Category: Headlines

by AspiDimitrov

STORM CLOUDS SILENT AS FALCONS SWEEP HURRICANES

Posted on behalf of Falcons Correspondent Andrew Cornish (#7)


With spirits running high before the day’s baseball, due to Kimiyoshi ‘Kimi’ Saionji’s birthday, the Falcons were hopeful to keep their momentum into the game.  This was dashed slightly when the Milton Keynes took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first due to a home run with one runner on base.  The Falcons managed to plug away against the Hurricanes with a highlight being Greg ‘The Motion’ Bochan laying down a perfect squeeze in the third, which tied the defensive team up, scoring a run and getting all runners safe.

After great fundamentals, and another no-error game, the Falcons rolled on with a 12-2 victory after 6 innings of play.  Nic Goetz wrote up another successful victory, already taking his season to an impressive 3-0 with an exciting 3.79 ERA.

Game 6 of the season was a game of firsts with promoted Tim Elkins making his first start in centre field and Aspi Dimitrov making his first start on the mound.  Anticipation was high and hoping to continue on the same run of form, the Falcons, fuelled by the blue Powerade sold on the fantastic new fund-raising concessions stand, rampaged to a 6-0 lead in the second inning concluding in a monster home-run by ‘maturing’ Kimiyoshi Saionji.  The impressive Aspi Dimitrov ended the game allowing 1 earned run in 6 strong innings, striking out 6 and stranding 8 opposing runners.  

Tidbits: On his 34th birthday, Kimiyoshi Saionji collected the first Falcon home run, adding another team leading 8 RBIs…… Tim Elkins went 1-3 scoring 2 runs…… Andy Cornish scored 5 of the 23 runs on the day.

GAME 1, 12:00pm

MK Hurricanes at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
MK Hurricanes 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0
Herts Falcons 0 0 4 1 4 3 12 12 0

Herts Falcons 12, MK Hurricanes 2
Herts Falcons MK Hurricanes
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Andy Cornish ss 2 3 2 0 A. McVay ss 3 1 1 0
Jason Greenberg c 2 1 1 0 G. Sheppard 1b 3 0 1 0
Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 2 1 2 3 D. Larwell p 3 1 1 2
Marty Cullen 1b 4 0 0 0 S. McVay 3b 3 0 1 0
Greg Bochan lf 4 1 2 1 K. O'Sullivan c 3 0 0 0
Nick Goetz p 3 2 1 0 M. Philpot cf 2 0 0 0
Darrin Ward 3b 3 1 1 0 E. Wilmot lf 2 0 0 0
Aspi Dimitrov cf 4 1 1 1 P. O'Sullivan 2b 1 0 0 0
Lee Manning rf 2 2 2 0 C. King rf 2 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 26 12 12 5 TEAM TOTALS 22 2 4 2

LOB: MK Hurricanes 3, Herts Falcons 7. 2B: Kimiyoshi Saionji, Aspi Dimitrov, S.
McVay. HR: D. Larwell. SB: Kimiyoshi Saionji, Andy Cornish, Nick Goetz.

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Nick Goetz W 6.00 4 2 2 1 7
MK Hurricanes            
D. Larwell L 5.33 12 12 6 6 1

HBP: by D. Larwell (Andy Cornish). . , by D. Larwell (Lee Manning), by D. Larwell
(Andy Cornish). . WP: D. Larwell(5). PB: K. O'Sullivan(5). T: 2:30. A: 58.

GAME 2, 2:30pm

MK Hurricanes at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
MK Hurricanes 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 7
Herts Falcons 0 6 0 1 3 1 11 14 0

Herts Falcons 11, MK Hurricanes 1
Herts Falcons MK Hurricanes
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Lee Manning lf 4 1 2 0 Player 1 p 2 1 0 0
Andy Cornish ss 4 2 2 0 Player 2 c 1 0 0 0
(b5) Greg Bochan 3b 0 0 0 0 Player 3 1b 2 0 0 0
Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 4 1 3 5 Player 4 2b 2 0 1 1
Jason Greenberg c 3 0 0 0 Player 5 3b 1 0 0 0
Marty Cullen 1b 4 2 2 0 Player 6 ss 3 0 0 0
Nick Goetz 3b-ss 4 0 1 0 Player 7 lf 3 0 0 0
Darrin Ward dh 4 2 3 1 Player 8 cf 2 0 0 0
Tim Elkins cf 3 2 1 0 Player 9 rf 3 0 0 0
Rodney Naghar rf 3 1 0 1
Aspi Dimitrov p 0 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 33 11 14 7 TEAM TOTALS 19 1 1 1

E: Player 6(3), Player 1(2), Player 2, Player 8. LOB: Herts Falcons 7, MK Hurricanes
8. 2B: Lee Manning, Player 4. HR: Kimiyoshi Saionji. SB: Darrin Ward(2). CS: Jason
Greenberg.

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Aspi Dimitrov W 6.00 1 1 1 5 6
MK Hurricanes            
Player 1 L 5.33 14 11 2 1 1

HBP: by Aspi Dimitrov (Player 2). . , by Aspi Dimitrov (Player 2), by Aspi Dimitrov
(Player 3). . . . PB: Player 2. T: 2:10. A: 58.
by AspiDimitrov

THE HAWKS HAVE THEIR FIRST LOSS OF THE SEASON AT RICHMOND DRAGONS

Report by Newswire correspondent, KAL DIMITROV

 

This Sunday saw the first loss for the Herts Hawks.  They were faced with the big-hitting Richmond Dragons team, who had lost narrowly to the Sidewinders in their first game, but managed to out-score the Croydon Pilots in their second game.  It was expected to be a tight game and a competition of “who could outslug who”.

 

It did not happen that way.  The Richmond starter Dan Lally showed great composure and had two 1-2-3 innings to start the game, ably assisted by the defense. The Hawks were able to get a couple of runs in the second, but their bats were mostly silent until the 7th. By that time Richmond had replaced Lally with Per Nilsson (who is even taller), and he was continuing along the same lines.

 

On the other hand, the first three innings were a nightmare for the Hawks. Their starter, Louis Hare, may not have felt very comfortable in the first inning, but that was not helped by a slightly shaky display by the defense.  From the second inning on Hare settled down and started “dealing”.  Only an error-strewn 4th inning (which brought the score to 11:2 for Richmond) was able to shake him momentarily.  The biggest problems were felt in the infield, predominantly behind the plate – several passed balls and dropped third strikes, as well as an error tagging a runner at home (author’s note: in my completely unbiased opinion, we got hosed on that call). 

 

Irrespective of the defensive shakiness, Hare maintained his concentration, shutting down Richmond in the last 3 innings. At the same time, the bats started to come alive, helped by some jitters in the Richmond defense.  John Oliver and Louis Hare were their usual outstanding selves, with some great efforts by the rest. The outstanding batter, however, was Dave Hamilton, who not only brought in the first run for the Hawks, but was able to perform some jedi mind-tricks on the defense, which allowed him to go from home plate to second virtually every time. 

 

Despite rallying in the last 3 innings, all that Hawks were able to do was to make the score a bit more respectable. The final score was 12:9 to Richmond Dragons.

 

Special thanks have to go to both Jon Lewys and Ilya Dimitrov (manager Carlos Casal had called them in, the former as a back up sub, the latter as a scorer), but when push came to shove, they stood up and were counted (if Jon lays off pitches higher than his head, he would be an even better batter, but that is just in the form of constructive criticism).  The reason for the inclusion of Lewys and Dimitrov was the fact that without them the Hawks would have had 7 players.

 

The two that were expected were Humberto and Luis Goncalves.  However, at approximately 13:15 (with the game scheduled to start at 14:00) they called in to check how long they had, as they were “pretty close to Doncaster already”.  To the bemusement of the manager, they explained that they were following their SatNav to Riverside Drive (which is indeed the street where the Richmond field is located).  After some deliberations it was clarified that poor Humberto and Luis got suckered by the SatNav (which provides several options for Riverside Drive, one of which is indeed near Doncaster – see attached map).  By the third inning they had made it back down to Northampton and probably got home around the time the game was finishing. They were extremely unfortunate and wasted their time, but it makes a good Nob-out award candidate.

 

 

Herts Hawks at Richmond Dragons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Herts Hawks 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 1 3 9 12 3
Richmond Dragons 5 2 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 12 9 8

Richmond Dragons 12, Herts Hawks 9
Richmond Dragons Herts Hawks
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Player 1 p 4 4 1 0 Ross Asquith lf 6 3 3 1
Player 2 c 4 2 2 1 Kal Dimitrov c 5 0 1 1
Player 3 1b 5 2 2 1 Louis Hare p 5 1 1 1
Player 4 2b 5 2 2 5 John Oliver 1b 5 1 3 0
Player 5 3b 4 2 1 1 Carlos Casal 3b 4 1 1 0
Player 6 ss 3 0 0 1 Nick Russell ss 5 0 1 0
Player 7 lf 3 0 1 2 Dave Hamilton cf 4 2 1 0
Player 8 cf 3 0 0 0 Jonathon Lewys 2b 5 1 0 0
Player 9 rf 4 0 0 0 Ilya Dimitrov rf 4 0 1 1
TEAM TOTALS 35 12 9 11 TEAM TOTALS 43 9 12 4

E: Player 4(4), Player 6(2), Player 5, Player 2, Carlos Casal(2), John Oliver. LOB:
Richmond Dragons 5, Herts Hawks 10. 2B: Carlos Casal, Kal Dimitrov. HR: Player 4. SB:
Player 1(3), Player 5(2), Player 7(2), Player 2, Player 3, Player 6, Player 8, Player
9, Ross Asquith(3), Kal Dimitrov, Louis Hare. SF: Player 7.

Richmond Dragons IP H R ER BB SO
Player 1 9.00 12 9 1 3 8
Herts Hawks            
Louis Hare 8.00 9 12 7 4 7

HBP: by Louis Hare (Player 5). . . . . . WP: Player 1. PB: Kal Dimitrov(2). T: 3:00.
A: 25.

by AspiDimitrov

CRUNCH TIME FOR GROVEHILL BALLPARK DEVELOPMENT

In July 2007 Herts Baseball Club started to put together a plan for improvements of Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead and the creation of a second baseball diamond to accommodate the growing number of baseball players and teams in and around Hertfordshire.

 

The club carried out an extensive consultation process with relevant organisations and authorities including Dacorum Borough Council, Herts Sports Partnership, Dacorum Sports Network, Awards for All and others.  In January 2008 Herts Baseball Club presented the plans, which if realized would make Grovehill Ballpark one of the best baseball facilities in the country. 

 

Large part of the project is to be funded by a government grant with the rest of the funds provided by the club and its members.  The Awards for All grant application has been submitted but in order to make a decision whether or not to approve the grant, Awards for All and everyone connected with Herts Baseball Club and British baseball is awaiting a decision from Dacorum Borough Council.

 

Provided that Dacorum Borough Council gives the go-ahead for the project, this would result in well over £10,000 being invested in improving Grovehill Playing Fields, which certainly would be fantastic news for users of the facility and local residents alike, who undoubtedly have noticed the vigour which Herts Baseball Club has brought to what is considered to be a neglected part of Hemel Hempstead.

 

Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, said: “Many see Grovehill as a developing area in Hemel Hempstead, and for those of us connected with our baseball club this is our home and we want to make it better.  If we achieve our targets, in 5 years’ time our club expects to have 5 adult teams and 16 Little League teams with a total of 400 adult and youth players.  But we need to develop our baseball facilities if we are to accommodate this unprecedented growth in baseball in Hertfordshire”.  Dimitrov added: “Over the years Dacorum Borough Council have been fantastic to our club and we hope they will recognize the positive effect which our club has on the local community.”

 

While awaiting a decision from Dacorum Borough Council, Herts Baseball Club has been working hard to raise funds for the second stage of development which will involve the resurfacing of the turf designated for the second baseball diamond.  The head of sponsorship at the club, Marty Cullen, has already signed a contract for the club with BMW and MINI as official sponsors of Herts Baseball Club and the Herts Baseball Little League, respectively.  The value of the sponsorship is a four-digit sum which has brought the club closer to reaching the target for stage 2 of development.

 

Additionally, a Fundraising Forum has been established by members and volunteers connected with the club and this is already bearing fruit with various fund-raising events already scheduled this year.

 

These are exciting times for Herts Baseball Club and for the local community with a rising number of residents getting involved.  To accommodate this growth the club is relying on receiving a go-ahead from the local government.  Members of the club are holding their breath in anticipation of the decision from Dacorum Borough Council.

 

by AspiDimitrov

FAULTLESS FALCONS EXTEND WINNING STREAK

Report by Herts Baseball Newswire reporter, ROD NAGHAR

 

This Sunday's double header was played against the Windsor Bears whom the Falcons last met at the Croydon Tournament last summer which ended in a Falcons win. The game was played at Grovehill, Falcons home ground, where things got off to a wet start as the heavens unleashed a 2 hour rainstorm before play could begin. The Falcons were on a 2 win opening streak, characterised by a very strong defense but weaker offence – something Manager Jason Greenberg was looking to improve upon.
 
Starting Pitcher Nick Goetz (1-0, 3.86 ERA) took the mound for the Falcons after his win the previous week, but got off to a shaky start giving up 1 walk and 4 singles. However, the solid Falcon's infield laid to rest any Windsor hopes for an early rout, and with a strong final K from Goetz, Windsor only managed a 1 run lead.
 
Hopes were raised for a stronger Falcons offense to dispell nay-sayers that they were a purely defensive side. In the bottom of the first, those hopes were exceeded when 7 runs were scored, achieved by a combination of big hits and some Windsor infielding errors. At that point Windsor's weak infield began a trend, which progressed to be the norm by the end of the day.
 
Unfortunately, to manager Greenberg's chagrin, the Falcon's offence then reverted to type, and most of their remaining runs were achieved though Windsor errors.
 
Nevertheless, spurred on by the big early lead, Nick Goetz went on to pitch superbly, shutting out the Bears until the 5th inning where he gave up 2 back to back single home-runs. However, by that stage the score was 10-1 to the Falcons and it didn't affect his form.
 
The game ended 11-3 to the Falcons, with pitcher Peter Kikel (a promoted Hawks player) confidently closing out the final inning.
The Falcon's made no fielding errors during the game, and with an excellent Bullpen, had little to fear from the Windsor side.
 
 
The second game began where the last game ended, this time with Darrin Ward (1-0, 1.29 ERA) at the mound for the Falcons. He opened with 3ks giving up only 1 walk and 1 hit, which proved to be one of the better Windsor offensive innings.
 
A trickle of runs came from the Falcons until the 4th, where a combination of a tiring Windsor pitcher and further infield errors led to 5 runs and an 8-0 lead. The demoralised Windsor side came back the next inning with a last ditch attempt to get some runs on the board, but managed only 3 hits with no runs.
 
The game ended 10-0 to the Falcons.
 
Much praise must go to Darrin Ward who had another incredible appearance at the mound shutting out the struggling Windsor side, putting 7ks under his belt, and only giving up 2 walks the whole game.
 
Today the Falcons proved that their impressive opening wins against Essex was no fluke. Their staggering pitching staff and impenetrable defensive lineup, justifying their promotion from the 1st division yet again. With no defensive errors in either games, an impressive win followed by a shut out, no team in the AAA can possibly look forward to playing them.
 
Next week the Falcons play at home against Baseball Milton Keynes. That is the time the Falcons hope to finally dismiss the batting drought which they find themsleves in, which will undoubtedly position them as the force to be reckoned with in this years hotly contested AAA division.

GAME 1

 

Windsor Bears at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Windsor Bears 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 9 6
Herts Falcons 7 0 1 2 1 0 0 11 6 0

Herts Falcons 11, Windsor Bears 3
Herts Falcons Windsor Bears
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Lee Manning lf 4 1 1 2 Player 1 cf 4 0 0 0
Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 4 2 3 1 Player 2 c 3 1 0 0
Andy Cornish ss 3 2 1 1 Player 3 ss 4 1 2 1
Jason Greenberg c 3 1 0 0 Player 4 3b 4 1 4 2
Peter Kikel 3b-p 2 1 1 1 Player 5 1b 4 0 1 0
Dan Kerry cf 3 1 0 1 Player 6 p 3 0 1 0
Darrin Ward 1b 2 1 0 1 Player 7 2b 3 0 0 0
Nick Goetz p-3b 1 2 0 1 Player 8 lf 2 0 1 0
Rodney Naghar rf 3 0 0 0 Player 9 rf 2 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 25 11 6 8 TEAM TOTALS 29 3 9 3

E: Player 3(3), Player 7(2), Player 4. DP: Windsor Bears 1. LOB: Herts Falcons 4,
Windsor Bears 8. 2B: Kimiyoshi Saionji(2), Andy Cornish. HR: Player 3, Player 4. SB:
Kimiyoshi Saionji(2), Nick Goetz, Player 2. CS: Lee Manning. SB: Peter Kikel.

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Nick Goetz W 6.00 8 3 3 3 4
Peter Kikel 1.00 1 0 0 0 1
Windsor Bears            
Player 6 L 6.00 6 11 5 6 5

HBP: by Player 6 (Dan Kerry). . . . . . . WP: Nick Goetz, Player 6(2). PB: Player 2.
T: 2:30. A: 50.

GAME 2

Windsor Bears at Herts Falcons
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Windsor Bears 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 4
Herts Falcons 2 1 0 5 2 10 7 0

Herts Falcons 10, Windsor Bears 0
Herts Falcons Windsor Bears
  ab r h bi   ab r h bi
Lee Manning 1b 4 1 1 1 Player 1 p 3 0 2 0
Kimiyoshi Saionji 2b 2 2 1 3 Player 2 c 3 0 1 0
Andy Cornish ss 3 2 2 1 Player 3 1b 2 0 1 0
Dan Kerry cf 3 1 1 0 Player 4 2b 3 0 2 0
Jason Greenberg c 3 0 1 0 Player 5 3b 2 0 0 0
Nick Goetz 3b 3 0 0 0 Player 6 ss 2 0 1 0
Darrin Ward p 0 3 0 0 Player 7 lf 2 0 1 0
Aspi Dimitrov lf 1 1 1 0 Player 8 cf 1 0 0 0
Rodney Naghar rf 3 0 0 0 Player 9 rf 2 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 22 10 7 5 TEAM TOTALS 20 0 8 0

E: Player 6(3), Player 4. LOB: Herts Falcons 6, Windsor Bears 7. 2B: Andy Cornish,
Player 2, Player 7. SB: Lee Manning(2), Kimiyoshi Saionji, Dan Kerry. CS: Player 1.
SB: Aspi Dimitrov.

Herts Falcons IP H R ER BB SO
Darrin Ward W 5.00 8 0 0 2 7
Windsor Bears            
Player 1 L 4.33 7 10 6 6 1

PB: Jason Greenberg. T: 2:30. A: 50.
by AspiDimitrov

(VIDEO) HERT-BREAK FOR RAPTORS

Video highlights created by Raptors Manager, JAKE KIKEL

Herts Raptors at Essex Arrows
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Herts Raptors 3 0 3 5 1 0 1 2 4 19
Essex Arrows 2 2 0 1 0 1 3 0 10 3 20

 

Going into the bottom of the 8th inning Herts Raptors could smell their first win of the season.  An 8-run lead was exactly what the Raptors wanted at such a late stage of the game against local rivals Essex Arrows.

 

But then the Raptors suffered a collapse which could even rival the Herts Hawks collapse against Southampton in 2006.  They conceded 10 runs in the bottom of the 8th and were now trailing 17-15.

 

In the top of the 9th manager Jake Kikel managed to rally his troops again putting 4 runs on the board and once again taking a lead, 19-17.  The pressure was on.  Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for Hertfordshire newest league team – they lost 19-20. 

 

Despite the demoralising loss, the team can take a lot of positives from this game.  The Raptors’ bats are really coming along.  The pitching and defence showed improvement from the previous game with some outstanding plays from Hunter Devine, Andrew Slater and catcher Andy Ringrose.  Rod Ariss and Jim Hyde will certainly be a tremendous boost for the club.  They marked their debuts with a triple and a homer, respectively.

 

The team will need to pick themselves up quickly and start again next Sunday on the Road at the Braintree Rays.  The Raptors are hoping to have several key players return for that game, including Mark Hoffman, Rob Jones, Jonathon Lewys, Pete Cox, Paul Hawes and also Rob Crouch who is gradually getting back to 100% fitness after a freakish Spring Training injury.

by AspiDimitrov

HAWKS WIN AGAIN. GONCALVES HITS FIRST HERTS HOMER OF 2008.

Posted on behalf of Herts Newswire Correspondent, DAVE HAMILTON

 

The Hertfordshire Hawks extended their winning start to the season on Sunday, putting in another strong defensive performance to defeat the Brentwood Stags 6-3 and retain their place on top of the British AA League standings. 

In a game that had a little of everything, including disputed umpiring calls and a rain delay, it was a three-run home run by Humberto Goncalves that ultimately made the difference and drove the Hawks to another hard-fought victory. 

Manager Carlos Casal praised the team performance saying “we have a strong squad this year and we’re playing some good aggressive baseball.  It’s still early and we have a few things to work on in training but it’s great to start the season with two wins.” 

The Hawks knew they would be in for a tough contest, travelling to a Brentwood side who had beaten the hotly tipped Bournemouth Sharks in their season opener.  However, they managed to keep the same defensive discipline they had produced in their first game, and the score remained at 1-1 after four innings. 

That is not to say the game was what baseball afficionados would call a ‘pitching duel’ as both sides managed to consistently threaten only to have their chances snuffed out at the crucial moment.  Hawks pitcher John Oliver showed composure under pressure to keep the Stags off the scoreboard, ably supported by some solid infield defense, with the Hawks showing the benefits of their more intensive pre-season training to turn two double plays in the early innings.

Despite the low score the game was proving very eventful, with players from both sides questioning some debatable umpiring decisions, and several runners being caught out on the base paths.  The most surprised of these was Oliver, who expected his hit to be caught, only for two Stags outfielders to collide and miss the ball.  Looking to capitalise on this mistake, he raced for second base but was then thrown out by a perfect throw from the recovering fielder.

The Stags edged into a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning but this finally stirred the Hawks’ struggling offense into life.  With two outs, Ross Asquith used his speed to turn a weakly hit ball into a run scoring single and cut the gap to one.  This brought Humberto Concalves to the plate, who blasted the ball over the left field fence for the Hawks first home run of the year, much to the delight of the vociferous travelling supporters. 

Now holding a 5-3 lead, Hawks’ relief pitcher Stuart Boast kept the Stags at bay as Brentwood remained unable to find the crucial hit with runners in scoring position.  The Hawks added an insurance run in the eighth inning, before a rain delay threatened to bring the game to a premature end.  Luckily though the April shower abated and the Hawks retained their focus to close out the victory.

The Hawks now travel to play regular rivals the Richmond Dragons over the Bank Holiday weekend.  Looking forward to the encounter, catcher Kal Dimitrov commented “they gave us some tough games last year, so it will be tricky but hopefully we can get the bats going and score a few more runs”.  The Herts Manager is certain to be urging his hitters to go on the offensive as the Hawks look to avenge their pre-season defeat and extend their unbeaten run. 


Herts Hawks at Brentwood
Score By Innings 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Herts Hawks 1 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 6 12 3
Brentwood 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 11 4
Herts Hawks 6, Brentwood 3
Herts Hawks Brentwood
ab r h bi ab r h bi
Ross Asquith rf 5 1 3 1 Player 1 p 5 2 3 0
Humberto Goncalves 2b 5 2 2 3 Player 2 c 4 0 2 0
John Oliver p 3 0 3 0 Player 3 1b 4 1 2 1
(b5) Stuart Boast p 2 0 0 0 Player 4 2b 5 0 1 0
Louis Hare 1b 5 1 1 0 Player 5 3b 5 0 1 0
(t1) Carlos Casal 3b 4 1 1 0 Player 6 ss 5 0 0 0
Kal Dimitrov 3b-c 4 0 1 1 Player 7 lf 2 0 1 0
Luis Goncalves ss 4 0 0 0 Player 8 cf 3 0 0 0
Tim Elkins lf 4 1 1 0 Player 9 rf 2 0 1 0
Dave Hamilton cf 3 0 0 0
(b6) Nick Russell cf 1 0 0 0
TEAM TOTALS 40 6 12 5 TEAM TOTALS 35 3 11 1
E: Stuart Boast(2), Luis Goncalves, Player 6(3), Player 5. DP: Herts Hawks 1. LOB:
Herts Hawks 8, Brentwood 11. 2B: Player 1. 3B: Player 3. HR: Humberto Goncalves. SB:
Louis Hare(2), Tim Elkins(2), Ross Asquith(2), Carlos Casal, Player 4(3), Player 1,
Player 3, Player 2, Player 9. CS: John Oliver. S: Player 7.
Herts Hawks IP H R ER BB SO
Stuart Boast W 5.00 3 0 0 4 1
John Oliver 4.00 8 3 1 1 4
Brentwood            
Player 1 L 9.00 12 6 5 1 8
WP: Stuart Boast. T: 3:00. A: 30.

 

by AspiDimitrov

AGE VS BEAUTY

This article was written by Herts Baseball Newswire syndicated reporter, PAUL RAYBOULD.  With Raybould now a member of the Old Timers, this article gives a fascinating view from the other dug-out in last Sunday’s season opening encounter.

 

April 20, 2008 will go down in British baseball history as the day the Old Timers played their very first game in a BBF organised league. To make it even more interesting, the Old Timers, who are packed full of players with more than 20 years of experience, faced one of the newest teams in the country, the Herts Raptors. It certainly was a case of age and experience against youth and vitality.

 

It was only fitting that Old Timers manager Peter Crook, enjoying his 60th year in the game, elected to put long-time servant of the club George Simmons on the mound at the start of this historic game. With each passing year, George seems to get slower yet his pitches seems to get harder to hit. As each inning went by, Herts batters kept hitting little dribblers or tiny pop ups. George pitched 6 full innings collecting 5 strike outs and walked nobody. His control on the day was outstanding, only going to 3 balls with one batter.

 

Jake Kikel, the Raptors manager and by far the most experienced player on the team (and old enough to be an Old Timer!), took the mound in the bottom of the 1st. Considering his limited pitching experience, Jacob showed good mechanics and control. It certainly looked like his talented son Peter has given Jake a few lessons. Nevertheless, it pays to know your strike zone and even if they can’t run or throw as well as they used to, the Old Timers hitters knew when to swing or leave a pitch. With each inning, the Old Timers added runs culminating with a big 12-run 4th. This included a solo home run shot from Justin Horsnell who later also clouted a 3-bagger.

 

Yours truly took the mound for the Old Timers in the 7th and after a shaky start, managed to get through two innings without conceding an earned run. Meanwhile, Jake gave way in the bottom of the 7th to Jonathon Lewys.

 

Although the game could have been called in the middle of the 7th on the Slaughter Rule, both teams agreed to play on. This gave the Raptors a little more playing experience and the Old Timers a chance to stretch their rusty arms.

 

Without wishing to sound arrogant, the Raptors should not feel too downhearted in losing to the Old Timers. The current OT team includes a number of “younger” players who have played at a high level and still have plenty of ability to offer. Meanwhile, it was clear that there are players in the Herts squad who will learn quickly and I expect to see a closer game when the teams meet again.

 

Old Timers Batting Order

 

Peter Barratt – Left-field

Gary Liston – Catcher

Mike Harold – Shortstop

Justin Horsnell – Third-base

Brian Currier – Centre-field

Paul Raybould – Second-base/Pitcher/First-base

Tony Smyth – First-base-Pitcher

Rob Walker/Billy Gibney – Right-field

George Simmons – Pitcher/Second-base

 

A special thanks to Old Timer, Paul Raybould, for contributing to the baseball coverage on the Herts Baseball Newswire.  Paul was a member of Herts Baseball Club for many years and the club now considers him Herts’ very own representative in the great institution that is the Old Timers Baseball Club.

by AspiDimitrov

HERTS BASEBALL STARS TO APPEAR ON BBC THIS SATURDAY

BBC Radio ThreecountiesMembers of Herts Baseball Club will be paying a visit to the BBC Radio studios this weekend.  They will appear on the Saturday Breakfast Show on BBC Three Counties Radio at around 8:45am.  You can listen to BBC Radio Online

 

The show is expected to preview the 2008 baseball season for the three Hertfordshire teams – Herts Falcons, Herts Hawks and the Herts Raptors and of course will look forward to the first ever season of the Herts Baseball Little League which will be an unmissable event for boys and girls in and around Hertfordshire this summer.

 

Baseball has never been so popular in Hertfordshire and Herts Baseball Club is beginning to attract a lot of attention from the written press, radio and TV.