Category: Featured

26 September 201326 September 2013 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hunlock Series team managers announced

We understand Blue Dogs co-manager, Andrew Slater, along with his partner, Nick Russell have been spending sleepless nights formulating their Hunlock Series Draft strategy. Will it pay off this evening at 8:30pm?

We are counting down to the 2013 Hunlock Series Draft which will take place this Thursday, 26 September at 8:30pm.

Following the news that the Series has been expanded into 5 teams, the managers of the teams have also been announced.

The Red Roosters won it 12 months ago. They will look to defend their Hunlock Series with co-managers, Adrian Smithers and Ken Pike. The Blue Dogs and Black Widows finished tied in second place in 2012. They will be managed by managerial duos of Ben Marques and Joseph Osborne-Brade for the Blue Dogs, while the Black Widows will be led by Andrew Slater and Nick Russell.

White Lightning had a South African influence throughout in last year’s contest. Will that group of players be reunited under the management of Carlos Casal Jr? The expansion team, Green Eggs and Ham, will be managed by Duncan Hoyle and Cris Hiche, fresh from his exploits in the South American Championships with Chile.

The Hunlock Series Draft is scheduled for 8:30pm this Thursday, 26 September. You can follow it live on Herts TV. In previous years the Draft was presented as a show with player and manager interviews. This year the show will have a different format. Viewers will be able to listen to live audio from the Hunlock Series Draft Centre as the team managers make their picks and try to outsmart each other before the first pitch has even been thrown. Viewers will also be able to follow the picks on the Hunlock Series Draft control panel.

26 September 2013 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Green team joins Hunlock Series. Big names added to lineup.

The Hunlock Series has grown over the years and earlier today it was confirmed that green has been added to the rainbow of Hunlock Series team colours.

Black Widows, Blue Dogs, Red Roosters and White Lightning are the four teams which have locked horns over the last two editions of the Series. The name of the green team has been announced and it is Green Eggs and Ham.

Earlier today it was also revealed that Herts favourites, Kimiyoshi Saionji and Andrew Fulford will be back at Grovehill Ballpark for these games.

Kimi spent 8 years playing for the Herts Falcons as the team climbed up from the Double-A League to the NBL. At the start of the year he made a surprise move to rivals Southampton Mustangs, but Herts fans will be pleased to know that Kimi will be back in a Herts jersey this October.

Andrew Fulford was the hero for the Herts Hawks in 2012 helping the team reach the playoffs and go through to the national semi-finals. His grandslam home run against the Guildford Mavericks in the quarter-final was crucial.

Also added to the Series are father and son, Cesar and Sebastian Molina. Sebastian has been playing for the Horsham Hornets in the U17 League over the last two seasons so Herts fans know him well. Despite turning 14 just a few days ago he launched that big home run over the left-centerfield wall of the new diamond at Grovehill Ballpark in the U17 Playoff quarter-final against the Cobham Cougars three weeks ago. We understand that Sebastian plans to wear the Herts uniform in 2014 joining the large number of Herts players with Venezuelan origin. If so, this will be a massive boost for the club.

21 September 201323 September 2013 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Horsham, LYBL and Richmond are the big HFT winners

15 teams from around the country came down to Grovehill Ballpark in Hertfordshire for the sixth annual Herts Futures Tournament.

Horsham started the day with wins against the London Mets, Bracknell Blazers, Northstar Polecats and then ended in a tie against national runners-up, Herts Harriers. That put them into pole position going into the final game of the day between Herts and London. Herts needed to win to have the same win-loss record as Horsham, but had to do so without conceding any runs because on the tournament’s tie-break rule the tied team with the fewest runs allowed would be the winner. If Herts managed to do this they would still end up tied with Horsham with both teams having conceded 6 runs each, therefore the winner would have to be decided by a toss of a coin in front of a record crowd.

Knowing this, Herts took an early 4-0 lead in the first inning, but it was all about whether their defence could shut down the Mets. The team from London needed a win to leapfrog Herts into second place so there was a lot on the line for them too. A lead-off hit into right field put a runner on third base at which point the public announcer confirmed that this runner represents the winning run for Horsham, who were not involved in this game but their players, coaches and fans had gathered on the hill on the third-base side of the diamond cheering on that Mets runner.

To the delight of the Horsham Hornets, the London Mets runner came in to score giving them the HFT U17 title. The Mets went on to score 4 more runs to win the game 5-4 and clinch the runner-up spot pushing Herts into third.

In the Under-14 contest the LYBL Bulldogs were still feeling the pain of losing to the Mets in that dramatic National Championship semi-final 7 days ago which the Mets won after extra innings. The Bulldogs had their revenge in the direct clash with the Mets winning 3-2. They went on to win their two other games of the day to finish the day unbeaten and win the Under-14 HFT title. London Mets finished second, London Sports third. The Herts Cardinals were fourth, but despite this they took a lot of positives out of the day including a 2-run home run by Ben Jones, the first in his career, as well as debuts for 5 new players who enjoyed their first baseball experience and are already looking forward to the 2014 season.

Despite no BBF national Under-11 competition, there were a record number of Under-11 teams entering the HFT, which is a good sign for the future of British baseball. Perhaps this is the right time for the BBF to consider adding the Under-11s to the 2014 national championships next September.

With two wins out of two games in the group-stages, Richmond and Herts won their respective pools and clashed in the Final. Richmond came out on top winning 5-0. All 5 of their runs came tanks to home runs – a 4-run home run followed by a solo inside-the-park homerun later in the game.

Click to view scoreboard and final standings.

After the event, Herts Futures Tournament Director, Aspi Dimitrov, commented that “the club has had fantastic feedback from so many people involved in the event and we hope that it will give a boost to all youth programmes and they can use this momentum as they prepare for next season.” He added that “we must thank all the teams, players, coaches, umpires, scorers, parents, fans, the amazing retail team, event staff and everyone else involved. Without them this event would not be possible.”

20 September 201320 September 2013 by Herts Baseball News Editor

15 teams heading to Herts this Saturday

15 teams will be in action at the 2013 Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) which will take place this Saturday, 21 September 2013.

U17 DIVISION	U14 DIVISION	U11 DIVISION
Bracknell Tornadoes (U17)	Herts Cardinals (U14)	Essex Atoms (U11)
Herts Harriers (U17)	London Mets (U14)	Forest Glade RedBacks (U11)
Horsham Hornets (U17)	London Sports (U14)	Herts All Stars (U11)
London Mets (U17)	LYBL Bulldogs (U14)	Horsham Mets (U11)
Northstar Polecats (U17)		Horsham Red Sox (U11)
		Richmond (U11)

The opening ceremony will take place at 10:45am and the the action begins at 11am and continues into the evening. To view the games schedule click here.

Traditional Baseball snacks will be on offer including hot dogs, big league chew, home made cookies, Krispy Kreme Donuts and much more.

Host Herts Baseball Club welcome new players at any time of the year. Aspi Dimitrov, said: “Any children aged between 6 and 16 who are interested to give baseball a try should contact the club. It is not too late to take part in this event.”

The HFT has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. It 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 United Kingdom. Grovehill Ballpark is the home of Herts Baseball Club. It is the only baseball facility in the country which features two purpose-built full-size baseball diamonds, both with permanent outfield walls. During the Herts Futures Tournament additional diamonds are added for the Under-14 and Under-11 age groups.

For more information about the event visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

20 September 201320 September 2013 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players have started to register for 2013 Hunlock Series

The 2013 British baseball league champions have been determined, but the best part of the season for everyone connected with Herts Baseball Club is yet to come.

Every year, just when the MLB season enters its most exciting stage, players come to Grovehill Ballpark for a competition in memory of Herts Baseball Club’s number 36, the late Kyle Hunlock.

EXPANSION

This is the eight year of the Hunlock Series. In its inaugural year in 2006 only two teams were involved, the Falcons and the Hawks. Herts Baseball Club has been growing rapidly since then and the number of teams in the Series increased to 3 in 2008, and 4 in 2011. As players sign up over the next few days we will know how many teams will enter the Series this year.

NEW FORMAT

This year’s competition will be played over 3 weeks starting with Opening Weekend, 28-29 September. After its successful introduction last year the Series will also feature “The 9th Inning Weekend” where games will be decided over one inning only. This format recreates the tension and drama of the ninth inning. Can the teams manufacture the all important go-ahead run? Can they deliver the walk-off hits? Can the pitchers and defence execute with the game on the line?

Aspi Dimitrov, Hunlock Series Commissioner, said: “The 9th Inning Weekend” was very exciting last year. The pressure of the ninth inning comes once a day for MLB managers. Let’s see how the team managers and players will handle several ninth innings in one day.”

THE DRAFT

Like every year, the 2013 Hunlock Series managers will draft the teams from all available current and former Herts players as well as free agents from around the UK and other parts of the world. Who will be the first round picks? How will minor league players perform alongside NBL players?

Over the years we have seen how decisions made during the draft can shape the outcome of the Series before a pitch has been thrown. The managers will have to make carefully calculated decisions if they are to put together a team which can compete for the Hunlock Series title, otherwise they face miserable few weeks.

With all of the club’s managers and coaching staff monitoring these games, players who have been pushing for promotion to a higher league team will have the perfect opportunity to make a claim on the big stage in the coming weeks of the Hunlock Series.

PLAYERS LOOKING TO REGISTER AHEAD OF THE DRAFT

Players are currently signing up ahead of the draft. The Series is open to everyone, not just to current or former members of Herts Baseball Club. Players from other clubs can also take part. Players can register free. There are no registration fees.

There has already been interest from non-Herts players located in other regions of the United Kingdom and overseas. Just like last year, the Hunlock Series could provide a glimpse at players who could be wearing the Herts jersey in 2014.

To be eligible for selection during the live draft players must register and enter their availability details online before 7pm on Monday, 23 September. After that deadline and throughout the duration of the Series newly registered players would still be eligible to take part but would be added to teams as free agents. Players who wish to register for the 2013 Hunlock Series should contact Herts Baseball Club. To be eligible to play adult league baseball, players must be 14 years of age or above on 31 December 2013.

15 September 201322 May 2014 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Cougars beat Harriers to reclaim their national title

This article by Michael Jones and David Dunphy was first published on britishbaseball.org

Following a relatively comfortable semi-final win over Halton on Saturday, the Cobham Cougars had to work harder on Sunday 15 September at the BBF’s Pony National Baseball Championships at Farnham Park, but ultimately had enough to overcome a feisty Herts Harriers side and defend their Pony title.

Cobham, defending Pony champions and finalists for the fourth consecutive year, came into this game having swept Halton convincingly in Saturday’s semi-final but were second seeds based on regular season record. The Harriers, many of whom were Bronco Under-14 champions three years ago, were in their first-ever Pony final, and could smell victory, with their legions of fans whooping at every success.

After Herts starter Will Zucker tossed a goose egg in the top of the first inning, Carlos Casal and Callum Vangundy reached base before Conner Brown provided the key hit, driving in two runs with a double through right field to give Herts an early lead.

Cobham pulled one run back, then blanked Herts and tied the score in the top of the third inning when Jonny Fretheim’s deep sacrifice fly was enough for Cobham pitcher Jacob Dean to tag up and score, the pitcher thus helping his own cause.

Cobham failed to score in the fourth inning, but as Herts struggled against Jacob Dean, the Cougars were about to pounce on Will Zucker in the fifth. Patient batting and then hits from Spencer Dellapina and Andrew Lee brought in three runs, with Connor Dellapina then adding another after scoring on a throwing error before Jose Morillo replaced Zucker on the mound.

By the time Cobham had batted around, they led by five runs and it looked like the defending champions would lift the trophy again.

With the fans and coaches lifting Herts, they were soon back to within two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the rally ended with the bases loaded.

More Cobham offense restored a four-run advantage, and as Herts came to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning, they needed four runs to take the game into extra innings and five runs to win. The Herts supporters, backing their side with horns and vuvuzuelas, continued to cheer at every opportunity, which was met with some annoyance from other spectators around the ground.

Off-field antics aside, the Herts players knew that they needed to do the damage on the diamond. With runners at second and third and one out, Conner Brown drove in Jose Morillo to start the scoring. But the game ended soon after as Jonny Compton-Weight couldn’t catch up to an outside pitch, ending up in the dirt as he finished his swing.

However, late drama erupted as coaches began arguing about whether the third strike was dropped. Umpire Cody Cain stood by his call – that the ball went straight into Jonny Fretheim’s glove behind the plate – and tensions reached boiling point with Charlie Mayhew ejected following a heated exchange with the umpire, for which he later apologised.

CLICK TO VIEW BOX SCORES

Winning Manager Jeff Dellapina said of the Cobham title defence: “It was a terrific game and the kids at this age know what they’re doing, so I don’t have to coach much! Herts were great too, and they hit the heck out of the ball throughout the match.

“There’s not much in it between all the teams in this league, especially this year,” Dellapina added, “so it could have been any one of four teams just from the South in the final, let alone the Northern sides.”

Reflecting on Cobham’s chances for next year, Dellapina said: “A lot of our guys are moving up from youth baseball so we’ll work on recruitment over the winter in time for spring and hopefully we can defend our title. It would certainly be interesting to see if we can start to develop a senior team for them to filter into for the future.”

14 September 201317 September 2013 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons eliminated in an epic national championship semi-final

This article by David Dunphy was first published on britishbaseball(.org)

After the formal proceedings and a rousing orchestral rendition of God Save The Queen, the double-defending National Baseball League Champions Harlow Nationals took on the 2013 NBL pennant winners Herts Falcons in what was expected to be a close encounter, and those expectations were more than met in a thrilling encounter that leaves the Nationals still in with a chance of a historic threepeat.

The first inning was dominated by the staring pitchers, Robbie Unsell for the Herts Falcons and Roberto Almanzar for the Harlow Nationals as the first five batters in first inning came and went without troubling the first base. Then a simple groundball hit by Ryan Bird was over thrown to the first base dugout and allowed Bird to reach on the error which started a brief two-out rally for the Falcons as they scored two runs.

First, Jordan Farkas hit a double which popped out of the centre fielder’s glove and Bird crossed the plate, before another error at first base saw Farkas score, Phil Clark batting him in.

At the top of the second, the Nationals managed to pull the scores level Jarrod Pretorius hit a line drive single to centre field and was brought home by Maikel Azcuy who hit a huge triple over to right field. Again the fielder got a glove to the ball but could not hold on, scoring Pretorius before a fielder’s choice saw Azcuy home.

The Falcons responded quickly with a two out rally in the top of the second with John Blose scoring after Unsell hit a triple to right field, before he was plated by Xavi Gonzalez with a hard hit ground ball single.

With Herts leading 4-2 after three innings both pitchers began to loosen up, Almanzar striking out Phil Clark with the next five batters going to pop-ups and groundouts in the infield.

At the top of the fourth Harlow started what would prove to be their game winning charge, pulling back one run as Azcuy’s hard hit groundball plated Edwin Alcantara , who had hit the third triple of the game. At the same time that Harlow started to get the bats working with runners in scoring positions the Herts bats started to stutter, poor choices and good pitching seeing them fail to score again until the bottom of the sixth.

The fifth inning saw no further runs scored, though Harlow did have a couple of hits by Luis Goncalves and Almanzar, whilst Almanzar added strikeout of Gonzalez in a three-up-three-down inning.

In the top of the sixth, Harlow levelled the scores up once again with a two out rally of their own as a single by Pretorius and a walk on Matt Gilbert, followed by a strike out of Will Lintern, brought Aaron Webster to the plate. The runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch and Pretorius was brought home on a passed ball before Webster drew a walk. This brought Goncalves to the plate and he drew another walk to leave the bases loaded. With Almanzar at bat the homeplate umpire called catcher interference to bring home Gilbert.

Dan parker stepped up next and hit a booming fly drive to deep centre field where a diving attempt was almost taken by Blose, but the miss allowed a base clearing 3 RBI double before Alcantara was struck out to leave Harlow ahead 8-4.

Herts did not drop their heads, however, and began their comeback immediately as three of the first four batters singled to leave the bases loaded with Unsell at bat. He drew a walk which plated Darrin Ward to narrow the gap to three runs and Gonzalez hit a sac fly out to centre field which allowed Osborn to make it home to further reduce the lead to two runs at 8-6. However, Bird could not continue the rally as a ground ball made an easy out at second to end the inning.

Both pitchers continued to pitch well, despite what the scoreline may suggest, and in the seventh inning Unsell only saw three batters, ending the inning on a double-play ground ball to second base. Almanzar on the other hand saw two singles hit but the momentum could not be kept up as the next three batters were out with Ward becoming another K on Almanzar’s wall. Unsell added a strikeout of his own when Goncalves went swinging on a full count after a sac bunt by Webster. Farkas got Herts out of the inning, sprinting in to shallow centre field from left field to make the catch..

Xavier Gonzalez stretching to reach first base (photo by Richard lee photography(.org))

The bottom of the eighth inning saw Blose double to centre field straight away, and then advance to third on a fielder’s choice when Unsell ground out to second base. Gonzalez then came up and fired a hard ground ball through the infield to single and allow Blose to cross home plate to make the gap just one and give Herts real belief they could level or even take the lead back. Ryan Bird ththought he had extra bases with a line drive to left field, before seeing this snared in to the fielders glove. Gonzalez was the caught trying to steal second base to end the inning and bring us into the final inning.

And so it was, Harlow leading Herts 8 – 7 in the ninth inning, tension was at fever pitch with the vuvuzelas blowing as they were throughout the game and both sets of fans, who were there in their droves, raised the decibel levels. Harlow began in the top of the ninth and the first three batters got on base though Pretorius was forced out at second after Azcuy had a broken bat single. Gilbert was walked to load the bases with one out to bring Lintern to the plate, and he worked the count full before going down swinging. Then Webster grounded the ball to the shortstop Gonzalez who made the out with a backhand flick to Dave House.

This brought Herts to the plate with three outs to get one run and force an extra inning or two to win the encounter. Clark was first to the plate but could only pop up to shallow centre field, and House could only manage a ground out to first base.

Ward stepped up to the plate knowing he had to make something happen to extend the match, but on a 2-2 count he swung and missed and Harlow could celebrate a dramatic victory.

CLICK HERE TO RELIVE THE FULL GAME

Herts manager Lee Manning said he was pleased with the season as a whole with winning the pennant, however had he said “It was not our weekend, the five run inning was the deciding factor which got Harlow ahead and they managed to hold on to the end. We are looking forward to next season now with new reinforcements though we are losing one or two players as well.”

Harlow Nationals manager Marty Cullen said “It was a great game, one of the best in some time in this league. A hell of a game!” Asked about tomorrow’s opponents he thought “Southampton wanted it badly and I thought they would get through. We have a game plan within reason and we are set up to be difficult to beat!”

14 September 201322 May 2014 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Harriers through to the National Final

Herts fans played a key role in the game giving the energy which the Harriers needed to go through to the Final

This article by Michael Jones was first published on britishbaseball.org

The Herts Harriers edged the first Pony semi-final in a gripping encounter to start the day, while Cobham Cougars began the defence of their title by jumping out early against Halton Polecats.

London and Herts – the two largest clubs in the country – squared off on the first game of the under-17 semi-finals around half an hour later than scheduled following heavy overnight rain. However, the delay only gave fans more time to prepare themselves for the clash of the titans in this division. With faces painted and spirits high despite the inclement conditions, when they took the field the crowd was ready for action and the juniors themselves eager to perform in their biggest game of the season to date.

The Mets (5-1) – losing finalists in 2012 but consistently in and around the finals of big tournaments – were the lower seeds in this semi-final, but with plenty of playoff experience as the current side is formed from much of the Under-14 champions from seasons past.

But though they made the Harriers work for their outs early on, the Herts side made them well and Tom Everex-Armstrong kept his diamond clean, matched only by opposite number Ewan Clegg. In the top of the first, Clegg was first to cross the plate following a lead-off double, driven in by Takuya Motohashi to get the ball rolling. But it was all the Mets could muster as Herts regrouped and played some good defence.

Everex-Armstrong showed his batting might, leading off with a ground-rule double, but he couldn’t get round the diamond before Clegg struck out the side and maintained London’s narrow advantage.

An error-strewn two minutes saw Dexter Bohn score the Mets second run but that rally was capped too as both sides demonstrated maturity and composure beyond their young years.

Cue the onslaught. Having loaded the bases, Herts sought something big from Jose Morillo and the youngster stepped up with a sac-fly to centre, seeing Charlie Mayhew halve the lead. And then Carlos Casal capitalised on a passed ball to tie things up, before Conner Brown snuck one through the left side to turn the game on its head when he drove in Zack Longboy. But despite loading the bases once again, they couldn’t make more of it and they would have to be satisfied with a 3-2 lead.

Not to be outdone, the Mets themselves put runners on all the bags for Dexter Bohn, whose pop-up deep in the hole was enough to see Max Caplan beat the ball back to home, but again the teams were trading tightly and stifling opportunities to capitalise.

With the potential go-ahead run deciding to make a move as Herts forced the issue, Clegg blocked the dish to stop Charlie Mayhew scoring, but he couldn’t do much as Matt Tarrant narrowly missed a tag on Carlos Casal on the next play as the Harriers edged ahead once more.

Some substitutions to try to spark a little extra into the Mets line-up failed to culminate in a run, while Everex-Armstrong reached his pitch limit and was replaced by Casal on the mound. London’s Clegg also took a break, being relieved by Suhi Kamada as the game neared its dramatic conclusion.

Jonny Compton-Weight made the most of some momentary lapses in London’s defence to get on base, putting himself at second before scoring an insurance run for Herts as Callum VanGundy laced a double to the left field wall, but again that’s all that the scorers were troubled by.

Two strikeouts gave Herts the edge but Bohn lined a single to centre and inspired the side behind him to drive him in, Marty Cullen providing the key RBI. But it was business as usual as the defence rallied to save further inroads into the Herts lead.

Herts then saw Morillo come home to restore a two-run lead, but in trying to extend it Everex-Armstrong was tagged at the plate by Matt Tarrant who turned quickly to pick up a rebound from the backstop.

Three outs remained, London needing two to tie things in the final inning. With runners at one and two with no outs, odds were in their favour to make something happen, but Longboy stayed strong on the mound and induced the final ground-out to advance to Sunday’s final.

CLICK TO VIEW BOX SCORES

London manager Steve Saltzberger reflected: “Pitching was light this year – one of our guys has gone back to Japan, another is in the NBL roster who were also playing today. But full credit to Herts. It’s a great organisation and that team has been developing for a number of years, running us close all season.

“For some of our kids who have been together for seven years, it’ll be the first time they’ve not been in the final, which is a new experience for them. But most of the kids are still below the upper age limit so there’ll always be next year.”

Harriers Manager Arnie Longboy wouldn’t be drawn in confirming who would pitch tomorrow, but said: “We’ve achieved our first objective, and so we’ll start fresh and go tomorrow ready to win. It’s the furthest our Under-17 team has ever gone.

“I’ve been watching these kids grow up over the past few years. I was with them when they won the Under-14 title three years ago and most of the same guys are still here. We have a great set-up and winning tomorrow will help further develop the programme and the talent from within the club.

14 September 201322 May 2014 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Harriers eliminate London Mets to go through to national final this Sunday

The Herts Harriers are through to the U17 League national final after a 6-4 win over the London Mets earlier today. Full report will be published in due course.

They will now face the Cobham Cougars in the national final, after the reigning champions beat Halton Polecats in the other Semi-Final.

The Final will be played at Farnham Park on Sunday, 15 September. First pitch is at 10:00am.

14 September 201317 September 2013 by Herts Baseball News Editor

Heartbreaking loss for Falcons in NBL semi-final

Earlier this evening the Herts Falcons were knocked out of the 2013 National Baseball League Championship in the semi-final, by reigning champions, Harlow Nationals. The game played at Farnham Park ended 8-7. Full report will be published soon.

In the other semi-final the Southampton Mustangs stunned British baseball with a 16-1 win over the London Mets who were the favourites for many of the British baseball experts.

Harlow Nationals and Southampton Mustangs will meet in the final tomorrow, Sunday, 15 September, at Farnham Park.