Category: Headlines

by Herts Baseball News Editor

3 Herts players hope to help GB qualify for the U19 European Championships

Herts players Jake Caress, Tom Armstrong and Will Zucker are preparing to play in crucial games for the Great Britain Under-19 National Team this week.

The team has arrived in Croatia for the U19 European Championship qualifying tournament. Their opponents will be Hungary, Lithuania and Switzerland in the group stages. If they win or finish second they progress through to the semi-finals where they will play against the winner or the runner-up of the other group which comprises Belarus, Croatia, Poland and Slovakia.

The two winning semi-finalists will meet in the final and the winner of the tournament will advance to next summer’s U19 European Championships.

Ahead of these games GB U19 Manager, Will Lintern, was upbeat about the team’s chances. “We have a very strong team. This is the most prepared group of young men we have ever had, their commitment and dedication puts us in a great position to win the tournament get back into the European Championships” said Lintern.

SCHEDULE
Tue, 15 July, Hungary vs Great Britain
Wed, 16 July, Great Britain vs Lithuania
Thu, 17 July, Switzerland vs Great Britain
Fri, 18 July, Semi-Finals
Sat, 19 July, Final

Keep up-to-date with news from Croatia by following Herts Baseball Club on twitter and facebook.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts snap losing streak against champions Richmond

BBF Single-A League
Richmond Dukes 17 – Herts Raptors 38
written by Emmanuel Banson and Andrew Slater

It started off with Andrew Slater stepping into the managerial hot seat for Herts Raptors for the first time in 3 years because of unavailability of Geoff Thomas and Rob Jones. After a long week of trying to make a team with a massive club effort to find players with special thanks to Aspi we had 12 players for the game.

With confidence and energy coming from the Raptor’s we began the game with the sun starting to come out from behind the clouds.

It was a strong start with the bats in the first inning with Adam Landau-Smithers leading off with a walk and scoring on errors by Richmond’s defence. Ross Asquith played his first game of the season and hit a line drive for a single and Jim Arnott hit a one-run double on a line drive and advanced to third on an error. Leading to Raptors scoring 5 runs in the 1st inning.

Andrew Slater started on the mound for the Raptors and he struggled with a tight strike zone, he walked 2 batters and Richmond battled back with 5 runs to tie it 5 – 5 after the 1st inning.

We carried on where we left off at bat with strong hitting and solid base running extended the lead 13 – 5 at the top of the 3rd inning. Richmond scored 5 more runs at bottom of 3rd with Andrew Slater continuing to struggle with a tight strike zone to make it 13 – 10 to Raptors.

In the end after 3 innings Andrew pitched 75 – 39 strikes, 6 BB, 9 hits, 12 runs, 11 earned, 0 Ks.

Andrew Slater thought it was best if he stepped off the mound giving Matt Johnston his first appearance as a pitcher after playing a solid 3 innings at SS. With Andrew Slater switched to fill the gap at shortstop. Matt Johnston on the mound with runners on 1st and 3rd base didn’t take long to warm up and settle into his new role. With Matt Johnston striking one out and fielding a ball and throwing the out at first for the second out of the inning. He gained the momentum back for the Raptors with the final out being an infield pop up to new short stop Andrew Slater.

Richmond took little advantage of the situation as they only scored another 2 runs to make it 13 – 12 after 4 innings. But with a close score, the Raptors were understandably a bit nervous that the momentum could be swinging Richmond’s way.

Andrew Slater’s tactical prowess was brilliant and well executed. Adam Landau-Smithers continued to get on base and causing Richmond infield problems with his aggressive base running and Ross Asquith flawless lefty hitting sending a ball down the 3rd base line over the head of the 3rd baseman landing 5 inches in fair play. Raptors started to go right round the order to dominate with the bat while Richmond’s starting pitcher struggled to curb Raptors offence. With solid hitting all the way through the order, Richmond decided to change pitchers after 4.33 innings – 129 – 61 strikes, 10 BB, 6 hits, 17 runs, 11 earned, 7 Ks. Avram Nikolic-Parry came in relief and Richmond defence couldn’t cope with Raptors offence which led up to 22 – 12.

Matt Johnston continued to battle with the strike zone and Raptors defence helped him out and managed to stop Richmond’s comeback with only 3 runs to make it 22 – 15. Richmond’s relief Avram Nikolic-Parry struggled to find his groove and the Raptors took advantage with passed balls, hits and steals even the Raptors are 2 outs. After the disastrous 1.33 innings – 81 – 30 strikes, 7 BB, 7 hits, 15 runs, 6 earned, 2 Ks.

With the Raptors making changes taking Adam Landau-Smithers from 2B after a solid game making one out, no errors and running his heart out round the bases, and replacing him with Charlie Day who fitted into the swing of things with a solid hit with his first at bat. Joe and Mike stepped into the outfield and also continued to make solid contact with the bat.

Joe was unfortunately hitting too well as the Raptors rallied in the 6th batting round the order leading Joe to have the painful stat of being the first and second out of the inning.

The first out was a deep hit to LF, with the second out being a stroke of bad luck when he drove the ball with some speed straight back to the pitcher. The pitcher ducked and turned away to only then find out the ball had hit him clean in the glove making the out. This then led Richmond’s Ben Carter to replace Avram Nikolic Parry on the mound after losing the feeling in his hand. Raptor’s offence continued to batter Richmond’s defence and extended the lead to 32 – 15 with help from Andrew Slater bringing two home with a double with bases loaded and Jeff W following up with a solid hit to continue the trend.

The Raptors defence was proving to be as solid as I have seen this season. Ken Pike taking a brilliant pop up behind the plate, running full steam at the fence, especially after being behind the plate in hot conditions for over 3 hours.

Then making a throw out to 3rd baseman Jon Lewys to close the inning

Raptors scored further 6 runs at top of the 7th to extend the lead to 38 – 15.

Matt Johnston stepped onto the mound for what we all hoped would be the last time after a very hot day down in Richmond. With 2 out and Richmond only scoring 2 runs Matt Johnston stepped up and struck out the last ending the inning and the ballgame by mercy rule.

This is the biggest runs scored by Herts Raptors this season and a record as well for BBF Leagues 2014 season. Matt Johnston – 4 innings 79 – 38 strikes, 5 BB, 4 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned, 5 Ks.

Herts Raptors win 38 – 17, there was a lot of smiles and high fives at Raptors dugout. Well done Raptors and let’s hope the momentum carries on towards to the end of the season.

Manager Andrew slater post game mentions

” It was a great club effort and I truly appreciate the effort of some players traveling long distance to help out today. It shows a great togetherness throughout Herts. I’m finding it very hard to remember any real errors on defence which is great. Especially with people playing in positions they have not done before. I find it very hard to pick a player of the day after such a team effort.Matt Johnston has to get a special mention with a solid first 3 innings at SS and then a stunning display of nerves and composure as Pitcher for 4 innings, especially as he has not played in either position in a league game. Ken pike was hard working behind the plate and Adam was solid at 2B and always on base. Saying all that I think it has to go to Ross for making great catches in the out field and his hitting stats where amazing for someone’s first game this year”

Player of the Day – Ross Asquith 7 for 6, 5 runs, 6 RBIs, 9 SB.

Unlucky Knob Out of the Year so far – Joseph Osborne-Brade hits a hard line drive at Richmond’s pitcher and caught it without looking at the ball.

 

by Daniel Levitt

Falcons swept by Mets, lose ground in playoff race

Jose Sosa willing Ryan Hackel on to score against the Mets (photo by Paul Holdrick)

Daniel Levitt, reporting from Grovehill Ballpark

The Herts Falcons saw their playoff hopes take a huge dent on Sunday, as they dropped a pair of games to the London Mets in Finsbury Park.

Starting the afternoon already two games behind the reigning champion Southern Nationals, the Falcons knew they had to escape the capital with at least one win under their belts. The fact that they departed with zero, serves as yet another major hump in a bumpy road this season.

The Falcons, whom have been plagued with injuries all season long, were up against it from the start, after news broke that star pitcher and hitter Abel Salas would be unavailable for both games due to illness. A testament to the team was that they fought right to the death, and could have actually walked away as winners of both games.

It wasn’t to be however.

Game 1 saw centre-fielder, Jose Sosa, step in at the eleventh hour and perform a quality outing in just his second start on the mound this year. The Dominican flashed the heat throughout, striking out 11 in total and appeared in control and relatively unfazed, but a run in the each of the first, fifth and sixth innings proved to be his downfall.

On another day, Sosa would have played the hero, instead he was the losing pitcher.

There were positives that the Falcons could take into the second game of the afternoon, with Michael Osborne and Liam Green each tacking an RBI onto their season totals, while shortstop Ryan Hackel once again flashed the leather on defense, turning another string of impressive double plays.

One trend the Falcons continued was their indefatigable commitment and unwillingness to give in, and relentlessly fought back to just a 3-2 deficit heading into the final inning.

With runners on second and third and two outs, the game could have gone either way. It wasn’t meant to be however, as Mets closer Jamie Thomas sealed a tough loss for the Falcons.

Falcons manager, Lee Manning, will not know how his team lost game 2, but a mid-game collapse may have just cost his side a spot in the postseason. After sprinting to a 6-0 lead in the third inning, the Falcons steadily surrendered the lead and eventually lost in extra innings.

Having gone ahead early through a Hackel RBI single, a two-run double by Osborne and three RBIs courtesy of three consecutive walks, the Falcons seemingly took their foot off the gas and began thinking about next week’s match-up.

By the sixth inning, they were tied.

The Mets then took the lead in the sixth, scoring on a single to go up 7-6.

The seesaw game took to another turn when the Falcons managed to tie the game once again, courtesy of a John Blose RBI single in the top of the seventh inning to send the game into extra innings.

The Falcons’ fate was sealed when they allowed the Mets to score the winning run on an overthrow, a bitterly disappointing way to lose a thrilling game.

Osborn and Ward combine to pick off a London runner (photo by Paul Holdrick)

With that, the Falcons now find themselves at 4-10 for the season and 3 games out of the playoff places. With a crunch 2-game series coming up against the table-topping Southampton Mustangs, the Hertfordshire based club cannot afford to lose any more ground if they are to be serious playoff contenders.

The double-header takes place at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hemstead, with the first pitch scheduled for 12pm.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons and Raptors hit the road this Sunday hungry for wins

The Herts Falcons (4-8) are preparing for their biggest game of the season so far as they travel to the London Mets (8-6) this Sunday, 13 July, aiming to get right back into the playoff race.

If they win both games of the doubleheader they will be within one game of the Mets and may even move into the playoff zone depending on other results. The games will be played in Finsbury Park and Herts are expected to have a good number of travelling fans supporting them. The two teams met on opening day of the 2014 season and shared a win each. The pressure is on the Falcons to win both games on this occasion as they need to catch up with the rest of the pack.

Cris Hiche greeted by his teammates after his home run against the London Mets on Opening Day (photo by Richard Lee richardleephotography.org)

Cris Hiche is still on the disabled list and he will need some more time to recover from the injury sustained in the game against Bracknell earlier this year. With the exception of Hiche, all other injuries appear to be clearing up so it looks like the Falcons are returning to full strength at the right time.

This is the business end of the season. The team from Hertfordshire has 12 games to reverse the injury-hit first half of the season and battle back into the playoff zone.

There is only one other Herts adult league team in action this Sunday. The Herts Raptors will be making the trip to Richmond still looking for their first win of the season. This has not been an easy season for the team, however, the noises coming out of the Raptors clubhouse have been good all week long as the players seem determined to end this painful winless streak. The Raptors met the Richmond Dukes three weeks ago and came very close to ending the hoodoo, losing 9-12. It is expected to be another closely-fought battle.  Jonathon Lewys and Ross Asquith are expected to be back in a Herts uniform playing their first games of 2014.

 

by Rob Jones

Herts poor start helps Brentwood get good

Herts Raptors 8-24 Brentwood Bucks, Sunday July 6th

It was an early signal of how the Raptors’ day would go. The first batter up had struck out. In the no. 2 hole, Rob Jones worked a walk. Aggressively, he went to steal a base. Charlie Mayhew, perfectly sensibly, bunted.

But the ball popped up meekly barely a foot in the air, the catcher gladly grasped it and threw to first to retire Jones, who was already virtually at second. A promising start suddenly came to nothing. And so it would go.

All day it seemed the Raptors would hit to fielders. Joseph Osborne-Brade sweetly struck one towering drive towards the fence in deep centre, but somehow the outfielder got there and robbed him. Brentwood, however, consistently managed to “hit it where they ain’t”. Bloops over heads, ground balls through gaps, liners in outfield no man’s land. And ultimately that would secure them a win.

 

Michael Cresswell pitching

The Raptors had started slowly in the field, as if not yet awake on a Sunday morning. They allowed steals and missed throws and the visiting Bucks quickly put 3 runs on the board. Uncharacteristically, a fly ball was even put down in the outfield.

The home side tightened it up to end the inning, but Brentwood piled on again in the second innings and held a 9-1 lead by the end of the frame.

The game evened out then, with the Raptors chipping away at the Brentwood lead. Starting pitcher Michael Cresswell was the offensive stud for Herts, getting on base all four times he came to the plate and scoring 3 runs. He walked twice, and his hits included one majestically smacked to the outfield which finally avoided a defender. Daniel Bennett got two hits, as did catcher Ken Pike, who was making a valuable guest appearance from the Herts Hawks.

But not enough hits were bringing in runs — at one point the Raptors left the bases loaded. By the bottom of the fifth it was 13-5 to the Bucks, a lead which may sound big but which is by no means insurmountable in Single-A terms.

The Raptors defense had improved markedly as the game went on. Cresswell’s virtually undetectable pickoff move had claimed more victims, with Charlie Day and Charlie Mayhew combining well on the put-outs. Another Brentwood runner found himself stranded between third and home, and a desperate dive past Pike, and an equally desperate crawl towards the plate, were not enough to save him from being tagged out.

Brentwood finally managed to break the game open in the sixth, though. Walks and hits and perhaps a tiring Herts side contributed to an eight run inning. Mayhew moved in to shut it down as relief pitcher, but it was too late by then.

The visiting Bucks were in no mood to let up once the top of the Herts order failed to hit back. Some of the Brentwood team seemed inordinately excited to tack on a couple of runs in the seventh when they were already well ahead. But a winning instinct can be a useful tool.

Despite that, Herts did manage to push across 3 more runs in the bottom of the inning as they faced the improbable task of a comeback. The runners forced more errors — Charlie Day went steaming home on what was essentially a steal, but which would end up as a simple job because of a very high fastball.

Rookie Clive Johnson, hitting in the 9 spot, got his best contact of the day to force a good play from the Brentwood shortstop to secure the last out and the win.

The final score was 24-8. The Raptors co-manager, Rob Jones, was in charge for the week and was impressed by the stamina of the players who had to put in a full shift after a series of late withdrawals for illness and injury.

“We really hoped for better from this fixture, but we never got a break despite a lot of hard work”, he said. “We need to get the hits where it counts, and make all our simple defensive plays. This was a frustrating day.”

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts youngsters prepare for the opening game versus the Czechs tonight

In the British under-17 leagues, last month the Southern Conference overcame the Northern and Midlands conference to secure their place in the Europe and Africa qualification stage of the 2014 Little League World Series. This phase of the competition will be held between 6 and 12 July in Novara, Italy.

The Southern Conference All Star team, which will compete as UK’s representative, has now arrived in Italy. It features players from the Herts Harriers, London Mets and LYBL Bulldogs. Team UK has been placed in a very competitive group with Belgium, Spain and the Czech Republic which is a country making major strides and attracting a lot of attention from the multi-million dollar teams of Major League Baseball in America. Team UK’s first game is against the Czechs on Monday, 7 July, under the lights starting at 7:30pm UK time.

In the other group are France, Italy, the Netherlands and Lithuania, who already caused a major shock by beating last year’s winner Italy 9-4 in extra innings last night in the opening game of this competition.

The overall winner will progress to the Little League World Series which is shown live on ESPN around the world. Last year Italy qualified for the World Series by beating Team UK.

Herts Baseball Club’s representatives are infielder Carlos Casal Jr, third baseman and catcher Sebastian Molina and pitcher Zack Longboy.

Over the course of the competition this week most of the games will be televised on the internet (click to view). You can receive alerts about the TV schedule and regular updates from Italy by following Herts Baseball Club on twitter and facebook.

2014 LITTLE LEAGUE (UNDER-17) – EUROPE AND AFRICA QUALIFYING

(the win-loss records of the teams in the groups stage will be updated in orange over the course of the week)

Pool A
Belgium (BEL) 0-3
Czech Republic (CZE) 3-0
Great Britain (GBR) 2-1
Spain (ESP) 1-2

Pool B
France (FRA) 0-3
Italy (ITA) 2-1
Netherland (NED) 1-2
Lithuania (LIT) 3-0

SCHEDULE OF GAMES

(the final scores will be updated in orange as they come in over the course of the week)

Sunday July 6th ( Opening Game )
1 ITA 4 LIT 9  (8:30pm) Novara

Monday July 7th
2 FRA 5 NED 9 (10.00am) Novara
3 ESP 11 BEL 2 (1:30pm) Novara
4 CZE 4 GBR 0 (8:30pm) Novara (game suspended in 3rd inning due to lightning/rain with Czechs leading 3-0, will be resumed 9:30am UK time on Tuesday, 8 July.)

Tuesday July 8th
5 LIT 11 NED 10 (2:30pm) Vercelli
6 BEL 6 CZE  18 (5:30pm) Vercelli
7 FRA 1 ITA 14 (2:30pm) Novara
8 GBR 5 ESP 4 (F/9) (5:30pm) Novara

Wednesday July 9th
9 GBR 11 BEL 4 (10.00am) Novara
10 ESP 9 CZE 14 (2:00pm) Novara
11 LIT 10 FRA 6 (5:30pm) Novara
12 NED 0 ITA 10 (8:30pm) Novara

Thursday July 10th
13 3rd Pool A ESP – 4th Pool B FRA 2:30pm Vercelli
14 3rd Pool B NED – 4th Pool A BEL 5:30pm Vercelli
15 1st Pool A CZE – 2nd Pool B ITA 2:30pm Novara
16 1st Pool B LIT – 2nd Pool A GBR 5:30pm Novara

Friday July 11th

7th – 8th place
17 Looser game 13 – Looser game 14 2:30pm Novara

5th – 6th place
18 Winner game 13 – Winner game 14 5:30pm Novara

Saturday July 12th

3rd – 4th place
19 Looser game 15 – Looser game 16 2:30pm Novara

1st-2nd place – CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
20 Winner game 15 – Winner game 16 5:30pm Novara

 

Note: For each game the first team indicated in the schedule is the home team .

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Playoff race still wide open. Falcons have fate in their own hands.

The Falcons have reached the halfway point of the season with a record of 4 wins and 8 losses standing two games back from the playoff places. Manager, Lee Manning, will be looking for a big effort from his players in the second half of the NBL season. Despite the difficult start of the season, largely due to a series of injuries, the Falcons remain upbeat as their playoff hopes are very much alive and they have their fate in their own hands.

They currently find themselves in sixth place and need to move up two places to secure a playoff place. The Bracknell Blazers are currently fifth, just one game ahead of the Falcons so a sweep against them on 27 July will help them move ahead of Bracknell. The Nationals are in fifth place, two games ahead. A sweep for the Falcons in their doubleheader at the Nats on August 3 will see them move into the playoff zone if they can score 4 runs more than the Nats in that doubleheader. This is due to the league’s tie-break rules which state that if teams end with the same number of wins and losses and have identical head-to-head record, the tie will be broken by looking at the who has conceded the fewest runs in games between the tied teams. The Nats conceded 9 while the Falcons conceded 12 on Sunday so Herts will need to turn that minus-three head-to-head run differential in their favour on August 3.

The London Mets, currently third and 3 games ahead of the Falcons, are also within reach. To go above the Mets in the NBL standings the Falcons will need to win both games of their doubleheader coming up next for Herts on 13 July.

Team

W

L

%

GB

RF

RA

Southampton

10

2

0.833

–

73

52

Essex

11

5

0.688

1

142

86

London Mets

8

6

0.571

3

110

97

Southern

7

7

0.500

4

74

82

Bracknell

6

8

0.429

5

72

78

Herts Falcons

4

8

0.333

6

87

114

SL Pirates

2

12

0.143

9

56

105

In summary, the Falcons can overtake any of these 3 teams, but they even have some room for error as they only need to overtake two out of these three teams. The head-to-head meetings with these three teams will be massive occasions, but the race may be turned on its head by other results. It all makes for an exciting second half of the season for Herts fans.

 

by Rob Jones

Dukes beat Raptors to the punch, claim first win

The Herts Raptors have suffered a torrid time in recent weeks. A close game which they led against the London Musketeers fell away in the final stages; they scored 20 runs against last year’s beaten finalists Haverhill but were undone by errors; and a rally against Tonbridge was snuffed out in a game which saw unwelcome fireworks within the team.

Now the visit of the Richmond Dukes offered the chance for the first win of the season. The Dukes were without a win so far – but it was never going to be easy.

Despite the perfect sun-kissed conditions, the early signs were inauspicious. Star centre-fielder Joseph Osborne Brade took a line drive straight in the face during the warm-up, and was ultimately patched up in hospital. Thankfully, he is fine, but the whiff of a curse hung over the diamond.

Young Charlie Mayhew was on the mound for the Raptors and the first inning was a mixed bag, with a couple of hits, a couple of walks and a strikeout. The Richmond Dukes scored three runs before they were closed down, with 2 runners left on base as Adrian Smithers caught a fly ball for the final out.

The Raptors hit back with one run of their own, and tied it up at 4-4 by the bottom of the second. Lead-off man Adam Landau Smithers did his job, getting on and stealing bases with abandon. He had 3 runs and four swiped bags by the end of the day.

As the game developed, Tomasz Kosak ended up the de facto leadoff, opening up three of the innings. He worked a series of walks which became runs as the Raptors managed to keeping adding just one more.

The bulk of the scoring came in the first few innings. Richmond had jumped out with 5 runs in the third and threatened to break it open. The Dukes’ rookie starting pitcher Stuart Doncaster was steady and straight and speedy and the home side’s bats never really got to grips with him.

But the Raptors stayed focused. The defense — which has had too many leaky moments so far this year — was mostly superb. Charlie Day at second base made a series of good plays. Kosak, who was moved from catcher to third base as part of a reshuffle, made the manager look like a genius with several excellent plays.

He took one spinning grounder at the second attempt and made an immense throw to get the runner by half a step, then hauled in an over-the-shoulder catch which appeared to be escaping from him all the time.

Herts’ relief pitcher Andrew Slater brought his seventies-style swagger to the mound, and battled hard to hold the Dukes to just 2 earned runs. Michael Cresswell came on in centre field as part of the changes and also made two crucial catches to keep Herts in the chase. By the middle of the seventh, it was 11-7 to Richmond.

There were frustratingly few good hits, though, as Stuart Doncaster continued dealing. First baseman Jeff Witter cracked one to centre to score a run, and shortstop Rob Jones — the only Raptor with a multi-hit game — drove one past the pitcher’s head to bring in another. But by then it was against Richmond’s veteran reliever Woo Kim, and time was running out.

The Raptors had thrown up zeroes three times with their good defense, but only once did they bring home more than one run. In the bottom of the ninth that left the score at 12-9, a tantalising target of scoring 3 to tie and 4 to win.

Today this was too tall an order. Although the Raptors were more aggressive in the box, Kim’s deceptive slow curves induced three balls in the air, and Richmond could celebrate.

The Herts Raptors co-manager Rob Jones was proud of the team’s effort. “This is the best 9 innings of baseball I have seen from us this year”, he said. “Everyone played a part and it was so close right to the end. We’re frustrated not to get the win, and it’s disappointing that the bats never really came alive. But that shouldn’t overshadow the good things that happened.”

Herts get an immediate chance to strike back — they travel to Richmond on Sunday for the return fixture.

 

by Daniel Levitt

Falcons fall agonizingly short, get swept by Nationals

Falcons’ rally caps couldn’t get them the run they needed in the final inning (photo by Paul Holdrick)

Daniel Levitt, reporting from Grovehill Ballpark

The Herts Falcons took on the Southern Nationals in a double header on Sunday, in what was the most anticipated series of the season thus far. Heading into the two games, both teams stood on the cusp of the playoff spots.

Soaked in glorious sunshine, Grovehill Ballpark was once again drenched in perfect playing conditions. The Falcons knew they would have to be at their very best to topple the reigning champion Nationals.

The Nationals opened Game 1 with one run in the top half of the first without even registering a hit, but the Falcons quickly answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning, when Phil Clarke scored on a Jose Sosa double, who was then thrown out at third stretching for a triple.

The Nationals slowly built a solid three run lead by tacking on a run in each of the next three innings. But as the home team has done all season long, Herts battled back and climbed within one run in the fifth inning.

Carlos Velzaco got things started with a lead-off walk and when Clarke also got a free pass, Sosa delivered his second hit and RBI of the game. Abel Salas then walked to load the bases for power-man Darrin Ward.

First baseman Ward displayed a mature approach at the plate by getting on base any way possible. Instead of swinging aimlessly, Ward managed to frustrate the pitcher enough to draw a hit-by-pitch and make it a 4-3 contest.

It looked as though the game was out of reach when Nationals’ Moses Vasquez launched a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to make it a 6-3 deficit, but the Falcons once again fought back.

They added an RBI single courtesy of Clarke in the bottom of the sixth and, when Salas launched his second solo home run of the season, the Falcons were suddenly just one run down again.

Despite having a runner in scoring position with two outs, the Falcons would fall just short however.

Falcons’ starting pitcher, Michael Osborne, was unlucky to be the losing pitcher, but a couple of critical errors by the Falcons led to the crucial runs being scored. Sosa completed an inning of work on the mound, striking out two in the process.

Click here to view Game 1 box scores

Game 2 saw Abel Salas take the mound for the Falcons, coming off a majestic outing a fortnight ago against the South London Pirates. In the win over the Pirates, Salas pitched a complete game giving up just the single run. This week was another solid performance, coming up just short against a tougher line up.

The final game of the day was a different story with the Falcons leading for most of the way and the Nationals this time staging the late comeback. Heading into the bottom of the fourth tied at two, the Falcons opened up some daylight between their pesky opponents.

Velazco drew his second lead-off walk of the game and Liam Green followed by being hit by a pitch, and when John Blose drew the second walk of the inning, it led to a bases loaded situation for starting pitcher Salas. Just as he did a fortnight ago against the Pirates, Salas helped his own cause by cashing in two runs with a double to deep centre field.

Click here to view Game 2 box scores

After the game Falcons manager, Lee Manning, said of Salas, “he just goes to work every time”.

“He is integral to our team and what Herts Baseball is all about. Especially with the younger guys, he’s a great role model”.

Salas’ efforts weren’t quite enough this time around, as the Nationals slugged their second home run of the game in the sixth inning to tie it up, and then scored the go-ahead run in the seventh. Salas struck out a season high fourteen batters in seven innings.

The Mexican won’t be too crestfallen as the Falcons sit just two games outside of the playoff spots, with the team heading into a three week break before their next game.

The Falcons’ next game is a double header away to the London Mets (7-5 ), who currently sit in third place. Join us in Finsbury Park for what promises to be a crunch series for the Herts Falcons.