Category: Featured

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Venue of Hawks vs Mustangs game switched. Eagles to face Bucks on the same day

The venue of the Herts Hawks vs Southampton Mustangs II game on 29 July has been switched and the game will be played at Grovehill Ballpark.

On July 29 the Herts Hawks were scheduled to make their longest trip of the year to play on the south coast against the Southampton Mustangs in a key AA-League game. Due to a clash at Southampton’s field, the game has been switched to Herts and will be played at the Hawks’ home Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

On the same day the Herts Eagles have arranged an exhibition game versus Milton Keynes Bucks. This game will also take place at Grovehill Ballpark.

Both games are scheduled to will start at 12pm.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Eagles prepare for the London Tournament while Falcons, Hawks and Raptors focus on league race

John Kjorstad at last year's London Tournament Home Run Derby

Every year in the middle of July Herts Baseball Club sends its teams out to the International London Tournament for 2 days of non-stop baseball. The tournament is hosted by the Croydon Pirates who do a fantastic job every year.

This year the league schedule has been hit hard by the never-ending rain. The Herts adult teams have a backlog of games which they must fit into whatever free dates remain between now and the postseason in August. This weekend is one of those opportunities to catch up. The Herts Falcons will travel to Finsbury Park for a doubleheader against the London Mets after this match-up was rained out twice already. The Hawks will play a doubleheader versus the Essex Redbacks. This will be a home game at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. The Raptors have a must-win game against the Old Timers, also at home.

With so many Herts teams involved in league action this weekend there was a risk of Herts not being represented at the London Tournament, however Herts Eagles Manager, Duncan Hoyle, with the support from a group of Herts single-A players managed to put together a team for both Saturday’s and Sunday’s tournament games in Croydon.

We will keep you updated about their adventures in south London throughout the weekend, as well as the outcome of Sunday’s league games involving the other 3 Herts adult teams.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Baseball represented at the MLB All Star Game in Kansas City

We are approximately at the halfway point of the MLB season as the teams take a few days off and enjoy MLB’s All Star Week. This also offers British baseball teams an opportunity to sit back and relax after several hectic weeks of not playing baseball and dealing with the depressing effects of rained out ballgames.

This year the All Star event is hosted by the Kansas City Royals and Herts Baseball Club is represented at the event. Jonathan Wakelam who plays for the Herts Dodgers and his dad Mike Wakelam who coaches the Herts Dodgers flew out a few days ago. They will have the opportunity to sample all the festivities of the All Star week.

It all started on Sunday with the All Star Futures game, which saw the first ever British-born player make an appearance for Team World wearing the British flag on his chest. On Monday it was time for the big hitters to compete in the 2012 Home Run Derby, which was won by Prince Fielder. The events also include the All-Star Celebrity Softball Game.

Tonight is the main event as the National League All Stars clash with the best players of the American League, as voted by fans from around the world. Every MLB team will be represented.

As you watch the game tonight keep an eye on the stands and look for a Herts baseball cap. We may just see Jonathan Wakelam muscle his way among the fans to make a spectacular catch in the stands.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Big weekend for Herts teams in race for the national championships

Herts Falcons hope that Phil Clark will be back in time for duel with Harlow (photo by British Baseball Magazine)

Friday night’s red weather warning issued by the weather office seemed to fizzle-out on Saturday and although events like the Formula 1 British Grand Prix qualifying was affected badly, further South, the women’s tennis final at Wimbledon went ahead.

With the fear of a rainout out of the way attention turns to 4 pivotal games for the 4 Herts senior league teams.

FALCONS (12-4) @ NATIONALS (15-4)

After 3 weeks without league action, the Herts Falcons go into battle with the reigning champions. The Harlow Nationals’ last loss came on 10 June when they last met the Falcons. They went on to a 4-game winning streak which took them back into first place. Teams are reluctant to look beyond their next game, but both the Nats and the Falcons can be forgiven for having one eye on the postseason NBCs. There may not be much difference between finishing first or second in the regular season, other than the sense of achievement, however both teams know that losing both games of Sunday’s doubleheader could drag them into the unpredictability of the one-game playoff which awaits the teams which finish fourth and fifth in the regular season. The Lakenheath Diamondbacks’ stunning sweep of the London Mets last weekend was a wake-up call for the four teams ahead of them. That game saw the emergence of Taylor Portman who provided power with the bat but more importantly looked like he can shut down even the most potent of batting lineups. The Taylor Portman-factor will now be on the back of Nats and Falcons minds. This adds an extra edge on a matchup which was already highly-charged after the fireworks on 10 June which almost resulted into a bench-clearing brawl.

MAVERICKS (14-0) @ HAWKS (6-4)

The best team in the BBF AA-League travel to Grovehill Ballpark. The Guildford Mavericks seem unbeatable as they have won all 14 games of the season so far. They have already booked their place in the AA postseason playoffs. The Herts Hawks are also in a comfortable position in terms of postseason qualification, however the stunning form of the Guildford Mavericks and the Poole Piranhas on the other hand is giving the top four teams in Pool B, sleepless nights. The teams which finish third and fourth in Pool B face the daunting prospect of meeting either Guildford or Poole so there is a sense of panic among the top 4 teams in Pool B to finish first or second and avoid the AA favourites.

Herts Baseball's young prospects will need to step up to keep the Raptors alive in the race for the postseason

A win for the Hawks this Sunday could lift them into second place. A loss could put them way down into fourth which could mean that they would have to face the Guildford Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. The game starts at 12pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. If the Hawks can get the job done quickly enough they may be able to catch the Olympic Torch Relay which passes through Hemel Hempstead this Sunday afternoon from 4:30pm.

RAPTORS (4-3) @ GUILDFORD MAVERICKS II (4-3)

While the Hawks try to end Guildford’s unbeaten run, the Raptors will be looking to keep their playoff hopes alive when they travel to Guildford’s second team. Both teams have 4 wins and 3 losses each and both need a win to stay in the race. Raptors Manager, Arnie Longboy, will be missing a large number of his starting 9 so he will need the Under-17 players who have been called up to hit the ground running when they make their AA league debut this Sunday.

HERTS EAGLES (5-3) @ HOVE TUESDAY (5-0)

The Eagles are still in the race for the playoffs but they will need to give their best performance of the season if they are going to overcome the unbeaten Hove Tuesday. The newest team in the A-League has blown away their opponents winning all of their games with the mercy rule enforced after 7 innings. Can the Eagles shock British Baseball with a win on the South Coast.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Raptors battle with League leading Archers

The closer - Anna Blach pitching in the 9th inning against the Essex Archers

written by Anna Balch

The Raptors (3-3) gave league leading Essex Archers (7-1) an unexpected battle in one of the only games this season that the Archers have played past 7 innings,. With Zachary Longboy (8 IP, 5 SO) starting on the mound for the Raptors the Archers came out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the third. The Raptors came back in the bottom of the inning with four runs to take the lead. They were able to hold off the Archers with a strong pitching performance by Longboy in the second and added five more insurance runs to extend the lead to 9-3. Archers outfielder Ash Richardson commented “that’s the first time we’ve ever been down.”

But the Archers soon began their come back adding four runs in the third and the fourth. Zack got out of the two inning eight run attack when he forced a pop out to short and recorded a strike out for the third out. After four innings the score was now 13-11. In the top of the fifth inning the Raptors played tight defense but two singles and a two out error gave the Archers a run to bring the score within one. In the bottom of the inning, with the intent of extending the lead the Raptors couldn’t get runners on going down one, two, three.

It was only in the top of the sixth inning that the Archers scored two to take the lead 14-13. In the bottom of the inning a two out walk put the tying run on base but a ground out to the pitcher ended the inning. Two more runs for the Archers extended their lead in the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the inning Rob Jones (1H, 1RBI, 4R, 1SB, 2BB) reached on a error. Then a one out double, that many thought was out of the park, from Gil Medina (3H, 1 2B, 2RBI, 2R, 1SB) scored Jones. More errors from the Archers scored another Raptor to bring them within one.

Two more runs from the Archers extended their lead but the Raptors posed a threat in the bottom of the inning. Newcomer, Anna Balch who replaced the Raptors DH, singled with one out in the bottom of the eighth. She then stole second base and advanced to third on a passed ball before Brodie Caress (3H, 3R, 1BB, 4SB) walked to put runners at the corners. Caress then advanced to second on a ground out to third. With runners on second and third the Raptors then ended the inning, and the threat, with a long fly ball to center.

Ben Marques takes a pitch from Essex Archers starter Darren Ludlow

Balch replaced Longboy on the mound for the Raptors. The Archers added two more runs in the inning to make the lead 20-15. Eventually Balch recorded her first career strikeout to end the inning. The Raptors were shut down in the bottom of the inning and were unable to score ending the game with a final score of 20-15. Other top players for the Raptors were Glen Downer (2H, 4RBI, 2R, 1SB) and Ben Marques (2H, 1R, 2SB).

While it was a victory for the Archers, the Raptors were satisfied in taking the Archers to the ninth inning. The high scoring nine inning game was something new for the Archers as they rarely play a full nine innings. “It was really a tight match up until the end as both teams put up a great fight,” said Raptors manager Arnie Longboy. “I would love to face them again in the playoffs, but of course we’ll have to win the rest of games for that to happen. I think we can.”

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Squeaky bum time

As the baseball season entered the month of July, the battle for the postseason playoffs is simmering nicely. In the AA League the top two teams in Pool B South met at the ballpark in Enfield for a colossal double header. The Sidewinders were sitting on top of the standings, just one game ahead of the second-placed Herts Hawks.

The Hawks opened the game with a single and a double by Louis Hare and Jon Lewys, respectively. Andy Cornish was walked to load the bases with 2 outs but the Sidewinders pitcher managed to get out of that bases-loaded jam without any damage.

Nick Russell was the starting pitcher for the Hawks and he responded by retiring the Sidewinders on 3 fly outs. Both pitchers kept putting zeros up on the scoreboard through the first 4 innings. Russell was very effective allowing only 2 hits over that period. This was turning into a classic pitching duel and both teams were showing why they are top of the AA standings.

Herts drew first blood in the fifth inning. Paul Auchterlounie hit a single up the middle and stole second. He was followed by Jon Lewys who drove him in to give the Hawks a 1-0 lead.

The Sidewinders responded swiftly putting together their first real offensive rally of the day with 3 doubles and 2 singles to take a 3-1 lead. Herts sprung into action. A sacfly by Ralph Bartholomew brought home Andy Cornish and Kal Dimitrov somehow managed to beat out a ground ball to bring his brother Aspi Dimitrov home to tie the game and go into the final inning with a score of 3-3.

In that final inning Louis Hare got on base on an error. The next two Herts batters managed to move Hare to third base, but there were now two outs with big-hitting Andy Cornish coming up next. The Sidewinders called a mound conference and their first baseman, Bruce Dullea, provided some valuable inside information having played for and managed the Herts Falcons in 2005, 2006 and 2007. He alerted his team mates that Cornish is a dangerous batter and they decided to pitch around him to walk him and face Aspi Dimitrov instead who was playing in his first game after being on the DL for the last 10 months with shoulder and hamstring injuries. Dimitrov hit a 2-out single to left-centerfield driving two runs in to make the score 5-3.

Could the Sidewinders come back from this in the bottom of the last inning? Two singles and two stolen bases brought one run in. It was now 5-4 with the tying run at third and 1 out. Nick Russell was still on the mound and he needed to use every ounce of energy he had left to keep the runner on third from scoring. The only way to guarantee this was to make sure that batters did not make contact with the ball and that’s exactly what he did. He took the next 2 batters to full count and struck out both of them leaving the tying run on third base and securing a priceless win for Herts.

Nick Russell will get the praise, and rightly so, but it is also worth noting that he had tremendous support from the whole team who played errorless defence.

Click to view game 2 box scores and play-by-play

In game two the Sidewinders put their ace pitcher, Tadaaki, on the mound looking for revenge. He had a no-hitter earlier in the year and he showed why. Consistent control and change of speed make him a very awkward pitcher to face. The Hawks were having real problems making solid contact. Tadaaki was pitching a perfect game (no hits, no walks) in the first 5 innings of the second game. On top of that the Hawks had a very sloppy start of the game. They committed 3 errors and allowed 5 runs to score in the top of the first inning. 4 of the 5 runs were unearned (i.e. resulting from the fielding errors). The Hawks defence recovered after that and managed to give starting pitcher, Greg Bochan, the support he needed. The team was working efficiently again and Bochan was pitching a gem. They allowed only 1 run in the next 6 innings, but the big challenge was to find a way to score runs against pitcher Tadaaki.

Into the top of the 6th and a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. Seth Lipstock, who had a great game at third base, ended Tadaaki’s perfect game with a lead-off single. Kal Dimitrov followed with a single of his own. With 2 outs, Lipstock came around to score as Andy Cornish and Louis Hare got on base on fielding errors. Both Cornish and Hare scored after an infield hit by Aspi Dimitrov and an error throw. That reduced the deficit to 6-3.

Into the final inning Tadaaki was still going strong. Despite a single from Greg Bochan, Tadaaki completed the game in style with a groundout and two strikeouts.

Click to view game 2 box scores and play-by-play

After the games Hawks co-manager, Andy Cornish, said: “Today, was a great game of baseball and very enjoyable to be in such a contest. We played against very good opposition, and shown that we can play with the top teams in this league, even with a depleted side. We have some more tough opposition to come, but with the way that we played today I am encouraged about our chances in pushing forward to the playoffs. Today, we played great baseball for 13 out of the 14 innings, and next time we will do so in every inning, there is no doubt in my mind.”

Today’s games emphasised just how hotly contested the title race is in the AA league. With the Daws Hill Spitfires and the London Mammoths picking up wins today it looks like the playoff race will go down to the wire. In the words of Manchester United Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, it is “squeaky bum time”. The Hawks remain one game behind the Sidewinders, but they are now third after the Mammoths jumped above them. The focus is now on the next Hawks game on Sunday, 8 July, against the Pool A leaders Guildford Mavericks who are still unbeaten with a 14-0 record so far this season. The game will be played at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. First pitch 12:00pm.

 

by ChrisJones

Dodgers forge ahead in U11 series

written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent, Chris Jones

Growing up on Merseyside I had only the vaguest idea about baseball. It was one of those sports that took place in other countries, like camel-wrestling or wife-carrying races.

I first saw the game when working in Japan. We would take our seats in the stands at the Tokyo Dome to watch the Yomiuri Giants take on the Yakult Swallows (really), and we would drink Asahi, cheer on the players and bang plastic sticks together at appropriate intervals.

Twenty years later I find myself with two half-American sons. Most Saturdays we come to the ballpark, and I watch, score and act as assistant coach. I know the game a little better now, but retain a somewhat sketchy grasp of the rules. Luckily at under-11 level, the intricacies of the dropped third-strike or the infield fly are not central to our games.

Of course, I’ve had to adopt a major-league team. My elder son favours the Mariners, while I cheer on the Boston Red Sox, for no better reason than that they share an owner with Liverpool Football Club. My morning ritual at the office includes dropping in at mlb.com to check the overnight scores; as it happens the Sox are on the road in Seattle as I write. Sometimes the overnight game has been a high-scoring affair, 15-4 or 13-12 after extra innings. Other times, the pitchers have prevailed: 1-0 or 2-1.

But in the Herts Dodgers matchups against the Herts Giants, we leave those pitching duels to the professionals; we believe our crowds turn up to see a festival of hitting. And so it was on Saturday at Grovehill.

The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead into this game, and the Giants were looking to restore parity after narrowly losing to their rivals last week. After some training, including a competitive game of ‘hit the lawn chair from twenty yards’, it was time to play.

The Dodgers fielded essentially the same team as last week, while the Giants rang the changes: the Lynches and Trautmans were unavailable for selection, but back in came Lewis Auchterlounie and Rory Vangundy. The Giants also welcomed Ben Jackson-Preece to the lineup. Both teams also acquired a temporary player from the U14s; Bai Frisby for the Giants and Blake Edwards for the Dodgers.

Unlike the tense encounter of a week ago, this game was one-sided. The Giants were scoreless in the first, while the Dodgers replied with the maximum five runs with no outs. In the second, the Giants picked up a run, but were undone after some good infield play at third base disposed of base runners in two successive plays.

At the bottom of the second, the Giants made two outs, but then allowed a further five runs to end up 10-1 down after two.

The bleak situation brightened up for the Giants in the third: it was their turn to score five runs. But anything the Giants could do, the Dodgers could do just as well, as they batted around and scored another five to take the game to 15-6 after three innings.

In the fourth, the Giants could do nothing to respond to the Dodgers’ clinical fielding, as Oliver struck out and Rory and Alex both grounded out at first. The Dodgers added a run to leave the Giants with the daunting task of hitting ten runs to make the Dodgers bat again. Despite good hits from Bai Frisby and Cameron Manning, this was too big a margin, and the Giants succumbed 16-9.

The coaches feel we are continuing to see signs of improvement in all areas of play. Plenty of batters in this game hit the fences: Cameron, Rory, Bai, Nicholas, Katie, Ozan and Blake. There were a number of neat plays in the infield. And perhaps most importantly, when coach Mike asked if his Dodgers players had enjoyed the game, there was a unanimous shout of ‘yeah!’. You can’t ask for much more.

Picture credit: Aidan C. Siegel

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Eagles win interleague exhibition game in Milton Keynes

written by Duncan Hoyle

Herts Eagles had a confidence boosting 1h45 min timed friendly win at neighbours MK Bucks Development Team on Sunday.

The first problem for the Eagles was the closure of the M1, which meant a detour through grid locked Dunstable to get onto the A5. However it was worth the effort to get there as MK’s lovely Woughton on the Green ground has arguably the smoothest fielding surface in British Baseball.

Herts batted first and got 3 runs on the board in the first innings to give new signing GB U15 international Tom Everex-Armstrong a good platfrom to defend from the mound, and he got off to a great start by closing out the first without conceding a run. Everex-Armstrong is looking for some game time before he jets off to Canada for the U15 World Championship and he will be a big boost to the lineup for the Eagles next league fixture, a trip to unbeaten Hove Tuesday.

In the second, MK Bucks fought back hard, limiting the Eagles to just an extra run added, and then scoring 8 of their own. The Eagles didnt help themselves in this half inning when a number of opportunites to get outs were wasted.

A quick team talk did the job for the Eagles as they got back on it in the 3rd. It was good to see rookie players Simon Roberts and Mike Cresswell looking confident at the plate and getting hits to their name in the top half. Everex-Armstrong conceded just a couple of runs in the bottom to keep the game finely balanced.

With the AA MK Bucks and their opponents the Stourbridge Titans eagley awating the finale of the game so they could take the field for their league game, the Eagles were positive in the top half of the fourth with Theo Scheepers, Reagan Wood and Tak Ashida coming in to score, batted in with a tremendous triple from the impressive Everex-Armstrong. It was then left to another U15 Will Zucker to close and save the game for the Eagles. Zucker was excellent, pitching fast and straight to concede just one run and close the game out within 20 pitches. The challenge next season for Zucker is to follow in the footsteps of Everex-Armstrong and push for GB recognision as he clearly has the potential for this.

The Eagles now face a busy July in which they still have a chance of making the post season playoffs. Two league games sandwich the London Tournament in which due to the other Herts teams having to reschedule fixtures becasue of rained off matches it looks like it will be the Eagles representing the club on the 14th and 15th July.

by Rob Jones

West Kent hunt: Raptors show no mercy

The Raptors came into the season with two big weapons, and both served them well on their visit to Tonbridge this weekend — a powerful offense, and a seemingly endless supply of talented young pitchers.

It was the bats which got to work first on a blustery day at Deacon’s Field. Brodie Caress hit the opening pitch of the day for a single, before stealing second, advancing on a passed ball and then scoring on a double by shortstop Gilberto Medina.

The first five batters had all reached base, when Tonbridge got a sniff of luck and hope, turning a double play to get back into the inning. It was a brief respite, though. Herts batted around, with John Kjorstad and Mark Caress among those scoring runs. In all, 12 runs were on the board before the side was finally retired.

Gilberto Medina
Gilberto Medina in action: he got 5 hits, and scored 5 runs

Then it was the turn of the club’s latest pitching phenom. Tom Everex-Armstrong took the mound and gave the Raptors a solid four innings. The Bobcats were able to get in 4 runs in the first, as everyone settled down. But Everex-Armstrong put up zeroes for two of the innings he threw, and there were noticeably few big hits.

The middle period of the game actually seemed quite sedate, compared with its opening and its finale. Tonbridge were able to bring in a couple of runs, while Herts tacked on but were also held scoreless twice. The Bobcats pitcher was finding the zone more consistently and even picked up a couple of strikeouts in the fourth inning. But the Herts offense had not been defeated, it was merely resting…

And it woke again in the sixth inning. Third baseman Ken Pike got one of his five hits, while the former Little Leaguer Jose Morillo scored one of his four runs. The Raptors were both smart and aggressive on the bases all day and this helped them put seven more runs on the board, and put the game beyond doubt.  For example, catcher Ben Marques — who hit well all day — also manufactured a run in this inning, working a walk before stealing two bases and heading home on a passed ball.

By this time the starting pitchers were both out of the game. Brodie Caress had come in to pitch for Herts, and showed admirable control and poise for a young player. Tonbridge were finally able to get a couple of big hits out into left field, but none of them was enough to take advantage of the lack of an outfield fence.

And so it was the Herts offense, the big bats, that had the final word. There was no more stealing in a 9-run seventh inning, but there were plenty of hits. Everex-Armstrong showed he could wield the bat, and Rob Jones reached base again with a single — they were both driven in by a triple from Medina.

Fittingly, the 35th and last Raptors run of the day was scored by the manager, Arnie Longboy, who had played a leader’s role. He ended up with 5 hits and 4 runs, and when he moved from DH to the field in the closing stages he seemed a magnet for the ball, and made a series of plays to retire Tonbridge batters. His side played with spirit and determination, and showed no mercy to secure their first “mercy rule” win of the season by 35-8.

Raptors have now won two in a row, and are poised to test themselves against the division leaders, the Essex Archers, at Hemel Hempstead this coming weekend.