Category: Featured

by Rob Jones

Hot hitting: Big homers lead to big wins

The Herts Falcons claimed a big scalp in the National Baseball League (NBL) with a stunning victory over the powerful London Mets at home at Grovehill (on Sunday 1st July). It was another perfect sunny day for baseball, and the team got into a groove quickly.

Zack Longboy pitched a gem, backed by a home run from GB catcher Conner Brown, to give the home side a narrow 10-9 lead entering the final inning. Far from crumbling under pressure, the Falcons piled on.  Both Phil Clark and Will Zucker — fresh from claiming a national baseball title with his university side — drove in runs.

Falcons’ Cris Hiche at bat (file photo)

The coup de grace was a grand slam homer from manager Cris Hiche. That sealed the deal and ended the game to give Herts a 21-11 win.

 Game 2 of the double header saw London take revenge. Zucker started on the mound, but the Mets scored 11 in the first inning on their way to a 20-1 win. Herts’ only hits both came from NBL rookie Tom Carson.

Over on Grovehill’s other diamond, the Herts Hawks went down 10-2 in the first half of their double-header at home to Sidewinders in the Double-A league. One big inning undid the Hawks, and despite excellent relief pitching from Aaron Witter the bats could not make a dent on the visitors’ lead.

Herts also fell behind early in Game 2. But this time they rallied back dramatically. There were hits from Hunter Devine, and Gilberto Medina.

The Hawks’ manager Michael Cresswell put an exclamation mark on the comeback by hitting his first ever home run in the top of the seventh. It capped an 11-9 win.

A home run trot for the first time for Michael Cresswell

 In the Single-A league, the Herts Raptors stayed close to the pace-setting London Musketeers for 2 innings. Smart pitching from Paul Auchterlounie and a double play turned by second baseman James Emblow helped.

But the visitors’ bats came alive in the third, and tacked on in the fourth. As a hot day at Grovehill drew towards an end, London had the game by the scruff of the neck.

Another strong relief appearance by Giuseppe Basilea slowed the scoring, and Simon Radford – returning from injury — got his debut hit for Herts. But it wasn’t enough to prevent a 24-5 defeat for the Raptors. They travel to Richmond this weekend, looking to get back to winning ways.

Giuseppe Basilea at bat for the Raptors
by Matt Bell

Resilient Falcons Fall Just Short

Without two of their top starting pitchers and three middle of the order hitters, the Falcons knew it would be a battle – tooth and nail – in the two-game set against top-ranked Southampton. Sunday was a day of crafty pitching, solid defense, Griffey-like, back-to-back production from a father-son duo, and above all, resilience from a Falcons side who refused to quit.

Wade Lynch got the start for Herts in game 1, fresh off a busted nose in the Falcons’ winning effort against the Birmingham Bandits last week. The crafty veteran pitched well, allowing only 1 run over the first three frames, and showcasing a varied mix of off-speed pitches.

While Lynch continued to keep the Mustangs hitters off-balance, a series of weak contact hits put runners in scoring position, before the middle of the Southampton order drove them in. In all, the flurry of Mustang bats amounted to 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th (Despite being played at Grovehill, the game was technically a home for Southampton due to scheduling).

ABOVE: Veteran 2B Moises Vasquez watches the opposing pitcher intently. After a pinch-hit single in his only at-bat of Game 1, Vasquez was moved up to the four-hole for Game 2 where he tacked on a long double.  

On the other side of the rubber, Southampton’s Chris Gregory kept the Falcon’s hot bats in check, allowing only 3 runs over 6 innings and striking out 9. After another flurry of hits by the Mustangs in the 6th, led by Giovani Escalona and Ambiorix Hurtado, the score stood at 9-3 Mustangs with 3 innings to play.

The Falcons managed to add two runs in the 7th with back-to-back singles from John and Brian Morgan, a father-son duo making their Griffey-esque, Falcons debut. RF Adrian Achitei also added two hits in the effort. However, with reliever Walter Bates on in relief of Lynch, the Mustangs tacked on 3 more in the bottom of the frame, bringing the score to 12-5 Southampton.

The score would stay this way until the top of 9th, where the Falcons, with only three outs remaining, proved that they wouldn’t go down easy. With production up and down the order, the Falcons batted through the lineup against reliever Callum Vinall, dinging him for six runs. With the chance to tie, the bases were loaded with two outs and the Falcons’ best hitter of the day, Walter Bates (3-6, 2 RBIs) was at the plate. After working the count full, Vinall executed a perfect pitch down in the zone and retired Bates, stemming the bleeding and giving the Mustangs the 12-11 win.

It was a brilliant comeback effort from the resilient Falcons, although the final out was a microcosm of the team’s struggles in Game 1. Three times, the Herts side left the bases loaded with less than two outs, not capitalizing on run-scoring situations. Despite this fact, all 11 players who came to the plate for the Falcon’s in Game 1 had a least one hit. This was one of the many positives that Manager Cris Hiche took from the game. “Game 1 was a difficult game in which we were behind the entire time,”

Hiche said. “I’m gutted we fell short after a 6-run 9th-inning rally, however, I’m very happy how the team never gave up and fought till the very end.”

Game 2, slated as a 7-inning contest, hoped to be more promising for a Falcons side with all the momentum from the recent late-inning comeback.

The Falcons bats added one run in each of the first three innings, however, left men on base each time against the young, inexperienced Mustangs pitcher.

On the other side of the ball, Zack Longboy got the start for the Falcons, blanking Southampton side over the first three innings and striking out 6 over six frames. A hard double by Vinall and a two run-shot by big first-baseman Oswaldo Rodriguez drew the score even at 3-3 after 4 innings.

Despite adding another run in 6th, on C Andy Roberts’ first home-run in a Herts uniform, the Falcons couldn’t muster any more firepower. Gary Davison had come on in relief in the fourth inning, and his mix of breaking balls kept Herts hitters flummoxed over the second half of the contest. Davison ended with 7 K’s. Meanwhile, two misplayed balls, and doubles by Davison and Alberto Rodriguez, gave the Mustangs some insurance. Final score: Southampton 7, Herts 4.

“I’m disappointed we fell short on Game 2 as [Longboy] pitched another brilliant game and kept us always in the game [sic],” Manager Hiche said. “As a team, we are hitting over .300 but somehow we couldn’t score more than 3 runs against a weak pitcher” in the first three innings. We need to do better in those circumstances if we want to win more games.”

WHAT’S NEXT

The homestand continues for the Falcons, doubleheader versus the top tier London Mets up next on Sunday, 1 July.

Game 1: 11:30 a.m.

Game 2: 15:00 p.m.

Location:

Grovehill Ballpark,

Washington Avenue,

Hemel Hempstead,

Hertfordshire, HP2 6NH

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Baseball is coming to North West London ahead of New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox

In a press conference on 8 May 2018 London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, and MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred, announced that one of the most legendary rivalries in sport will come to London on 29 and 30 June next year when the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will play in a two-game regular-season series at the London Stadium, the centrepiece of the 2012 Olympic Games. This announcement has prompted Herts Baseball Club to accelerate the timetable for the creation of a baseball programme and venue in North West London. Over the years the club has had a lot of inquiries from this area from players keen to try the sport, but it’s been hard for them to get to Hertfordshire.

The games in London are part of MLB’s efforts to market Major League Baseball around the globe and to promote the development of baseball as a world and Olympic sport. They will present a unique opportunity to grow the game of baseball and softball in this country and London in particular, and Herts Baseball Club is determined to make the most of this occasion.

The Club has been based at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead since it was founded in 1996. In 2013 the club recognised that in order to accommodate the growing number of new players who want to play baseball, it needed to expand. “Around 30% of our members are based in North West London and our data also showed that we receive many enquiries from potential new members from that part of London, however many of them have not been able to start playing because the public transport connections from North West London to our ballpark in Hemel Hempstead are very poor” said Club President, Aspi Dimitrov. He added that “currently there is no other club located in the North West quadrant of London which offers adult and youth baseball so the natural progression for the club was to expand by establishing a baseball programme in this densely-populated area.”

In view of the impending arrival of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in 2019, the implementation of the project has been speeded up and the club has announced a series of events in North West London which will give the local community the opportunity to come and try baseball. Events have already commenced with open sessions for boys and girls, men and women of all ages at Hampstead Heath Extension. For details of upcoming sessions and how to take part click here. Those who enjoy these sessions and wish to play on a more regular basis will have the opportunity to join the Herts adult and youth teams playing in the various leagues of the British Baseball Federation.

 

Hampstead Heath is the picturesque setting for baseball in NW London this summer.

Baseball has been reinstated as an Olympic sport for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the news of MLB’s arrival in London next year is an opportunity which Herts Baseball Club is relishing.

For more information about the project, the club or playing baseball with Herts contact us.

by Rob Jones

Father-son duets do the double for Herts

At times, it looked as if the Herts Raptors would struggle to get a team together for Sunday’s trip to the Tonbridge Bobcats, as Father’s Day stripped away a few regulars from the line-up.

In the end, the 9 players they got together played one of their best all-around games of the season to secure a win. New father and son recruits were central to it, but more of them later.

We will start at the top of the first, when rookie Harvey Blenkarne led off with a hit to centre field. He advanced around the bases to score, as did manager Matt Jackson.

James Emblow at bat

Raptors loaded the bases, but some miscommunication about an infield fly ended the threat. Tonbridge struck back with two runs of their own, but in the second innings Herts were able to cash in more of their base-runners.

Doubles from Jackson and from Rob Jones helped bring in 5 runs this time, with the Bobcats getting only 1 in reply.

Herts veteran Arnie Longboy was on the mound for this one, and worked steadily in and around the strike zone. Andrew Sharp for Tonbridge picked up more strikeouts, but Longboy and his catcher, Ken Pike, kept the Bobcats swinging, and the defense backed them up.

Edward Liu, switched to first base for this game, was a rock, while Matt Jackson made excellent plays in a rare appearance at third base.

Shortstop Rob Jones – whose career highlight is probably a sliding infield catch at Tonbridge – made a sliding infield catch which was almost a carbon copy. He was able to dash in for a dying quail which had just enough to get past the pitcher, but not enough to reach anyone else.

Raptors led 10-4 after four innings. Solid, but far from decisive in Single-A. Whereas in the past, the team has sometimes lost a bit of focus at times like these, they stepped it up this time.

That father-son duo we mentioned earlier was Brian and Josh Morgan. Brian (senior) slipped smoothly into a job at second base, and got a hit every time he came up.

Josh (the younger) took time to warm up against the pitching. But when Herts needed the production to seal the game he hit a superb double to the outfield. He capped that with a steal of home, a cloud of dust as his exclamation point.

Herts scored 11 in the top of the fifth, with James Emblow contributing a double, a single and a run. It put a mercy rule win within sight. Tonbridge got runners on, and scored 2 as they loaded the bases.

But they ran out of outs. Matt Jackson made the final play from third to cap off a 21-6 victory and move his side to 5-2 on the season.

The Herts Hawks at Grovehill

Back at Grovehill, the Herts Hawks were hosting the Norwich Iceni, last year’s unbeaten champions in Single-A. Norwich had won the first encounter between the teams in Double-A this year, a rain soaked affair which went to extra innings.

The Hawks bats helped them jump out to an early lead, and pitcher Darrin Ward held the visitors to just one hit in the first two innings. Norwich did manage to rally.

But the Hawks showed their power to surge ahead. Ward and Andy Cornish both hit doubles, while there was a triple for Gilberto Medina. 10 runs in the fourth inning put Herts in control, with a 17-4 lead.

Manager Mike Cresswell got on base every time he came up while Drew Mayhew – playing his first Herts game for two and a half years, hit a double.

The Hawks celebrated a 20-5 mercy rule win and they are now 8-2 on the year.

At this game, the father-son combo was Louis Hare, who played a great game as ever, and Geoff, one of the country’s leading umpires. It seems you can play baseball and celebrate Father’s Day at the same time.

 

by Rob Jones

Happy Hawks hang on, Falcons bounce back

The Herts Hawks travelled to the riverside venue of Richmond to take on the London Marauders in the AA-division (don’t ask why). They were looking to build on last week’s wins and cement their position as a force in the AA-division this year. 

Game 1 started out as a pitching duel and it was scoreless through three innings. London took a one-run lead in the fourth, then the Hawks struck back with hits from catcher, Bryn Coughlan, and Darrin Ward to lead 2-1.

 It stayed that way until the final inning, when shortstop Gilberto Medina hit a triple to drive in three runs. Pitcher Leigh Coke held the Marauders to just one in reply to finish off his complete game, and secure a 5-2 win.

 The second game was tight too, but more high-scoring. Ward also pitched a complete game for Herts and they won 14-13, surviving more final inning drama by stranding what would have been the tying run on second base.

Defense was key to their success, with an amazing diving catch in the outfield by Anthony Lavender, and several fine plays at shortstop by Medina.

 In the NBL, the Herts Falcons were in Birmingham to face the newcomers to the league, the Bandits. Their day was dogged by some personnel troubles, but they battled through.

Wade Lynch was hit in the face during batting practice, but had to soldier on and play. (He would later need stitches). Starting pitcher Rob Ackerman did not arrive until near game time so the Falcons started off with reliever Walter Bates on the mound.

The two teams exchanged runs in the early going, with the Bandits 4-3 up after two innings. Ackerman then came in and was able to close down the Birmingham bats.

Rob Ackerman (file photo)

Meanwhile, up and down the lineup, Herts were hitting well and they won comfortably, 18-5. Carlos Casal Jr made his 2018 debut for the team after a transfer was completed during the week. 

The second half of the double-header was a closer affair. The roster went down to 9, meaning Lynch had to stay on and Ackerman tried to squeeze some more innings out of his arm.

Manager Cris Hiche again pitched well as a reliever, and another burst of runs from the Herts bats helped the cause. It was 7-2 after three innings, but the Bandits chipped away, closing the gap to 7-6 before Herts put it to bed with 4 runs in the top of the seventh.

The Falcons secured the victory, 11-7. Alex Deacon got his first NBL hit, and Hiche was proud of how his team had battled throughout a tiring day.

In Single-A, the Herts Raptors got a walkover win against the Old Timers, who couldn’t get enough players to Grovehill for a full team. The two sides still played a game with the people they had got, and won that too — and everyone had a good time in the Hemel Hempstead sunshine!

That meant that Herts won five out of five games, the second time this year the club has secured a full sweep on a Sunday.

 

by Rob Jones

Catching heat: “who’s the sweaty guy in the mask?”

Playing catcher on a hot day is perhaps the greatest weight loss programme yet to be discovered, writes Rob Jones.

Well, it’s yet to be featured by the Sunday supplements as a craze to go alongside eating pureed kale while sniffing bath salts. It’s yet to be promoted as a miracle by the Daily Mail, then debunked a week later.

Rare archive of Rob Jones catching, in 2014

But of course, everyone in the baseball community knows that the hottest place to be when the sun is glaring down is in the mask and armour of the catcher. Perhaps some of my larger-framed colleagues — as catchers are often on the solid side — opted for the position precisely because of its healthy side-effects.

As for me? Since I am made from a handful of sticks tied together, I don’t really get that benefit. But I found my five innings of work at Guildford Millers on Sunday quite hot enough, thanks. My jersey has the tide marks to prove it.

I perversely like the position, even if my 45 year old legs don’t. It keeps you involved on every single pitch of the game. You can’t get much better than that when you show up for one of the handful of baseball games you get to play each summer.

And as a former cricketer and football goalkeeper, I understand both the need for good blocking, and the technique for it.  After seeing one too many volunteers who liked the macho aspects of catching but then hopped up and blocked everything with their shin pads, I started volunteering.

I’d never been an obvious catcher (see previous comparison involving sticks). And I have never had a cannon for an arm. But to be honest, most lower level catchers don’t either. So I figured my good elements outweighed my bad!

If you want to try out as a catcher, Guildford is a good place. Their temporary backstop is pretty close to the plate, and is springy enough that wild pitches and pass balls bounce back to you. That really helps take off the pressure which you get elsewhere – such as Grovehill — where a runner can score from third quite handily on every errant play as the ball goes to the fence.

Naturally, Paul and I were a pretty flawless combination on Sunday, so that issue never came up! (ahem) One runner did have a go at it when a ball in the dirt caromed away, but I had time to fetch it back and tag him out.

Conner Brown of Herts and GB, an actual expert catcher

Catching is one of the jobs on the diamond which is quite different between Single-A and the top levels, whereas many others are actually quite comparable.

The pitcher for example — if he’s sharp, he’s dominant. Same for MLB and A-league. The shortstop. A close play on a grounder is close at both levels, it’s just that everyone at A-league will have moved a bit slower!

Whereas the Single-A catcher, lacking that cannon arm, can do little to control the running game. That’s a vital job for the Major League guys, but down in our basement level everyone knows that the runner is going to steal and you probably can’t stop him.

Similarly, top guys are calling the pitch sequences artfully. Yes, we do that in Single-A, but unless the pitcher has a full repertoire of reliable pitches that’s far less important. You just want it in the strike zone!

Similarly, the level of scouting reports and expertise on each batter is far less. You can spot well enough who are the really big hitters, but any batter can surprise you at this level.

Honestly, I do think we did a decent job as a battery at Guildford. The Raptors pitchers this year and in recent memory are more accurate than we have sometimes had in the past. So we are able to take our thinking to the next level.

Harvey Blenkarne in action

I should of course add that I caught only five innings, with one of our new recruits Harvey taking over for the final three innings. Younger, stronger, better legs!

It was his first appearance as a catcher, though he has clearly been studying. Harvey did a really solid job, including calling pitches, and has good fundamentals to develop his blocking.

He had to learn the hard way on both conceding an interference call, and on giving up a run with an un unnecessary throw when there were runners on first and third. But the hard way is the best way to learn, and when you’re being told a thousand things, those ones will sink in the quickest.

Physically, I feel that I survived this one fairly well. The legs do ache, but not in the way they sometimes have on a Monday when I can barely move.

On Monday, my left thumb felt bruised. On Tuesday, it is tingly and numb. Although I fared much better than usual by borrowing Paul’s broken-in catching mitt, I still banged my thumb three times when taking a pitch.

Actually, the catching fraternity out there might be able to help me with this.

I have a terrible habit of receiving the ball and banging my thumb in a direction it doesn’t want to go. It really bloody hurts, and takes days to clear.

Are there any great tips on how to avoid this? Tricks? Things to “visualise”? If any of you say, “visualise yourself being a less bad catcher”, I might sulk.

I might not. I might be so overwhelmed with relief that we finally got to play baseball after weeks of interruptions, that I won’t care.

It’s been disappointing to have two games forfeited to us, as wins mean little to us if we don’t get the chance to play to earn them! The game at Guildford was the closest of the three we have managed in 2018. Here’s hoping for another close one next time, with us coming out on top. And my thumb feeling much healthier.

by Rob Jones

Falcons fight back, while Hawks lose their way

The Herts Falcons had suffered a frustrating day at home to the London Capitals in their National Baseball League matchup (on Sunday May 13th).

In the first half of the double-header, they fell into an early hole, and couldn’t quite fight their way out.  When they went 8-2 behind in the second game, things looked bad.

Falcons’ John Blose at bat

But they dug deep. As manager Cris Hiche put it, “the bats came alive”. NBL rookie Tom Carson was one of those making his presence felt. He came off the bench to get two hits, including a double.

Tyler Badenhorst had started sharply on the mound, but then struggled with his control and the relief corps stepped up. Aaron Witter and Walter Bates held firm, and Conner Brown contributed three innings of “phenomenal” relief pitching. The Falcons won it 14-8.

The first game had ended 7-4 to London, but that is only part of the story.

London had scored 6 in the first inning – with 2 home runs inching over the short fence in right field.  Rather than turning into a blowout, this one was tight. On the mound, Herts’ Rob Ackerman made adjustments after the early shelling, to pitch a complete game.

A tough-luck loss for Rob Ackerman

Hiche hopes his team can ride the momentum from their comeback and continue improving. They are now at .500 on the season.

Across Grovehill on the other baseball diamond, the Herts Hawks had an unusually error-strewn game against Sidewinders in the AA-league. It was a top of the table clash, and the Herts side will be disappointed with their performance.

The first exchanges were tight. But then they gave up 5 runs in the top of the second, with batters getting to veteran pitcher Darrin Ward and the defense unable to help him out.

Hawks were able to rally back to 11-6, and loaded the bases more than once. They got hits from new boy Leigh Coke and returning hero Kimiyoshi Saionji.

Unmistakeably – and irreplaceably – Kimi

But they could not keep Sidewinders in check. More mistakes allowed more runs, and in the end the visitors took it 19-11.

The Hawks manager Mike Cresswell was clearly frustrated but looked quickly towards rebounding in the coming weeks: “We bring our heads up high, and move on to the next”, he said. “And nobody can be upset when we witnessed the return of Kimi!”

The Herts Raptors had to sit out the week’s action, but still ended up with a victory. The Old Timers were hampered by injury and had to postpone their planned game in Single-A.

They felt unable to turn this week’s fixture into a double-header so the Raptors win by forfeit, and move to 2-1 on the season.

 

It’s official. MLB is coming to London.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

It’s official. MLB is coming to London.

The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will play each other in two Major League Baseball regular season games at the London Stadium in 2019. The matches, which will be held on 29 and 30 June, will be the first MLB games to be staged in Europe.

The long-awaited announcement was made at a press conference earlier today by London Mayor, Sadiq Kahn, and MLB Commissioner, Rob Manfred.  The games themselves will be surrounded by an exciting range of events and activities related to baseball and to the cultures of the rival teams from Boston and New York.

Further details will be released soon on the timing of the games and ticket arrangements, but even with a capacity of 55,000, the London Stadium games are expected to be sell-outs.

 

MLB says it intends to play again in 2020 and establish “a long-term footprint in the city”.

MLB regular season games have already been staged outside the USA in Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico and, most recently, at Australia’s Sydney Cricket Ground in March 2014.

It is now for Herts Baseball Club, and for the sports of baseball and softball in this country as a whole, to take full advantage of this incredible opportunity to grow and develop the game.

Contact our club for more details about tickets for the MLB London Series 2019, how to get involved playing baseball and softball, or to get involved in the game in other capacities such as umpire, scorer, reporter, event staff, front office personnel and many others.

by Rob Jones

Break out the brooms: Herts sweep at home

Five games. Five wins. On a Bank Holiday weekend which saw the best sunshine of the year so far, the sun also shone on the three Herts adult teams.

Moise Vasquez shows the way for the Falcons

The Hawks started bright and early on a packed day at Grovehill, kicking off their double header against the Bracknell Inferno at 10am.

Darrin Ward went the distance on the pitching mound in this one. Backed by the bats of Hunter Devine and Jon Lewys, Herts jumped out to a 3-1 lead.

Anthony Lavender hit a double and hosed a runner from the outfield to help the home side to a 7-3 lead in the middle of the fourth, and Herts ran away with it from there. It ended 14-4, and another win for Ward.

The second game saw the Hawks give debuts to some new recruits. Adam Huxley, Leigh Coke and Bryn Coughlan all contributed to an even more convincing victory, 14-0. Coke pitched a one-hit shutout for the W.

The Hawks now move to 4-1 on the season and can be very happy with how things are shaping up.

Darrin Ward of the Hawks

Over on the other diamond, the Herts Falcons were hosting the new boys in the National Baseball League (NBL), the Birmingham Bandits. This was a fixture rearranged from the Opening weekend washout, and the weather couldn’t have been more different.

In the first half of the double-header, solid hitting helped the home side back up Wade Lynch. He pitched 5 strong innings with 5 strikeouts. Walter Bates went 4-for-4, while a 2-run double from Moise Vasquez was one of the highlights.

The Falcons blew Birmingham away in the bottom of the fifth to secure a mercy rule 17-7 win.

Game 2 was a tighter affair, with Birmingham fighting back after a good start from the Falcons. It was 7-5 to Herts in the middle of the sixth.

But the home side was able to finish it off, Vasquez going 3-for-4 and Dany Bueno contributing 4 RBIs. As the shadows started to lengthen, the Falcons wrapped up a 13-7 win with a catch deep in the left field corner. Aaron Witter, Charlie Mayhew and Phil Clarke combined with the pitching.

Falcons manager Cris Hiche puts some work in

In the Single-A league, the Herts Raptors were hosting the Bracknell Phoenix and going in search of their first win of the season.

A couple of strikeouts by starting pitcher Lee Manning couldn’t stop the lead off batter getting round to score. But he threw a chair to the number 6 hitter and closed the door on any more runs.

Then the Herts bats went to work. Bracknell would probably kick themselves that were unable to make some plays, but the Raptors did what they had to do and put the ball in play to make things happen.

There were hits for Giuseppe Basilea and Paul Barton, while James Emblow hit a fine double. By the time it was over, Herts had scored 12 runs to take a stranglehold on the game.

It did all settle down a bit from there. Phoenix hitters got tougher at the plate and chipped back some runs – 2 in the second, 4 in the fourth to make it 20-7.

But Herts were determined not to take their foot off the gas on this day. Manager Matt Jackson scored a run every time he came up, while the only out which Michael Johnson made was a booming fly ball caught near the fence in centre.

Giuseppe Basilea pitching (file photo)

Defensively, Herts were sound too, turning a double play to help contain Bracknell. Substitute second-baseman Arnie Longboy took a ground ball up the middle, stepped on the bag and threw on to rookie Tim Bohknecht at first base.

Giuseppe Basilea came on to pitch two excellent innings of relief. And then in the bottom of the fifth Herts needed two for a mercy rule win.

Barton scored the first of them on a groundout, leaving the bases empty. Then Longboy manufactured the winner all by himself with a walk, a steal, a steal and an overthrow.

Raptors celebrated a 24-9 win to go 1-1 on their young season and secure Matt Jackson’s first league victory as manager. Manning got the W as pitcher.