LYBL were confirmed as the 2011 Under-14 National Champions on Sunday with a win against defending champions, Herts.  They were the number one seed from the start of the postseason playoffs and proved to be the outstanding team this year.

Herts went into the Final with Richard Ganster on the mound. LYBL took an early lead with two runs in the first and four in the second inning after a 3-run home run by Jonathan Fretheim.  Ganster then seemed to find some extra ammunition in his pitching arsenal and did not allow any more hits for the remainder of his time on the mound.

This gave Herts a chance to get back in the game, but they were badly in need of a big inning which never came. Jose Morillo, Callum Vangundy and Lewis Green each managed to get a hit for Herts, but even when they managed to put runners on base LYBL starting pitcher, Jonathan Fretheim, found a way to keep Herts runners from coming home to score, including tagging out Lewis Green in a play at home.  This was the closest that Herts came to scoring.

Jonathan Fretheim was proving to be the Most Valuable Player of this Final, and just in case there was any doubt about this, Fretheim reaffirmed this with a solo home run in the final inning.

With such a large number of travelling fans from Herts making the trip to Richmond and supporting the All Stars right to the very last pitch, the team probably felt like they let their fans down but that definitely was not the case.  Herts All Stars Manager, Kent Peterson, summed it best: “Hats off to a very talented LYBL team, but I couldn’t be more proud of our Herts team, they came in as defending champions and I believe proved that they are a team of champions.  Great effort all weekend and the team really came to play and showed what a solid team effort is capable of.”

Six of this year’s Herts Under-14 All Stars will be moving on to the Under-17 league, so Herts will be counting on the new generation to make the step up and bring the National Championship Trophy back to Grovehill Ballpark in 2012.

LYBL 8 Herts All Stars 0 (Box Scores)

Link to photos

The Herts All Stars are through to the Under-14 National Final after an 8-6 win in today’s Semi-Final against Cartmel Valley.

SEMI-FINAL, UNDER-14 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

HERTS ALL STARS (U14) 8 CARTMEL VALLEY (U14) 6 (BOX SCORES)

A dominant start for Zack Longboy on the mound provided the defensive stability the team needed if they were to continue the defence of the national championship.  He pitched 5 innings allowing only 1 hit, with 11 out of 15 outs coming by way of a strikeout.  At the same time Herts were able to build a healthy lead with two runs scored in the second inning after some aggressive running by Gavin Peterson and an RBI by Ben Jones.

They added three more after a 3-run home run by Richard Ganster.  This is Ganster’s second home run in the postseason and it proved to be critical.  In the top of the final inning the All Stars looked like they secured their place in the Semi-Final with three more runs after hits from Ganster, Longboy, Caress and Vangundy, to  make the score 8-0, however Cartmel had other ideas.  A spirited fight back by them made the score 8-6 with the tying run at second base.  The pressure was on and the large travelling contingent of Herts fans was staring at possible elimination and end to their hopes of retaining the title. 

It seemed that the coolest person in the world at that moment was Richard Ganster.  He got the call from manager, Kent Peterson, to take the mound and he quickly executed the strikeout which Herts needed to book their place in the final.

A real scare for Herts, but Herts All Stars Manager, Kent Peterson, was full of praise for his players. “We had to battle hard at the end against a very difficult opponent and all of our players contributed and deserve a lot of credit.” he said.

In the other semi-final Chris Kiefer pitched a gem for the RedBacks against favourites LYBL not allowing any runs through four innings and giving his team a 3-0 lead with a home run which was launched so deep that it ended up on the Under-17 field and interrupted the Under-17 Semi-Final which was being played there at the same time.  This however wasn’t enough for  the RedBacks to pull off the shock of the postseason.  With Kiefer out of the game having reached his 85-pitch limit, LYBL grabbed the opportunity and came back to win it 6-4.

Herts will now face LYBL in the Final tomorrow, Sunday, 18 September 2011.  Game starts at 2pm at Connare Field in Richmond.

The British Baseball Federation (BBF) has announced the pairings for the Under-14 and Under-17 National Baseball Championship Semi-Finals. 

After winning against the London Mets last weekend, the Under-14 Herts All Stars have been confirmed as the Southern Conference second seed.  LYBL are the first seed and the Essex RedBacks are the South’s third seed team after they won the elimination game against the London Mets in the final playoff match-up last Saturday. The fourth team to reach the Semi-Final is Cartmel Valley which is the number one seeded team from the Northern Conference.

In the first Semi-Final this Saturday, 17 September, the Herts All Stars have been drawn to play against Cartmel Valley. The game starts at 11am.  The second final between LYBL and the Essex RedBacks will commence at 2pm.

The winners will meet on Sunday at 1pm in the Final to determine the 2011 National Champions.  Ahead of that game the losing Semi-Finalists will face-off in the bronze medal game at 10:30am.

The event will be held at Connare Field in Richmond. Hosts Richmond will have food and drinks on offer with fully licensed bar, hot meals, BBQ and a concessions stands.

Herts are already making their hotel bookings and travel arrangements for another Herts invasion.

SCHEDULE

UNDER-14

Saturday 17^th September

11am – Semi Final One – Herts All-Stars, South #2, @ Cartmel Valley, North #1

2pm – Semi Final Two – Essex Redbacks, South #3, @ LYBL, South # 1

Sunday 18^th September

10.30am – 3rd / 4th place playoff – Loser SF1 v Loser SF2 *

1pm – Championship Game – Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 *

* Coin toss to decide home team

UNDER-17

Saturday 17^th September

11am – Semi Final One – Cobham Cougars, South #2, @ Cartmel Valley, North #1

2pm – Semi Final Two – Halton Polecats, North #2, @ London Mets, South # 1

Sunday 18^th September

10.30am – 3rd / 4th place playoff- Loser SF1 v Loser SF2 *

1pm – Championship Game – Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 *

* Coin toss to decide home team

Essex Atoms 1 Herts All Stars 12 (Box Scores)  

The Herts All Stars are through to the Semi-Finals of the 2011 Under-14 National Baseball Championships after a dramatic win against old rivals, London Mets.  

Despite being the defending champions, Herts went into the postseason playoffs as the third seed team behind LYBL and London who were first and second seed, respectively, so they had a very difficult task on their hands.   

Before even thinking about facing the higher seeded teams Herts had to overcome the Essex Atoms in an elimination game.  The two teams had not met in the past so the team from Hertfordshire did not know what to expect.  They quickly took control of the game with a 9-0 lead after two innings.  Jose Morillo, Zack Longboy and Richard Ganster each had three hits in the game. Callum Vangundy, Lewis Green and Brodie Caress also contributed with hits of their own.  Jose Morillo started on the mound and Gavin Peterson came in to close in the final inning. They combined for a no-hitter.  Credit must be given to the Essex Atoms who kept going all the way to the end.  Their effort was rewarded with a run in the final inning.  This is their first ever season in the Under-14 League and they will be getting better as they get more games under their belts.  

Herts All Stars 10 London Mets 4 (Box Scores)  

Next up for the All Stars was a Quarter-Final encounter with the London Mets in a repeat of the National Final 12 months ago. Herts took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first after Richard Ganster beat out a groundball in the infield with two outs to drive home Zack Longboy.  In the bottom of that inning Zack Longboy started very confidently on the mound striking out London’s first three batters. This was proving to be another pitcher’s duel until the third inning when Herts exploded with a devastating offensive display against the London pitcher who had been almost invincible up to that point.  Zack Longboy started it all with an impressive opposite-field home run down the right field line. A walk by Jose Morillo was followed by three singles from Lewis Green, Richard Ganster and Callum Vangundy.  

London responded strongly with two runs in the bottom of that inning followed by a 2-run home run in the top of the fourth to make the score 6-4 going into the final inning.  The score could have been even closer if it wasn’t for an inch-perfect relay from the outfield wall in centerfield with Lewis Green gunning down the London runner at home.  

The tension around the ballpark was incredible.  Spurred on by the deafening noise from the Herts fans, the All Stars produced another hitting assault.  Longboy led-off with another single (3-3, HR , 1 RBI, 3 R).  With one out, Lewis Green then worked a walk to get on base.  Richard Ganster (2-3, HR, 5 RBI) launched a towering 3-run home run to left-centerfield.  Not to be outdone, Brodie Caress (1-3, HR) then stepped up and crushed an identical home run of his own to round-off a 4-run inning.  

Despite having a 10-4 lead there was still work to do in the bottom of that final inning.  Zack Longboy (5 IP, 9 K, 3 H, 2 ER) was still on the mound and he ended the game in style with three quick outs to the delight of the travelling Herts fans who invaded the field.   

The team will now be heading to Richmond’s Connare Field for the Semi-Finals and Finals of the 2011 National Baseball Championships on 17 and 18 September.  Full details of the schedule will be published right here on the Herts Baseball News website.  

HEARTBREAK FOR HERTS U17 ALL STARS  

The Herts fans who had come to support the U14 All Stars at Finsbury Park had to endure double dosage of tension and drama as throughout the day they were receiving updates of the score from Buckinghamshire where the U17 All Stars were also involved in another playoff battle against the Essex RedBacks.  

The lead kept changing hands inning-after-inning.  Herts had a slender 1-run lead going into the bottom of the final inning but sadly couldn’t hold on to it losing 11-10 at the end.  

Despite the loss, the Herts U17 All Stars should be very proud of a fantastic first ever season going up into this age group.  They brought a lot of pride to the Herts Baseball Club showing heart yet again despite missing 5 regular players who were assigned to the Herts U14 roster.  All the signs show that the future is bright for the Herts U17 team. A check of the average age of all of the U17 teams which reached the playoff shows that many of the players among their opponents will be over the age limit next year while most of Herts’ players have 2 or even 3 years still to play in the Under-17 League during which they will have the opportunity to shift the balance of power.  

A link to Box Scores from the Under-17 Playoff game between Herts and Essex RedBacks will be uploaded here soon. 

Click here for more photos from today’s playoff games