Category: Headlines

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons fans prepare for another rollercoaster Sunday

photo by Richard Lee

For fans of the Herts Falcons baseball team the remaining 8 games of the National Baseball League season will be spent biting nails, sitting on edge of seats and carrying smartphones to keep track of scores coming in from other ballparks around the country.

The Falcons (5-11) are currently in sixth place and on Sunday they have the opportunity to make up ground on their playoff rivals as they face fifth-placed Bracknell Blazers (6-8). If they win both games of this doubleheader they could move into fifth place and close the gap on the Southern Nationals who occupy fourth place which represents the last available ticket to the NBL playoffs. This would set up a titanic clash seven days later as the team from Hertfordshire travels to Farnham Park to face the Nationals, where two wins could move them into fourth place.

But before even thinking about the game on 3 August, all the focus is on their immediate opponents, the Blazers. When the two teams met earlier in the year the Blazers swept them 6-7 and 4-14. The Falcons lost Cris Hiche in the second game after that nasty injury which resulted in a fractured wrist and finger for the Chilean slugger. The Blazers have been sitting out the last few weeks due to the BBF rule which states that a game can be rescheduled if a team is missing three or more players due to international call-ups.

   

We understand that their ace pitcher Jordan Edmonds is likely to be back from his spell playing in the USA. If so, Herts will need to plan how exactly to approach him knowing that he will not allow many runs. Who should they put on the mound in that game? If Abel Salas is back he would be the obvious choice with an ERA of 2.85. Over his last four starts he has recorded an ever increasing number of strikeouts – 6 against the Mets, 7 at the Mustangs, 10 against the Pirates and a season-high 14 versus the Nationals. On other hand Jose Sosa has been a revelation. If Mike Osborn manages to recover from his arm injury, he can be just as effective. Then there is shortstop Ryan Hackel who was asked to pitch 5 innings against Southampton on Sunday and he shut them down. His ERA currently stands at 1.40. So it looks like there is a lot for manager Lee Manning to think about ahead of, and during, the game .

This is the last home game of the regular season for the Falcons – last opportunity for Herts fans to come out in force and support the team before they go on a 6-game road trip to complete the regular season. The game starts at 12pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts U12 wow with triple play and doubleheader win

Herts runner is about to hop over a ground ball as he heads to third in game one versus the Redbacks (photo by Vicky Sinclair)

Mike Wakelam reporting from Forest Glade Field

Saturday saw the Herts U12 squad head to Essex for a double header against the Redbacks for the first time this season. As this was the last game day before a holiday break, the Herts team was itching to go out on a high.

In the first game, they came out swinging, with 5 runs in each of the first and second innings, from a infield hits and aggressive base running. Aaron Witter took the mound for Herts and shut down the Redbacks in the first inning, before a walk came round to score in the second. A second runner trying to steal third was thrown out by Lucas Lebrato, with Oliver Durer applying the tag. Essex tightened things up and allowed fewer base runners for the remainder of the game, but aggressive Herts base-running ended in 16 runs through five. Essex threatened in the fourth with bases loaded and no outs. A fly ball to shallow right was caught by James Dullea, but with runners leaving early, he fired to second for the second out and over to third to complete a triple play – the whole team erupted with excitement.

Aaron Witter didn’t allow a hit through 4 innings, striking out many with heat, but issuing a few walks saw his pitch count climb and so Josh Jones came in to close it out. Essex scored a few runs in the inning before Josh settled down and got the final out to seal the 16-7 victory for Herts. In all, it was a thrilling game and having the pass ball and stealing rule in effect, combined with a close backstop, saw some thrilling plays, including close plays at the plate.

The second game was a much tighter affair, with Essex taking a 3-1 lead in the first, then Herts coming back with 3 in the second. Essex tied it up in the bottom of the inning with one run, but James Dullea’s composure saw him shut down their offence for the rest of the game. James was pounding the strike zone, and the defence was backing him up. Infielders were catching pop-ups, outfielders firing balls back into the cut-offs to limit damage and Christian Lynch was hustling after balls to keep runners at third. Herts scored 2 runs in each of the final 2 innings to take an 8-4 lead, but with James Dullea’s pitch count getting up, the team decided to bring back Josh Jones for the final inning. As he was warming up, Essex advised that he’d throw one too many pitches in the previous game to be used in this game, so James came back on with 10 pitches remaining to try to close it out. He got the first out on the second pitch with a popup to Nicholas Durer at second. After the next batter reached base, James continued to throw strikes, getting a ground ball to third which Oliver Durer got over to first in time for the second out. Having reached his pitch count, Lucas Lebrato came in to close it out. With bases loaded and the tying run at the plate, Lucas struck out the final batter to end the game and complete a double victory in our first trip to Essex this season.

Pitching and Defence wins games. What stood out in my memory after getting home on Saturday, is that I don’t think there was one errant throw or play in the field all day by our under 12s. There were a couple of throws that didn’t make it in time, but no one threw the ball unnecessarily, and no one missed a ball that they could reach. The pitching from everyone was outstanding and everyone was swinging the bats. Two well earned victories to head to the break with. Well done.

 

by Daniel Levitt

Sosa shines in split with Mustangs, keeps playoffs hopes alive

Jose Sosa was majestic on the mound from start to finish of game 1 (photo by Paul Holdrick)

Daniel Levitt reporting from Grovehill Ballpark

Everybody on the Herts Falcons knew the stakes, it was now matter of everyone fulfilling their expectations.

The Falcons sat three games behind the playoff spots heading into their double-header with the Southampton Mustangs on Sunday, after losing a pair to the London Mets last week that crippled their postseason hopes

In the week leading up to crunch two-game series, the Falcons learned that they would again be without star pitcher and hitter Abel Salas, out with an illness for the second straight week.

Their mission just got a whole lot tougher.

With their fate in their own hands still, the team knew that they could not afford any more hiccups. The table-topping Mustangs were no pushovers by any stretch of the matter, but for 13 of the 14 innings played on Sunday, the Falcons looked as though they would escape this chapter unscathed and with two wins under their belts.

In Salas’ absence, centre-fielder Jose Sosa stepped onto the pitcher’s mound to produce perhaps the best outing of his career. Facing a stacked Mustangs line-up, Sosa was military like, sitting down hitters as though they were being ordained.

Sosa had just two rough innings, not bad for someone known more for his offensive exploits. After giving up a solo shot in the second and facing bases loaded with nobody out an inning later, the Cuban took advantage of his pinpoint fastball and some heads up defense by third-baseman, Jamie Gregory, to escape the major jam with just one run given up.

Having weathered the storm early on, it only got better for Sosa and his team.

Entering the sixth inning down 2-1, the Falcons unleashed a rally as if their lives depended on it.

Sosa himself started the comeback by reaching base for the third time in the game, courtesy of a throwing error to first and even managed to advance to second on the play. A Darrin Ward single between the third-base-shortstop gap prevented Sosa from advancing, and when a sacrifice bunt forced the pitcher to be tagged out at third, you couldn’t help but think it just wasn’t their day.

Enter John Blose.

The left-fielder has been largely unmentioned thus far this season, but he seldom fails to get in on the action. A double to straight away centre-field cleared the bases and, just like that, the Falcons had taken the lead. A wild pitch was enough to score Blose and make it 4-2.

Sosa then reeled off 1-2-3 in the last inning to seal the deal, including a terrific grab off a line-drive that would have otherwise taken his face off, had his glove not been there.

The sweep was on the cards and another step towards the fourth and final playoff spot, but the finale could not have panned out worse for the Falcons early on.

Starting pitcher Michael Osborne, suffering from lingering inflammation around his throwing shoulder, could only manage one inning before the pain eventually got too much. Third-baseman Jamie Gregory stepped into to try and fill the void, but he too was unable to do so.

After two innings, the Falcons found themselves down 11-2.

As Ryan Hackle took control for the last 5 innings of the second game, Herts fans arriving late for the game were asking whether this is Robbie Unsell (photo by Paul Holdrick)

But as Falcons fans have been accustomed to for much of the season, they were about to witness a soaring comeback that forced them to stand for the rest of the game.

Very rarely does a team score double digits in one inning, so the Falcons knew the deficit would have to be broken down inning by inning.

When Gregory swapped the glove for the bat and hit a single to lead off the 4th inning, Phil Clark then slugged his third home run over the right-field fence to make it an 11-6 game. A nervous energy began to fill the ground.

Phil Clark greeted at home after his 2-run homerun in the second game (photo by Paul Holdrick)

Ryan Hackel led the 5th inning off with a double and then proceeded to score on a throwing error. Darrin Ward cashed in Zac Malone to put the game on a knife point at 12-8. Another run batted in by Gregory and the Falcons were within a long-ball of tying the game.

That’s where it all ended however, as failure to convert a Jose Sosa double in the sixth meant the Falcons were on the wrong end of yet another agonizing defeat.

The Mustangs on the other hand, will count themselves lucky to escape Hertfordshire with even one game, and return to the south coast knowing they had been within three runs of a humiliating collapse.

The Falcons remain three games out of the playoff spots and face a double-header at home against the Bracknell Blazers on Sunday. The series proves to be the most important of the season thus far and, the ability to move within one game of the Southern Nationals will be on the minds of the home team.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons need to win to keep destiny in their own hands

For the Herts Falcons this has now become a direct battle with their old rivals the Harlow Nationals. The Nats currently occupy fourth place which seems to be the last ticket to the 2014 National Baseball League playoffs. Southampton Mustangs, Essex Arrows and London Mets appear to be out of the Falcons’ reach barring a total collapse between now and the end of the regular season with 10 games remaining.

Herts are currently sixth standing 3 games back on Harlow with 2 head-to-head games between the two teams remaining. Yet, they still have destiny in their own hands. This is due to the fact that they have games in hand. If the Falcons match the Nationals’ results between now and the end of the season and win the direct clash by an overall margin of 4 or more runs, they will overtake Harlow and take that last playoff place.

This makes Sunday’s home doubleheader against the Southampton Mustangs a massive encounter. A defeat does not necessarily mean that the team will be out of the playoff race but psychologically it is vital for them to keep destiny in their own hands.

The Falcons will go into the games without Cris Hiche due to his long-term injury. There is doubt about Mike Osborn after he aggravated the persistent foot injury which he suffered in the winter. Starting pitcher Abel Salas had to miss last Sunday’s games due to illness but the hope is that he will recover in time for this Sunday’s games against Southampton.

The doubleheader begins at 12pm, this Sunday, 20 July, at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Admission is free.

 

HERTS

FALCONS

SOUTHAMPTON MUSTANGS

CLUB FACTS

1996

Year founded

2005

2

Adult baseball diamonds

1

0

Youth baseball diamonds

0

0

Softball diamonds

0

NUMBER OF BBF LEAGUE TEAMS

1

National Baseball League (NBL)

1

1

AAA League

0

1

AA League

1

1

A League

0

2

U17 League

0

2

U12 League

0

8

Total

2

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS (Runner-up in brackets)

0 (1)

NBL

0 (1)

1 (0)

AAA League

0 (1)

0 (1)

AA League

0 (0)

0 (0)

A League

0 (0)

0 (1)

U17 League

0 (0)

1 (1)

U14 League

0 (0)

2 (4)

Total

0 (2)

NBL 2014 SEASON

4-10

Wins-Losses

11-3

6th

League position

1st

L4

Current streak

L1

6.86 (3rd)

Runs scored per game

6.29 (4th)

8.93 (7th)

Runs allowed per game

4.71(1st)

.345 (1st)

Batting average

.283 (5th)

.533 (1st)

Slugging average

.378 (5th)

9 (1st)

Home runs

5 (3rd)

7.10 (7th)

ERA

3.12(2nd)

30 (6th)

Fielding Errors

29 (5th)
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.