Category: Events

by AspiDimitrov

HUNLOCK SERIES DRAFT COMPLETED, TEAMS READY FOR BATTLE THIS SUNDAY

This evening Herts Baseball Club created history with the first ever Live Radio broadcast in British Baseball.  Jason Greenberg hosted a 4-hour show packed with exclusive interviews, music and of course the Kyle Hunlock Series Live Draft.  Listeners followed every round of the draft on the online Draft Tracker brilliantly created by Greg “the Motion” Bochan.  Those who tuned in to the Radio show were also able to interact in the Chat Zone where over 700 chat messages were exchanged over the course of the evening.

 

A total of 43 players were drafted and we now have the three teams who will be battling to win the 2008 Kyle Hunlock Series.  Subject to last minute trades and free agent transactions, these are the three teams:

 

HERTS RED ROOSTERS

LUKE ASHMEAD (IF/OF)

ROB CROUCH (RF/LF)

JAKE KIKEL (C/P)

JAMES ROBERTS (IF/OF)

ILYA DIMITROV (SS/LF)

STUART BOAST (P/IF)

MARK HOFFMANN (P/1B)

ANDREW SLATER (3B/LF)

NICK RUSSELL (OF/IF)

HUMBERTO GONCALVES (2B/P)

DAN KERRY (CF/LF)

PETE KIKEL (3B/P)

ANDY CORNISH (SS/CF)

JASON GREENBERG (C/IF)

HUNTER DEVINE (2B/LF)

 

HERTS BLUE DOGS

PETE COX (SS/2B)

STEVE NIPPRESS (CF/LF)

PAUL HAWES (1B/3B)

ROB JONES (CF/LF)

PAUL AUCHTERLOUNIE (C/CF)

DAVID HAMILTON (OF/IF)

RODERIC ARISS (IF/OF)

ROD NAGHAR (RF/LF)

GREG BOCHAN (LF/RF)

JOHN OLIVER (P/1B)

DAVE WESTFALLEN (C/SS)

DARRIN WARD (P/DH)

TIM ELKINS (OF/2B)

 

HERTS BLACK WIDOWS

MARK HOUCHIN (IF/OF)

ALEX CASEY (IF/OF)

KIMIYOSHI SAIONJI (2B/DH)

JIM HYDE (LF/CF)

JAMIE MUNN (IF/OF)

LOUIS HARE (1B/P)

KAL DIMITROV (C/RF)

CARLOS CASAL (3B/P)

LUIS GONCALVES (SS/P)

LEE MANNING (LF/2B)

NICOLAS GOETZ (P/3B)

ASPI DIMITROV (CF/P)

MARTY CULLEN (1B/3B)

 

For the full Draft, pick-by-pick visit the Draft Tracker.

 

The Series begin on Sunday at Grovehill Ballpark with the Blue Dogs vs the Black Widows at 10am.

by AspiDimitrov

HBC RADIO DEBUTS LIVE INTERNET BROADCAST FOR HUNLOCK DRAFT

 

This Thursday, Herts Baseball Club is set to make British baseball history with its first internet radio broadcast.

 

As the live leadup to its annual postseason Kyle Hunlock Series, the Herts media team will be juggling music, commentary, on-air interviews and live draft results via its streaming internet broadcast. To listen-in is free of charge, and Herts hopes hundreds of UK, US, European and Asian baseball enthusiasts will make time for this historic event. No doubt…the drafted players – members of the HBC franchise – will expect their family and friends to tune in to hear the latest on the Hunlock Series rosters.

 

The Kyle Hunlock Series is held in honour of a fallen friend of the Herts community – Kyle Hunlock. This young man was taken from us far too soon in a work-related accident in the States. Kyle was a much loved member of Herts Baseball, and will be greatly missed by his fellow teammates and the Herts community. This annual event is a way of offering remembrance to Kyle's strength of heart and character, while celebrating our fellow teammates… the Herts family.

 

Part of the fun of the 2008 Hunlock Series is our live, online draft. Moreover, rostered players can be traded and free agents can be picked up on waivers. Much can happen during and after the draft – stay involved with the live feed to catch all the action.

 

HBC/Secure Members can follow the draft picks online at http://www.hertsbaseball.com/secure/draft.php.

 

Donʼt miss a pick – set your browser to auto-refresh.

 

Friends of Herts Baseball can listen in to Thursday's live broadcast by tuning any stream-friendly audio player to the HBC Radio feed. Just select OPEN STREAM or OPEN URL from your audio app's File Menu… and paste this hyperlink: http://hbcradio.internetradio.org.uk:11934/

 

The broadcast will begin at 8pm, Thursday 18 September 2008. The draft will likely commence at 9pm, with post-draft analysis concluding at 11pm.

 

Callers can connect with radio host Jason Greenberg via Skype. Just chat to Jason via Skype name hbc-radio. You can get online, send text messages and even be pulled into the live online broadcast via your desktop or laptop computer. (Hook up headphones first and test your microphone so youʼre all ready to go for audio-chat.)

 

Setting up Skype on your computer takes just a few minutes.  Simply go to Skype and follow the instructions to download it and set up your account.

 

Use these media links to connect to the live broadcast:

Windows Media Player

WinAmp

iTunes

Real Player

 

Official Kyle Hunlock Series website

by AspiDimitrov

HUNLOCK SERIES ’08 STARTS SUNDAY 21 SEPTEMBER

The third annual Kyle Hunlock Series will get underway in just ten days.  This special, intra-club event is named for fallen Falcon #36 and is a great opportunity for all HBC members to enjoy some friendly (yet competitive) postseason baseball at Grovehill.


LIVE ONLINE DRAFT
Unlike years' past, the 2008 Hunlock Series will set aside the established regular season rosters.  Instead, three new managers will draft three new teams from all available Herts players.  The Red Roosters, Blue Dogs and Black Widows will be comprised of Raptors, Hawks and Falcons.  During the live online draft next week (Thursday 18 September, 8pm) the managers must make shrewd selections when stacking their bench with pitchers, catchers, position players and sluggers.

A Draft Prospectus with relevant hyperlinks will be posted a few days before the event.  Plan to get online next Thursday around 7.45pm and tune-in to the Herts Baseball Internet Radio station.  You will be able to listen to live commentary from the League Commissioner, hear live interviews with the Team Managers and potential superstars, and follow each draft pick as it happens… including your own!


2008 MANAGERS
Three special members have been selected to manage the 2008 Kyle Hunlock Series.  These individuals have gone that extra mile this year for Herts Baseball, making an extra commitment to helping the Club and its teams to improve (on and off the diamond).

Red Roosters – Hunter Devine
Blue Dogs – Tim Elkins
Black Widows – Marty Cullen


SERIES SCHEDULE
Thu. 18 Sept, 8pm      LIVE ONLINE DRAFT
Sun. 21 Sept, 10am    ROUND 1 GAMES (7-innings)
Sun. 28 Sept, 10am    ROUND 2 GAMES (7-innings)
Thu. 02 Oct, 8pm        LIVE ONLINE RE-DRAFT
Sun. 05 Oct, 10am      HUNLOCK CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (9-innings)

The series format is straightforward.  Three teams will face each other twice, with two finalists advancing to the Championship Game.  The Thursday before the Championship, the third-place team will be re-drafted (or dealt out) by the finalist managers.  Therefore all Club members will have a chance to compete in the Final and the finalist managers have more options in fielding a competitive line-up.


OFFICIAL HUNLOCK SERIES HOMEPAGE
http://www.hertsbaseball.com/hunlock/

In the coming days this site will be updated with draft details, team rosters, game results and Series standings.  You will already find the Series schedule and rules, including game rules and draft/trade regulations.

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS BASEBALL CLUB ANNOUNCES POSTSEASON/FUNDRAISING SCHEDULE

With just a few weeks remaining of the regular season, Herts Baseball Club has announced the 2008 postseason schedule.  It will be packed with events for all branches of the Herts Baseball organisation, from the Little League to the club’s adult teams.  The postseason is also the time to get volunteers, friends and family members involved and playing the game.  Who knows?  The club may discover a new superstar among friends and family members.

 

In September the Herts Little League will be hosting its first tournament inviting all the top British League teams in the Bronco age group (10-13 year olds).  Most of these teams will include players who are members of the GB Juveniles Team so the Herts Little League will be able to check on its progress against top opposition.

 

The postseason period coincides with a critical period for the club’s project to develop Grovehill Ballpark.  The club requires one final fundraising push before commencing the construction work.  If the club reaches its fundraising target, members of the club as well as everyone else in the British baseball community can look forward to 2009 when the revamped Grovehill Ballpark and its second baseball diamond will be unveiled.  Members of the adult and Little League teams will be asked to play a key role in the upcoming fundraising events and absolutely everyone must do their best to take part in these events.

 

This September and October the club remembers fallen Falcon number 36 in the 2008 Kyle Hunlock Series.  Full details of an exciting new format for this event will be released in the next few days.  As part of the event, Herts Baseball Club will be making history with the first ever live radio broadcast online on the Herts Baseball Channel. 

 

Even after the last pitch of the season is thrown, club events keep coming thick and fast as we build up to 2009, so make a note of these dates.

 

 

2008 POSTSEASON AND FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN

SCHEDULE

 

Key:

Little League

Adults

Fundraising

 

Thursday, 21 August 2008

3:30pm-5:30pm

Fundraising Visit to Hemel Industrial Zone

 

Saturday, 23 August 2008

11am-2:30pm

Little League Final Day

 

3pm-5pm

Fundraising at local shopping centres

 

Saturday-Sunday, 6-7 September 2008

Morning-night

AAA Final 4 at Croydon

 

Thursday, 18 September 2008

8pm

LIVE – Kyle Hunlock Series Draft

(making history with first ever LIVE broadcast on the Herts Baseball Channel)

 

Sunday, 21 September 2008

11pm-7pm

Kyle Hunlock Series (DAY1)

 

Saturday, 27 September 2008

TBC

Herts Little League Tournament

 

Sunday, 28 September 2008

11pm-7pm

Kyle Hunlock Series (DAY2)

 

Thursday, 2 October 2008

8pm

LIVE – Kyle Hunlock Series re-Draft

 

Sunday, 5 October 2008

11pm-2pm

Kyle Hunlock Series (FINAL DAY)

 

2pm-3pm

Little League Home Run Derby

 

3pm-4pm

Little League 2008 Awards Ceremony

 

4pm-7pm

Family Softball Game (s)

·         Little League Parents and Adult members family/friends

 

Sunday, 12 October 2008

TBC

2009 Annual General Meeting

 

October-November 2008

TBC

The HBC Tennis League

(unlike baseball, you gotta keep the ball IN the park)

 

Adult Herts Baseball Players (and family members) will be competing head-to-head over several weeks in a league format.

 

Friday, 12 December 2008

TBC

2008 Awards Night (Adult Teams)

 

 

by AspiDimitrov

ASL EAGLES CLINCH THE 2008 HSL1 TITLE IN DRAMATIC LATE INNING RALLY

The ASL Eagles managed to score five runs in the final inning of the deciding game against the Herts Falcons, coming back from a 5-3 deficit to win the 2008 HSL1 title.  The Eagles did it in dramatic fashion in the final inning of the final game. 

 

Before the game the ASL Eagles and the Herts Falcons were tied at the top of the standings both with 100% records, which meant that the winner was going to be the first ever Herts Spring League champion. 

 

The Falcons scored three runs in the first inning but the Eagles kept in touch with two runs of their own.  Both pitchers settled down after that which made for an exciting game for the purists.  Falcons starter, Darrin Ward, who played his first game after being called up from the Herts Hawks pitched 5+ innings showing great control allowing only 1 walk.  Overall the Falcons pitchers, Ward and Kikel, did not have a single earned run in the whole game. 

 

In the middle of the 6th inning the Falcons were holding on to a slender 5-3 lead.  A combination of 3 hits, a walk and critically 3 errors resulted in 5 runs for the Eagles.  This was a dramatic come back which was met with loud cheers from the bleachers which were packed with Eagles fans.

 

The Falcons had three outs left to try and stay in the game, but the Eagles’ starting pitcher and the strong defence stayed focused and won the game in style.

 

This was a win which the Eagles thoroughly deserved, displaying fine pitching, fielding and hitting.  Congratulations to the ASL Eagles players and coaches and a special thanks to every member of their staff for their hospitality and for hosting a fantastic baseball day. 

 

One play deserves a special mention.  On a hard hit fly ball the Eagles centerfielder made an incredible diving catch.  This was applauded by home and visiting players and fans acknowledging the amazing skill and athleticism required to make such a spectacular play.  The loudest applause actually came from Lee Manning, the Falcons batter who in the process was robbed of a fine hit which would have resulted in a triple or even an inside the park home run if the centerfielder did not execute the play.  If this was an MLB game and the play was captured by ESPN it would have been shown again and again as a candidate for play of the year.

HSL1 Final Standings

More HSL Photos

Herts Falcons at ASL
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Herts Falcons 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 5 9 5
ASL 2 0 0 0 1 5 0 8 10 2

 

ASL 8, Herts Falcons 5
ASL Herts Falcons
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Player 1 p 4 2 3 3 Rodney Naghar rf 3 0 0 0
Player 2 c 4 1 0 0 Lee Manning lf 3 1 0 0
Player 3 1b 4 0 1 1 Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 4 2 2 0
Player 4 2b 3 1 3 1 Jason Greenberg c 4 2 2 2
Player 5 3b 2 1 1 0 Peter Kikel 3b-p 4 0 2 1
Player 6 ss 3 0 0 0 Marty Cullen 1b 4 0 1 1
Player 7 lf 3 1 2 1 Nick Goetz ss 3 0 0 0
Player 8 cf 2 1 0 0 Aspi Dimitrov cf 3 0 1 0
Player 9 rf 3 1 0 1 Darrin Ward p-3b 3 0 1 0
TEAM TOTALS 28 8 10 7 TEAM TOTALS 31 5 9 4

 

E: Player 6, Player 9, Nick Goetz(2), Jason Greenberg, Peter Kikel, Rodney Naghar.
LOB: ASL 4, Herts Falcons 6. 2B: Player 1(2), Jason Greenberg, Peter Kikel. SB:
Player 9, Player 4, Player 5, Aspi Dimitrov. SB: Player 8.

 

ASL IP H R ER BB SO
Player 1 W 7.33 9 5 1 2 8
Herts Falcons            
Darrin Ward L 5.67 10 8 0 1 3
Peter Kikel 0.33 0 0 0 0 0

 

PB: Player 2(2). T: 2:00. A: 108.

 

by AspiDimitrov

FALCONS TOO STRONG FOR AN IMPROVED NORTHAMPTON TEAM

 

In the first game of the day the Herts Falcons won 15-2 but the score does not tell the full story.  This was a much improved Northampton team from the side which played in the first HSL Sunday.  Some of their key players were back in the lineup and they put up a good fight against the team from Hertfordshire. 

 

13 of the 15 Falcons runs were scored in two of the innings when the Falcons bats really came alive.  7 of those runs were scored in the third inning and all of them came after Northampton had retired 2 batters with no one on base.  The Falcons followed this with 6 hits including a triple by Andy Cornish and a 2-run inside the park home run by Lee Manning.

 

Herts baseball fans will be relieved to learn that Andy Cornish passed through the game without aggravating the shoulder injury which he sustained in a diving play against the Nottingham Thieves last month.  Another positive for the club was the return of Nic Goetz after a week-long flu which had threatened to keep him out of the final HSL games.  He had a good outing on the mound allowing only 2 runs in 4 innings.

 


Northampton at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Northampton 0 0 2 0 0 2 5 6
Herts Falcons 2 0 7 6 0 15 11 1

Herts Falcons 15, Northampton 2
Herts Falcons Northampton
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Lee Manning ss 4 3 2 3 Player 1 p 0 1 0 0
Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 2 3 1 1 (b4) Sub 1 p 1 0 0 0
Jason Greenberg c 3 1 1 1 Player 2 c 3 0 1 0
Peter Kikel 3b 2 1 0 1 Player 3 1b 3 1 1 1
Marty Cullen 1b 2 1 1 1 Player 4 2b 3 0 0 0
Darrin Ward dh 3 2 2 1 Player 5 3b 2 0 2 1
Greg Bochan lf 3 2 1 2 Player 6 ss 1 0 1 0
Rodney Naghar rf 4 1 2 1 Player 7 lf 2 0 0 0
Andy Cornish cf 1 1 1 1 Player 8 cf 2 0 0 0
Nick Goetz p 0 0 0 0 Player 9 rf 2 0 0 0
Aspi Dimitrov p 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 24 15 11 12 TEAM TOTALS 19 2 5 2
E: Lee Manning, Player 3(2), Player 6(2), Player 4, Player 9. LOB: Northampton 5,
Herts Falcons 7. 2B: Jason Greenberg, Greg Bochan, Player 3, Player 5. 3B: Andy
Cornish. HR: Lee Manning. SB: Lee Manning, Greg Bochan, Darrin Ward, Kimiyoshi
Saionji, Player 1(2), Player 5, Player 6, Player 2. SF: Darrin Ward, Peter Kikel.
Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Nick Goetz W 4.00 5 2 2 3 3
Aspi Dimitrov 1.00 0 0 0 0 2
Northampton            
Player 1 L 3.33 7 12 10 5 0
Sub 1 1.67 4 3 0 2 0
HBP: by Player 1 (Jason Greenberg), by Player 1 (Marty Cullen). , by Player 1 (Andy
Cornish). , by Player 1 (Marty Cullen). . . WP: Player 1. T: 2:00. A: 60.

by AspiDimitrov

SIDEWINDERS BECOME HSL2 CHAMPIONS

The Sidewinders won the title in HSL2 with a 19-5 victory over the Herts Raptors.  They scored 8 runs in the top of the first inning.  The Raptors who are a brand new expansion team for the British Baseball League came back strong with 5 runs of their own after singles from Ilya Dimitrov and Nick Russell and a 2 RBI double from 2005 Hawks Batting Champ, Rob Jones. 

 

Unfortunately for the Raptors, these were their last runs of the day as the Sidewinders switched gears to take control of the game.  There were many positives for the Herts Raptors to take from this game.  Jake Kikel who came in to relieve at the end of the game continues to put up good stats as a pitcher.  Starter Mark Hoffman also produced two scoreless innings to end his day on a high.

 

More HSL Photos

 

Sidewinders at Herts Raptors
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Sidewinders 8 3 0 0 8 0 0 19 19 1
Herts Raptors 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 6

Sidewinders 19, Herts Raptors 5
Sidewinders Herts Raptors
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 p 3 3 3 1 Ilya Dimitrov rf 2 1 1 0
Player 2 c 3 2 1 2 (t4) Robert Crouch rf 1 0 1 0
Player 3 1b 4 2 3 2 Paul Hawes 1b 1 0 0 0
Player 4 2b 5 2 2 4 (b3) Jonathon Lewys 1b 1 0 0 0
Player 5 3b 4 2 3 2 Andy Ringrose c 4 0 1 0
Player 6 ss 4 3 2 0 Mark Hoffman p 2 1 0 0
Player 7 lf 4 0 1 0 (t5) Jake Kikel p 1 0 0 0
Player 8 cf 4 2 3 1 Pete Cox 2b 0 1 0 0
Player 9 rf 2 3 1 0 Nick Russell sf 3 1 2 0
Rob Jones cf 3 1 2 2
Andrew Slater 3b 3 0 1 0
Steve Nippress lf 3 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 33 19 19 12 TEAM TOTALS 24 5 8 2

E: Player 2, Jonathon Lewys(3), Andy Ringrose, Pete Cox, Andrew Slater. LOB:
Sidewinders 6, Herts Raptors 7. 2B: Player 5(2), Player 3, Rob Jones. HR: Player 4.
SB: Player 9(5), Player 1(3), Player 6(2), Player 8(2), Player 2, Player 7, Player 5,
Andrew Slater, Ilya Dimitrov. CS: Steve Nippress.

Sidewinders IP H R ER BB SO
Player 1 W 6.00 8 5 2 4 8
Herts Raptors            
Mark Hoffman L 4.00 16 18 10 5 5
Jake Kikel 2.00 3 1 1 3 0

HBP: by Player 1 (Paul Hawes), by Player 1 (Pete Cox). . . . , by Mark Hoffman
(Player 9). , by Jake Kikel (Player 5). . WP: Player 1, Mark Hoffman(2). PB: Player
2(3), Andy Ringrose(2). T: 2:59. A: 78.