goncalves, Arnold Longboy, Amit Odedra, Aspi Dimitrov(3), David Baird(2), Mike Vasquez(2), Dan Kerry(2), Hunter Devine, Ben Alway. CS: Chris Barnes. |
| Black Widows | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Marty Cullen W | 3.00 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Mark Hoffman | 2.00 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Red Roosters | ||||||
| Mike Vasquez L | 3.00 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Peter Kikel | 2.00 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
WP: Mark Hoffman. T: 2:00. A: 69.
GAME THREE
| Red Roosters at Blue Dogs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Red Roosters | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 15 | 12 | 3 |
| Blue Dogs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| Red Roosters 15, Blue Dogs 2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Roosters | Blue Dogs | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Aspi Dimitrov 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Nick Russell ss-p-2b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| (b4) Ben Alway lf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Paul Auchterlounie c | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Liam Green 3b | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Tim Elkins 2b | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Vasquez ss-cf | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | (t4) Ken Pike ss | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edwin Alcantara cf-p | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Jonathon Lewys p-ss-3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jason Greenberg c | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Iwan Evans cf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dan Kerry 2b-1b | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | (t4) Perrie Sherman cf | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Kikel p | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | Kal Dimitrov 3b | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| (b4) Rob Jones ss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | (t4) Andy Cornish lf-1b | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Ilya Dimitrov lf-2b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Jeff Witter 1b-p | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Martin rf | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Phil Crooks rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| (t4) Nick Read rf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| Reagan Wood lf-p | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 25 | 15 | 12 | 13 | TEAM TOTALS | 21 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| E: Aspi Dimitrov, Ilya Dimitrov, Paul Auchterlounie. LOB: Red Roosters 4, Blue Dogs 6. 2B: Jason Greenberg(2), Mike Vasquez, Edwin Alcantara, Aspi Dimitrov, Andy Cornish. SB: Edwin Alcantara(2), Jason Greenberg, Aspi Dimitrov, Dan Kerry, Peter Kikel, Chris Martin, Liam Green. CS: Peter Kikel. |
| Red Roosters | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Peter Kikel W | 3.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Edwin Alcantara | 2.00 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Blue Dogs | ||||||
| Nick Russell | 2.00 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Reagan Wood | 1.67 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| Jonathon Lewys | 1.00 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Witter L | 0.00 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
HBP: by Jonathon Lewys (Liam Green), by Jonathon Lewys (Dan Kerry). . , by Nick
Russell (Liam Green), by Nick Russell (Edwin Alcantara). , by Reagan Wood (Chris
Martin). . WP: Jonathon Lewys, Nick Russell. T: 2:00. A: 69.
HERTS BASEBALL CLUB AWARDED BSUK GRANT TO IMPROVE FACILITIES
This article first appeared on www.baseballsoftballuk.com
Herts Baseball Club, Brentwood Baseball Club, Manchester Softball League, Fakenham Falcons Softball Club and London Mets Baseball and Softball Club have all been successful in applying for Equipment and Facilities Grants that BSUK advertised earlier in the year.
The money is being distributed by BSUK from a capital funding grant provided by Sport England on the basis of BSUK’s 2009-2013 Whole Sport Plan.
The funding, amounting to up to £5,000 per project, has to be match-funded by the receiving organisations to allow them to develop facilities through projects costing up to £10,000.00. The grants will give these organisations the opportunity to erect backstops, develop infields and generally improve their facilities and the playing experience for their members and players.
It will also allow them to show visiting teams what can be done with a little bit of time and effort and the support of BSUK.
Better Standards
All new facilities being created through these grants will be ready for the 2010 season and will allow teams to enjoy a better standard of play, provide help in attracting new players and allow the staging of tournaments and finals. The upgraded facilities will also provide a more exciting experience for youngsters when clubs and leagues work with local schools.
BSUK National Club Development Manager Paul Wilkinson said, “It has taken a lot of hard work to set up the process for distributing the grants, due to the need to be able to be audited by other agencies. This is the first time we have had money from Sport England to distribute to affiliated leagues and clubs, but hopefully it will not be the last.”
Following on from these small grants, BSUK will soon be looking towards four Regional Centre projects where £100,000 grants will be available to develop tournament and Academy standard facilities in each of the four regions where BSUK’s work is concentrated: London, the South East, the North West and the Midlands.
HERTS AWARDED £5K GRANT FOR SECOND DIAMOND
Herts Baseball Club has been awarded a £5,000 grant from the Dacorum Olympic and Paralympic Fund, administered jointly by Dacorum Borough Council and the Dacorum Sports Network.
A select number of organisations have received awards from the Olympic Fund for capital projects that will enhance sport services and facilities for people in Dacorum. The goal is to foster greater involvement in sport, culture and volunteering. Herts Baseball Club – based at Grovehill Playing Fields in Hemel Hempstead – is widely regarded as a positive influence in the local area and their grant application boasted support from local Council members, the Herts Constabulary, the Grovehill Community Centre and many other encouraging organisations.
The funds will be used by Herts Baseball to level the playing surface of a second baseball field, adjacent to their existing diamond in Grovehill. The Club has made a name for itself in recent years, enjoying rapid expansion to become the largest baseball franchise in the United Kingdom. They have a thriving youth Little League programme and an adult team at every level of play in the British Baseball Federation – including the Herts Falcons who joined the venerated National Baseball League in 2009, have secured a winning debut season and will appear in the National Baseball Championships in Croydon, London on August 29-30 to compete for the UK trophy.
Herts Baseball is still awaiting news on another critical grant application which will provide for the clay surfaces, pitching mound and other sport-specific features on Diamond Two, but they've already raised enough funds to assure themselves a level field to play on. The Grovehill baseball facilities are arguably the best in the United Kingdom, and Herts will be the only Club in the nation to boast two professionally-surfaced, adult sized and completely fenced-in baseball fields.
Club President Aspi Dimitrov said, “We are incredibly grateful to Dacorum Borough Council for their continued partnership and support. It would be impossible to offer our services – family-friendly baseball for kids and adults, alike – without the Council's backing. We plan on being a key community presence in Grovehill for many years to come.”
STOP THE PRESSES: FALCONS TAKE FIRST
Photo Credit and Article from Joe Grey of BaseballGB
(amended by Newswire Staff)
The Falcons jumped to the top of the National Baseball League this Sunday, after sending the Croydon Pirates further into the basement with a drubbing in both games of their doubleheader at Roundshaw Playing Fields in Croydon.
The Pirates, who have struggled to field a side of late, showed flashes of their old self but were still put to the sword by scores of 20-2 and 13-8.
Darrin Ward took the win for Herts in Game One, while Nic Goetz claimed the honors in Game Two.
The second match, in particular, was full of unconventional quirks that kept the fans engaged and the sideline-historians deep in “never seen that before” exchanges. In the bottom of the first inning, Pirate Maikel Azcuy clubbed a home run over the short right field porch off Goetz. He was mobbed by his teammates near the plate, elated that their fortunes seemed to be turning after a 1-2-3 top of the Falcons 1st. But some heads-up work from catcher Lee Manning wiped the dinger off the scorepages – Azcuy never touched home plate after rounding the bases, and Manning simply brought the ball there to get the out from umpire Dave Thomson.
Then, late in the game as the Falcons were staging a late-inning comeback, Lin Yuchih was forced out at second base on a fielders choice for the second out of the inning. The Pirates threw on to 1st, trying to double-up runner-batter Andy Cornish… and then turned around to see Lin walking off the field via third base. Mistaking him for a runner-in-play they attempted to catch Lin (who ran into the pickle not sure if he was really out or safe at 2nd base!), tagged him, and ran off the field believing the inning had ended. It wasn't until the Herts side and official scorers had convinced the umpires that Lin was actually charged with two outs in the same inning that the Croydon players were sent back onto the field to get out number three.
Despite the day's antics, the Falcons walked away from Roundshaw with their heads held high. In just their first year in the National League they've established themselves as post-season contenders. While a one game lead over Bracknell, Richmond and London is slim, it's a lead nonetheless… and more than Herts (or their rivals and critics) would have expected from an expansion team. With half the season to play anything can happen. But the League should probably start-over their search for the true underdogs – the Falcons don't seem to be rolling over for anyone.
Note: the other scheduled action in Week 8, a doubleheader between the Richmond Flames and London Mets, was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Finsbury Park.
GAME ONE
| Herts Falcons at Croydon Pirates | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Herts Falcons | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 20 | 8 | 2 |
| Croydon Pirates | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Herts Falcons 20, Croydon Pirates 2 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Falcons | Croydon Pirates | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Riley Fisher 3b | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Player 1 p | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Cornish lf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | (t5) Daniel Rose lf-p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lin Yuchih 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Ron Almonte ss | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Darrin Ward p | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | Jessie Quinones c-1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jason Greenberg c | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | Daniel Quinones 1b-rf | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Nick Goetz ss | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Jose Sosa 2b-3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| (t5) Luis Goncalves ss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Pdero Padilla 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lee Manning 1b | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | (t3) Maikel Azcuy 2b-3b | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Oliver rf | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Brandon Florence lf-p | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamie Munn cf | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | Tadashi Zushi cf | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mark Morgenroth rf | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |||||
| (t5) Marco Moreno c | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 19 | 20 | 8 | 18 | TEAM TOTALS | 20 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| E: Riley Fisher, Nick Goetz, Player 1, Brandon Florence. DP: Croydon Pirates 2. LOB: Herts Falcons 4, Croydon Pirates 6. 2B: Lin Yuchih, Andy Cornish. SB: Lee Manning, John Oliver, Ron Almonte, Mark Morgenroth. SB: Nick Goetz. SF: Nick Goetz, Lee Manning. |
| Herts Falcons | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Darrin Ward W | 5.00 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Croydon Pirates | ||||||
| Jessie Quinones | 2.67 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Player 1 L | 1.33 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 1 |
| Brandon Florence | 1.00 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Daniel Rose | 0.00 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
HBP: by Player 1 (Jason Greenberg), by Player 1 (Andy Cornish). . , by Player 1
(Riley Fisher). , by Daniel Rose (Riley Fisher). WP: Player 1(5). T: 2:23. A: 39.
GAME TWO
| Herts Falcons at Croydon Pirates | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score By Innings | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
| Herts Falcons | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 8 | 4 |
| Croydon Pirates | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| Herts Falcons 13, Croydon Pirates 8 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herts Falcons | Croydon Pirates | ||||||||
| ab | r | h | bi | ab | r | h | bi | ||
| Riley Fisher 3b | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Ron Almonte ss | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | Jose Sosa p | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lin Yuchih dh | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Maikel Azcuy 3b | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Andy Cornish rf | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Jessie Quinones c | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Lee Manning c | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Daniel Quinones rf | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Luis Goncalves ss | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Brandon Florence lf | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| John Oliver 1b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | (t7) Pdero Padilla lf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Aspi Dimitrov lf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Tadashi Zushi cf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Jamie Munn cf | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | (b7) Daniel Rose cf | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nick Goetz p | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Stephen Gayle 2b | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| (b7) Nicardio Simms 2b | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| M Moreno 1b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |||||
| TEAM TOTALS | 32 | 13 | 8 | 6 | TEAM TOTALS | 31 | 8 | 8 | 4 |
| E: Luis Goncalves(2), Lee Manning, Riley Fisher, Maikel Azcuy, Stephen Gayle, Jessie Quinones, M Moreno, Tadashi Zushi. DP: Croydon Pirates 1. LOB: Croydon Pirates 7, Herts Falcons 7. 2B: Tadashi Zushi, Brandon Florence. 3B: Maikel Azcuy. SB: Luis Goncalves, John Oliver, Aspi Dimitrov, Brandon Florence, Tadashi Zushi. |
| Herts Falcons | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Nick Goetz W | 7.00 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Croydon Pirates | ||||||
| Jose Sosa L | 7.00 | 8 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 7 |
HBP: by Jose Sosa (Luis Goncalves). WP: Nick Goetz(2), Jose Sosa. PB: Lee Manning,
Jessie Quinones. Balk: Jose Sosa(2). T: 2:34. A: 39.
POLICE AND FIRE BRIGADE OPEN A NEW SEASON OF HERTS BASEBALL LITTLE LEAGUE
The girls and boys of the Herts Baseball Little League opened the 2009 season in the usual festive fashion. The ceremony started with the unveiling of the league teams. Last season, the league consisted of four teams. In addition, in 2009 two new teams have been added to the line-up.
In order to create a better balance in terms of age and ability, the six teams were divided into two separate divisions. Last year’s four teams, Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Blue Jays, will once again compete against each other and this will be referred to as the“Majors” Division. The two new teams, the Cardinals and the Giants, will be playing in the newly created “Minors” Division, which will include the league’s youngest players some aged as young as 5.
Opening Day’s guests of honour were members of the Hertfordshire Constabulary and Hertfordshire’s Fire and Rescue. The young baseball players had the opportunity to shake their hands and show their appreciation for the men and women of the emergency services.
Dacorum and St. Albans District Commander of Hertfordhsire Fire and Rescue, Simon Brown, said: “It is fantastic to see such a wonderful programme in our community and we are glad that we have a chance to take part in this great event”. His counterpart from the Hertfordshire Constabulary, Pete Edwards, added: “It is so nice to meet all the boys and girls and we hope that the Herts Baseball programme will continue to grow”.
Their colleagues, Danny Allsopp, Simon Steptoe, Beansy Harper, Sticky Pymont of Herts Fire and Rescue and Ryan Coyle, Matt Caan, Daniel John of the Herts Constabulary joined them for the ceremonial first pitch. All eight guests of honour showed good baseball abilities delivering powerful and accurate pitches. On the other side eight Little League players were waiting to receive the pitches, and so the 2009 season was officially opened.
Whether it is baseball, football or some other sport, there is a common belief that the standard in every sport improves year-after-year. Without any doubt this theory applies to the Herts Baseball League. The improvement of the baseball players over the last 12 years has been incredible. A lot of credit has to be given not only to the coaches, but most importantly to the players who have been working hard to improve. Some have been putting in countless hours of work at home practicing various aspects of the game. And it is certainly paying off. This was illustrated very well by the magnificent triple play executed with the skill that we associate only with MLB players.
In the first games of the Majors Division, the Red Sox managed to overcome the Yankees 4-3. In the other game, the Cubs started the season with a 1-0 win against the Blue Jays. As the score line suggests, this was a classic pitchers’ duel. In the second games, the Yankees beat the Blue Jays 10-5 while the Red Sox are the only team with aa 100% record after their 9-4 win against the Cubs.
In the Minors Division, it was the Cardinals that came out on top of a 21-20 epic against the Giants.
Click here for more images from Opening Day.
Boys and girls aged between 5 and 14+ can join the Herts Baseball Little League at any time. For more details visit www.hertslittleleague.com