Category: Featured

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Raptors playoff opponent switched after BBF decision

The British Baseball Federation announced the Playoff lineup at the start of the week giving the Herts Raptors a tough away tie against the Guildford Millers.  Yesterday the lineup was revised and the Raptors now have to face the reigning Single-A national champions, the Tonbridge Bobcats, again away from home.

We understand that the decision was made after a technical infringement of the player transfer deadline regulations by the Bobcats. We do not know the full details of the infringement, but it seems highly unusual given the fact that club delegates voted to remove the transfer deadline for the Single-A League at last November’s BBF Annual General Meeting.

As a result the Raptors now face a much more difficult task on Sunday. Their preparations have been hampered further by the fact that they will be travelling to Tonbridge with a much depleted squad.

Herts fans who cannot make the trip, can follow Herts Raptors on twitter for updates on Sunday.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Gary Lineker-like gamble backfires on Herts U17 baseball manager


Football and non-football fans will be glued to their TV screens this Saturday evening as Match of the Day returns for the start of the new Premier League season. The reason is something which happened in the first few weeks of last season when 5000-to-1 outsiders, Leicester City, found themselves top of the table. At the time this was seen as something which can happen in the early weeks of the season and everyone assumed that order will quickly be restored by the big spenders taking their places at the top. When Leicester-fan Gary Lineker said at the time that he would present the first Match of the Day show of the new season in his underpants if Leicester become Premier League Champions, everyone accepted it as one of those throw-away remarks that people say sometimes to illustrate just how improbable a scenario is. 10 months later and the nation is waiting to see if Gary Lineker will deliver on his promise.

At the weekend the manager of the Herts Under-17 baseball team, Andrew Fulford, found himself in a similar predicament. A few weeks ago, in an effort to give his players an incentive, he promised to shave his beard if they manage to throw two balls into a bucket all the way from centerfield. A bookmaker would probably give such an outcome odds of around 5000-to-1, so, like Gary Lineker, Fulford must have felt that the odds are on his side. The improbable happened and on Saturday his players were looking forward to shaving his beard as the main event of a barbeque party at Grovehill Ballpark.

Coach Fulford had written off his beard but in an effort to salvage at least his sideburns, he included a gentle warning for his players in one of his weekly emails. The message read: ”I wasn’t sure if we won the Little League World Series or if Babe Ruth got resurrected, but being able to shave my beard got you guys a little excited. As agreed, you guys threw 2 balls into the bucket from centerfield, and now my beard is in your fragile little hands. If you guys even get close to my sideburns, you’ll be doing 100 push-ups while you eat your hot dogs.”

We understand that, while the sideburns are still intact, the beard is gone. Gary Lineker, over to you.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Louis Hare puts on a show with 3 home runs. Hawks still unbeaten.

The Herts Hawks maintained their 100% league record with two more wins on Sunday. The score lines may not tell the whole story as both of their opponents made them work hard for it.

NORTHANS CENTURIONS 15 HERTS HAWKS 29

First up were the Northants Centurions who shocked Herts scoring 12 runs in the first two innings and taking a 2-run lead. That was the wake-up call that the Hawks needed as they went on to win 29-15 allowing only 3 more runs for the remainder of the game. Starting pitcher Andrew Slater picked up the win, his third of the season. The team accumulated 20 hits in the game, two of which were home runs by Louis Hare.

MK COYOTES 4 HERTS HAWKS 17

The second game was against the Milton Keynes Coyotes who had former Herts player, Nick Russell, starting on the mound. His Hawks counterpart was Greg Bochan who had another impressive performance pitching a complete game and allowing only 4 runs. Despite a determined effort by the Coyotes, the Herts offense was working well driving in 17 runs. Louis Hare was at it again as he hit his third home run of the day. The last time a Herts player had a 3-home-run-day was in 2005 when Jim Denison hit back-to-back-to-back home runs away at the almighty Cambridge Monarchs who in those years were a formidable US Air Force team based at RAF Feltwell.

Gilberto Medina (pictured above) also hit a home run, his second in the last three games, to boost his slugging percentage to 1.212 for the season, just ahead of Louis Hare’s 1.097.

The Hawks have their last two regular season games this coming Sunday at home against the Birmingham Outlaws. If they maintain their 100% record they would be seeded either first or second in the playoffs which would give them home field advantage. The only other team which remains unbeaten this season is Tonbridge Wildcats. If both teams end the regular season unbeaten and if they were to meet in the postseason playoffs home field advantage is likely to be determined on which team has conceded the fewest number of runs per game. After the weekend’s games Herts Hawks have conceded an average of 7.31 runs per game while Tonbridge Wildcats have conceded 7.64. Tonbridge also play their final regular season game this Sunday.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

European Champions – Straight Outta Herts

Marianna Casal and Theo Longboy became Under-19 European Softball Champions at the weekend.

Herts fans will recognise their names as both came through the Herts youth baseball programme. 2008 saw the inaugural season of the Herts Little League and at the time it is unlikely that Marianna and Theo would have expected to find themselves wearing the GB Team jersey playing in, and winning, the European Championships eight years later. Coaches Lee Manning and Marty Cullen who founded the club’s youth baseball programme had set very ambitious targets for the project but seeing two members of the league reach such heights is unlikely to have been one of those targets.

Both girls were seven years old when they joined Herts but they didn’t seem to mind competing against older players, most of whom were boys. This, along with the fact that they came from families which spent most of their time at the ballpark, may have helped them along the way.

Even when they weren’t playing they would be at the field in various capacities from cheering on their older brothers Carlos Casal and Zack Longboy or their dads who play for the Herts adult league teams to singing the national anthem in front of a large audience at the National Baseball Championships.

This is the first time that a Great Britain Fastpitch Softball Team has ever won a European Championship at any age level. Coincidentally, while the GB U19 National Team was battling it out in Spain last week, the International Olympic Committee announced that baseball and softball have been added back to the list of sports to be played at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Following the excellent play by the GB Women’s Team at the World Championship in Canada last month, it means that GB Softball is on the rise at exactly the right time, with the sport back in the Olympics for 2020 and a Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier likely to happen in three years’ time.

 

GB Team photos courtesy of Amanda Murphy

A good number of the players who went undefeated in this year’s U19 European Championships, with a record of 10-0 and two wins over both Italy and the Czech Republic, are bound to be involved when that Olympic Qualifier comes around. We have no idea if Marianna and Theo will get the call up, but it will be exciting for us Herts baseball fans to follow their progress in the coming years.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2016 Herts Futures Tournament details announced

Herts Baseball Club has announced that the 2016 Herts Futures Tournament will take place on Saturday, 17 September 2016.

The Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. Last year was a record year for the HFT with 20 teams entering the competition, which makes it the largest youth baseball event in the United Kingdom. It will be interesting to see how many teams will enter this year. If the number continues to increase the club will have to consider ways of expanding the venue further.

The event brings together youth teams of all age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the best baseball venues in the UK. Grovehill Ballpark is the home of Herts Baseball Club. Over the years the venue has been selected to host some of the biggest events in the British baseball calendar including the National Baseball Championships. During the Herts Futures Tournament additional diamonds are added to cater for all the age groups.

This year’s edition is expected to cover the Under-17, Under-13, Under-11 and Under-8 age groups.

For more information about the event or if you require details about how teams can enter the Tournament or how players can join the Herts teams in time for the HFT, visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage or contact Herts Baseball Club.

by Matt Bell

Depleted Falcons regress from run of good form

On a day where the Falcons could barely cobble together a 9-man side, Herts limped to a 10-4 loss against the first place London Mets.

Injuries to Conner Brown (tricep), Darren Meintjes (finger) and the absences of shortstop Louis Hare, second basemen Ian McCann and Moises Vasquez, and catcher Phil Clark meant that the Falcons were far from full strength.

Above: With regular catchers Conner Brown and Phil Clark sidelined due to injury and family commitments, Manager Lee Manning was forced to don the ‘tools of ignorance’ for Sunday’s game against the Mets.

So there the Falcons found themselves, down 5 starters, facing the NBL’s premier team.  The only potential saving grace? The schedule. Sunday would be a single 7-inning game matchup, and in baseball, especially 7-inning baseball, anything can happen.

The game started very promising with Mets starter Maxwell Tyler issuing leadoff walks to both Brown (playing as the designated hitter) and John Blose, before a 2-RBI single from Tyler Badenhorst broke open the scoring.

The lead however didn’t last long. In the bottom of 1st the Mets’ bats rallied for a barrage of 4 runs against the Falcons’ starter Zack Longboy. Throughout the game Longboy, who has pitched well in recent weeks, struggled to find his normal command on his fastball, forcing him to rely almost exclusively on his knuckleball. Although this kept hitters off balance from the 2nd-5th innings (1 earned run), it did lead to costly walks for Longboy.

After the 1st, Tyler settled down and carved up the Falcons lineup, going the next four innings without a run crossing the plate. After a smattering of runs (earned and unearned) across the middle innings, Tyler exited the game in the 5th with his team up 9-2.

Replacing him was Mets reliever Elijah Hackney-Rose, a familiar face for some Herts players who had played with him for Great Britain youth teams. And maybe this familiarity helped the Falcons as Brown (a catcher for Hackney-Rose on the GB side) opened with a hard hit single and the frame ended with 2 more Herts runs having crossed the plate.

However, the score wouldn’t get much closer than 9-4 as London rallied to score another run off of Longboy in the 6th drawing the game to its final score of 10-4. The result ends what has been a run of good form that the Falcons have put up against their recent opponents (splitting the last two doubleheaders), however Manning is confident that, with a full squad, the Falcons can stay competitive even against top teams like London.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Filling in With the rash of injuries and absences plaguing the Falcons, two players rostered in lower levels of the organization were called on to perform on Sunday. Aspi Dimitrov (who had been on brief hiatus) returned with consistent play in centerfield and even picked up a single in his last at-bat. Single A player Rodney Naghar also made an impact, showing good glove work at first base and hitting a double to left field.

Tak-ing off  The Falcons bid farewell to one of their more consistent performers on Sunday as the beloved Takaya Miki played in his final NBL game before leaving for a university placement in Japan. Miki has been a defensive stopper for Herts this year, consistently filling a corner outfield spot, and his bat had heated up in recent weeks. He will be greatly missed by his teammates and Manager who wish only the best for him and his future.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Falcons have a two-game home stand on July 31st against the 2nd place Southampton Mustangs (21-3). First pitch for Game 1 is at 12 PM and Game 2 is scheduled to begin at 3 PM

 

 

by Matt Bell

Falcons pick up another win

Facing the 4th place Essex Arrows, the Herts Falcons split the double header, picking up another win against a playoff caliber team.

Game 1 featured the Arrows’ hard throwing righty who – excluding a walk to leadoff man John Blose who later scored – was pretty much untouchable. Racking up a high strike out total, the righty no-hit the Falcons through 4 innings before being relieved. For the Falcons, Zack Longboy took the mound, going the distance and holding the Arrows to a total of two hits.

The two hits however came at costly times for Herts as the Arrows’ hot hitting lefty Dustin Rowland doubled home two runs in the bottom of the 5th with one of the few hard hit balls by either team all game. The two runs erased a one run Falcons lead, drawing the scoreline to 4-3 Arrows.

Over the next two frames, the Herts bats stayed quiet while the Arrows tacked on another run to win the pitchers duel by a final score of 5-3.

Above: John Blose (#91) racked up gaudy walk totals with exceptional plate discipline and ignited the Falcons’ offense.

As the temperature reached a steamy high of 29 degrees, the bats on both teams also heated up, the scoring opening up in Game 2.

Tyler Badenhorst got the call for Herts, while the Arrows started righty Jamie Gregory who has struggled on the mound this season.

The scoring was early and often as the Arrows picked up three runs in the 1st before Herts came back with five in the 2nd. After 4 innings of work however, Badenhorst who had competed hard on the mound all day, went down with a right elbow injury (status yet to be confirmed). Matt Gilbert took over on the mound working out of a jam and preserving a two run lead for Herts.

In the Herts’ half of the 6th, Gilbert doubled with the bases loaded bringing home three runs and stretching the lead to 10-4. Gilbert’s three RBI knock would come to loom large as the game wore on.

In the bottom of the 6th, the Arrows rallied for 6 runs off of Gilbert, tying the game. The majority of these runs came with two outs as the Herts fielders struggled to put away the final out of the inning.

Despite the Arrow’s momentum, the Falcon’s rallied in the 7th picking up two runs on a line drive single to left by Blose after a beautifully executed sac bunt by Takaya Miki to move the runners into scoring position. The clutch hit stretched the Herts’ lead to 12-10 with three outs to go.

Longboy came on to close out the game and, after a lead off walk, retired 3 batters in a row to earn the save and secure a 12-10 Falcons win (their fourth of the season).

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED:

Fill in skipper Matt Gilbert took over the player-manager duties on Sunday with Manager Lee Manning out of the country on holiday. However, despite the extra responsibilities of Manager, Gilbert still came up big for the Falcons at the plate, his three run double arguably the most important hit of the entire double header.

Blose’s patience John Blose displayed impressive plate discipline throughout the day, drawing three walks, and continuously going deep into the count. His approach also manifested itself in hard contact throughout the day (whenever he wasn’t taking a base on balls). Blose also made a fantastic play on defense to end Game 2 – ranging to his right to catch a soft liner before pivoting and making an off balance perfect-strike throw to first base to pick up the double play.

Injury bug strikes The Falcons were forced to use every player they had as Ian McCann exited the game with a leg injury in the 4th, Badenhorst went down with elbow trouble and also exited in the 4th, and Louis Hare came up limp with a groin strain in the 5th. Unfortunately Hare had to stay in the Game as Herts had no further substitutes available, hobbling his way on one leg to a few more plays a first base and even scoring a run.

WHAT’S NEXT

On Sunday July 24th, the Falcons will take on the 1st place London Mets (20-2) at Finsbury Park. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 PM.

by Matt Bell

Herts Single A teams both gunning for Farnham

Herts’ two single-A teams look set for the playoffs after a huge 26-11 5th inning mercy rule win by the Raptors over pool-rivals Essex cemented a place in the playoffs for them as a Wildcard, with the Hawks likely to top their group or at worst finish as top wildcard thanks to their unbeaten season so far.

The Raptors v Essex game started as a close run affair over the first couple of innings, with both teams trading blows and errors were a plenty on both sides thanks in part to the harsh sun playing havoc with concentration. A huge swarm of bees even made an appearance briefly halting play at one stage, but by the third inning a gap started to open up that just kept expanding leaving Herts in the driving seat. When relief pitcher Simon Langton came up and closed down the Essex side, Herts were left with the task of getting 6 runs to force a Mercy rule. A couple runs plated in the normal fashion before the bases were loaded. Up stepped the mighty…home run machine…no wait…it was Mike. Mike Cresswell. Pitcher. Fast runner. Manager. Good Bloke. Many things, all positive, but not a home run hitter. Surely no walk off grand slam this time round.

The last time the Herts Raptors qualified for the postseason playoffs was in 2013 and they certainly enjoyed clinching it with a bottle of champagne.

Well, not in the traditional sense, but a might good whallop of the ball sent it clean over the infield and through the gap in the outfield (helped by the fact that their outfield was down to two people due to injuries….previously caused by Mike throwing a ball at a girl…twice.) The runners on second and third scored easily. The runner on first had a good jump….and a mis-throw from outfield meant that the ever speedy Mike Cresswell rounded third and landed home for the kind of finish that bookies would happily give you 5000-1 odds on…but as Leicester football club showed us earlier this year, the unlikeliest scenarios can come true. Mike duly walked off as winning pitcher, winning HR hitter, and man of match. And got drenched in icy water by his team mates for the effort.

For the Hawks the picture is a bit clearer. They are currently showing as a half game back in their group on wins alone, but they are unbeaten and have taken three games off their nearest rivals, the Monarchs. Monarchs have three games left to play but the Hawks have six due to a number of teams having been unable to muster a side during the season. So when the final games are played, and dependant on whether the several games that have been no-shows from the opposition are added to the tally (unless they are able to be rescheduled) then the Hawks will be hoping to comfortably top their group. Either way they are certain to at least be wildcards, so would at worst face an extra playoff game. The main question is likely to be whether the Hawks or the similarly unbeaten Tonbridge Wildcats slip up at any point which would determine top seed. If both sides finish unbeaten, then Tonbridge is currently in pole position to take the top spot having played one game less but scored 3 more runs over the course of the season.

The hope for the club will now be hoping for a good wildcard round and ties working out to that the two sides avoid each other in the semi-finals with a potentially juicy tie on Farnham Park’s main diamond on Sunday 4th September. Whatever happens now, Herts as a club can be proud of the achievements of their two single-A teams, but both the Raptors and the Hawks will surely have the ultimate prize in their sights, and who knows…perhaps they will meet at the grandest of stages in British Baseball.

by Rob Jones

Raptors routed in the rain

This was another tight and evenly-balanced contest between the Herts Raptors and one of the leading Single-A teams, the London Musketeers. The problem was, that it was only tight for an inning and two thirds.

Then, on a damp and gloomy day at Grovehill, the visitors powered into a lead which they would not surrender. By the end, the sun had come out. But it wasn’t much relief for Herts.

Co-manager Michael Cresswell started on the mound and began with a scoreless inning. The first batter forced a tremendous play from young shortstop Aaron Witter, who made a backhand stop deep in the hole and then made a strong throw to first. The next Musketeer popped up to third base, and then a lineout ended the threat.

Musketeers pitcher, Billy Atkinson-Warne

But it was London’s pitcher, Billy Atkinson-Warne, who was the dominant force. His first inning was marred only by a walk to left fielder Adam White. Of the first seven batters he faced, Atkinson-Warne struck out six.

Hitting in the nine hole, Rob Jones was the first Raptor to put a ball in play. Even then, the ground ball forced out Michelle Johnson, who had worked a walk, at second base. But a steal and a pass ball meant that Mike Cresswell could then drive in the run and put Herts on the board.

But here’s the rub. By that point the Raptors were already 18 runs behind.

With two out in the top of the second, the Musketeers had scored five. After quick outs in the third, they then piled on for 13 more. They hit confidently and hit it hard. But it was a day when a series of Herts infielders were unable to apply the necessary finishing touch and secure the out that was needed.

The rain which had dampened the start of the game became more heavy and forced a long suspension, which did little to revive the Raptors. Cresswell handed over pitching duties to Paul Barton, who later gave the ball to Witter.

Between them, they limited the damage. London scored only three runs in each of the next innings. That left Herts needing an astonishing rally to prevent a slaughter rule defeat in five innings.

Barton got the first hit of the game to lead off the fifth and came round to score. Boruch Boudilovsky turned his walk into a run. But as Herts appeared to be enjoying their success against the relief pitcher Lloyd Winters, a base-running mix up led to a double play at second and it was, in effect, all over.

Aaron Witter made an impact at shortstop

Musketeers ran out 24-4 winners in the end, and extended their lead at the top of Pool B in Single-A. They won their season series over Herts 2-1.

The Raptors will sweep Haverhill, but the other two series against Essex Archers and Old Timers could be decisive for any prospect of playoff baseball. Essex are first up, visiting Grovehill on Sunday 17th July.

 

by Matt Bell

Falcons playing spoiler, pick up win

On Sunday’s triple-header affair at Grovehill Ballpark, it was almost as if the weather was tied to the Falcons emotions.

The day started (early) with intermittent rain in the morning as the Falcons took on the 5th place Brighton Jets. Tyler Badenhorst was on the mound for the for the Falcons, facing Jamie Ratcliff of the Jets. After two rain delays, a particularly strong bout of rain forced the umpires to call the game with Jets in the lead. The minimum number of innings (4) had been played however, and the Jets walked away with a 5-1 victory.

After a long break, which saw the London Capitals defeat the Jets, the sun returned just in time for the Falcons second game of the day. With the sun there also came a boost in morale: just one week previous, the Falcons had played two tough games against the Capitals and only narrowly lost them both. 

Above: As the weather improved, so too did the Falcon’s performance.

Zack Longboy started on the mound for the Falcons, throwing a complete game and picking up the 10-8 win. The Herts bats looked alive as the team peppered hits off of London’s starter Maxime Flayol and relief pitcher Yusuke Ueno.

Herts led, albeit by a tight margin, for most of the game even stretching the lead to 3 runs in the 5th inning. A late home run gave the struggling Capitals a glimmer of hope, but leading 10-8, Herts Manager Lee Manning left Longboy out to finish the game and the Falcons shut the door.

The 10-8 victory over the 3rd place London Capitals marks the Falcons’ third win of the year, moving them into 6th place and ahead of the South London Pirates. While it is mathematically improbable that the Falcons could sneak into the playoffs, over the next six weeks they will be playing the role of spoiler as they match up against the NBL’s top dogs.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Zack Longboy’s dual threat performance When asked for his player of the game, Manager Manning lauded Zack Longboy’s performance both on the mound and at the plate. He went “5 for 6 [at the plate] and pitched beautifully, working his way out of jams like a seasoned pro,” Manning said. “He gets better every time [and] I have the joy of watching him play.” His performance against the Capitals was Longboy’s first career complete game in the NBL and second career win. And, of his five hits, two came with the bases loaded. 

More debuts Two more players made their Falcons debut on Sunday. Ian McCann played second base and came on in relief of Badenhorst in Game 1. In Game 2, Aaron Witter, a 14-year-old regular for the Herts Raptors, also got a cup of coffee with the NBL squad as he came off the bench to play right field. Witter’s experience is indicative of the fact that “Herts project youth is starting to pay off,” as Manning said, after the game. “The Capitals are a great team and our youngest player (14-year-old Aaron Witter) got the final out.” (Witter secured a fly ball to end the game.)

Execution, execution, execution Three critical runs of the 10 that the Falcon’s scored came via the suicide squeeze – Manning deploying an aggressive style with runners on third base. Although prior to Sunday, Louis Hare had never laid down a bunt in game, two of these squeezes involved him on the bunting end. A fourth squeeze was also put into motion, although a pick play to third by the Capitals pitcher left Matt Gilbert to improvise. When the dust cleared Gilbert had scored, leaving many rushing to check the record books on the oldest player to ever steal home.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Interference? Late in Game 2, a Capital’s runner scrambled from second to third, dislodging the Falcon’s shortstop in the process. As Louis Hare was in the process of fielding a ground ball, the runner was called out for interference, ending the inning. The Capital’s first base coach reacted strongly to the call, getting in the umpires face and causing a loud confrontation. Subsequently, the player was ejected and play continued without further interruption.

WHAT’S NEXT

On Sunday July 17th, the Falcons will take on the 4th place Essex Arrows (12-12) at Town Mead Ballpark. First pitch for Game 1 is 12:00 PM and Game 2 is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM.