Category: Headlines

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons acquire American shortstop Ryan Hackel

Ryan Hackel (holding left corner of the banner) after winning the MIAC Championship with Hamlin University in 2011

Herts Falcons’ playoff hopes have received a boost with the acquisition of Ryan Hackel. He is a middle infielder and Herts fans will hope that he will be able to fill the void left after the departure of Robbie Unsell and Xavier Gonzalez who now play in the USA and Germany, respectively.

The 22-year-old started his baseball career at a very young age with Hard 90 Baseball Academy. In 2007 he moved on to Varsity Baseball, playing for three schools in four years – Vacaville Christian High School (2007), Vanden High School (2008) and Hastings High School (2009-2010).

In 2011 and 2012 Hackel moved on to College Baseball becoming the starting shortstop for Hamline University in his freshman year. 2011 was a memorable year in many ways as Hamline University went on to win the MIAC Championship for the first time in their history.

An interesting fact about Hamline University is that they play most of their home games at the 48,000-capacity Metrodome (pictured above), which is the former home of the Minnesota Twins. They have even had occasions when their games at that indoor arena have continued beyond midnight, as late as 2:30am in the morning.

A game under the lights for Hamline University and Ryan Hackel at the Metrodome

Hackel is expected to join the team shortly and this is very timely as the Falcons are looking to regain momentum after the squad was depleted by a series of injuries to Abel Salas, Cris Hiche, Mike Osborn, Ryan Bird and Tom Armstrong. Most of them are now gradually returning to full fitness and it will be interesting to see if the team can turn its season around. The race appears to be a lot closer this season so the Falcons are very much in touch with the playoff contenders. They travel to Southampton this Sunday, 1 June, for a doubleheader with the Mustangs and an opportunity to get straight back into the race.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Longboy is back

Herts Baseball Club is receiving a very timely boost with the return of pitcher Zack Longboy. Over the last few months Longboy has been unavailable for selection as he has been competing in the American varsity league, as a pitcher for his American school team, ASL Eagles. The varsity league season ended on Saturday with the ASL Eagles finishing second after a 3-2 loss to ACS Cobham in the final. Longboy has had another outstanding varsity season. His record is 5 wins 0 losses, with an ERA of 1.85. At the weekend he was voted into the All-Tournament Team, which is the varsity league equivalent of MLB’s end of season awards such as the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards. This is the second consecutive year that Zack Longboy finds himself nominated in this prestigious list.

The Herts Hawks and the Herts Harriers have missed Longboy but he is back now and his return is coming at a crucial stage of the season. The Hawks have 4 wins and 6 losses so far this season and they need to start winning series to go above .500 and stay in the playoff race. They travel to Brentwood this Sunday for a doubleheader with the Brentwood Stags. The Harriers are preparing for four crucial games against the LYBL Bulldogs on the road to the Little League UK Qualifier on 14 and 15 June. The first of these is this Saturday, 31 May. Herts will lose Longboy along with six other players who will be flying to Florida with the Great Britain under-17 national team. Hopefully, this will not be too costly.

These have been difficult few weeks for Herts as they suffered major setbacks with key players out with injuries. Several of those players should be back fit very soon and this, combined with the return of Zack Longboy and the upcoming NBL debut of Andrew Fulford, could give Herts teams the momentum they need to get back in the playoff races in the various leagues.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

A Bridge Too Far – Raptors fall in the ninth. Blackjacks Becking hits for the cycle.

British Single-A League
Haverhill Blackjacks 27 Herts Raptors 20
Adrian Smithers reporting form Grovehill Ballpark

The Raptors arrived at Grovehill knowing that they had a tough game ahead, against the visiting Blackjacks, as they sought their first win.

The game got underway and the Blackjacks soon had their first run on the board. Trailing by three, Raptors responded patiently and plated six runners on 1 hit, 6 walks and a HBP. Haverhill replied with six runs in the second, including a triple by Becking. Smithers led off the bottom of the inning for Herts, jumping on a first pitch slider which he hit for an opposite field triple. He was still standing rooted on third gasping for oxygen, much to the hilarity of both dugouts, when a passed ball gave him the chance to advance home two pitches later. Luckily he was able to spare his embarrassment, advancing on another passed ball two batters later for Raptors only run in the second.

The Blackjacks further extended their lead in the third inning on a two run homer from their slugger in the three spot, Daniel Becking. Despite this, Herts pitcher Charlie Mayhew settled down and got out of the inning with no further damage. The bottom of the third saw Raptors pull a run back, scored by Wittter who had been walked and then stolen second (AGAIN!) before advancing home on a passed ball to Phillips.

With the score 11-8, Herts starting pitcher Mayhew recorded two outs before reaching his pitch limit. He was relieved by Andrew Slater who got the third out of the fourth inning. Herts then added three runs in the bottom of the inning to compliment the first goose egg on the scorecard. The game was tied at 11-11.

The Blackjacks scored twice in the fifth. Raptors responded, plating three runs to at last regain the lead. This included Slater advancing all the way home from first on a passed ball to Mayhew, after pitcher Phillips hurled the ball back towards the mound in a fit of pique after failing to tag an evasively sliding Smithers at the plate.

The Blackjacks tied it up again in the sixth scoring one before relief pitcher Fuentes sent the top of the Raptors line up back to the dugout in order.

The two teams then traded blows over the next two innings and the Raptors found themselves in the top of the ninth with a one run lead (20-19) and the chance to seal their first win of the season. It was not to be and with two outs and the score tied, a tiring Slater was savaged mercilessly for a further seven runs, not all earned. The Raptors seemed to sag visibly and the bottom half of the inning was almost a formality as the Blackjacks left the diamond celebrating a hard fought 27-20 victory.

Raptors manager Geoff Thomas said, “It was a tough loss today, we played outstanding against a very good team but a couple of big innings cost us and we couldn’t quite pull it back. A lot of positives to take into next week though.”

Player of the day has to go to Haverhill’s Daniel Becking who hit for the cycle with stats of,
5-6, 6R, 4RBI, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 2BB, 3SB.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts youngsters begin journey on the road to the Little League World Series

The U17 Baseball League (South) commences this Saturday as the Herts Harriers travel to the LYBL Bulldogs. Many of the Bulldogs are members of the 2013 Cobham Cougars so this is considered as something of a re-match after the 2013 Under-17 National Championship Final between the Harriers and the Cougars, which Herts lost 6-9.

The U17 Baseball League (South) is a competition which runs during the regular season. It comprises teams from the South of England. The teams are divided into two divisions, Division 1 and Division 2, based on their ranking. Herts will be represented by two teams – the Herts Harriers in Division 1 and Herts Ravens in Division 2.

An All Star team representing the U17 Baseball League (South) is scheduled to enter the Little League qualification competition. That team will meet the team representing the North/Midlands U17 League to determine which team will represent the United Kingdom in the next round. The winner of that encounter will progress through to the Little League European Qualifier which will be held in Novara, Italy. The winner of the Little League European qualifier will fly to the USA for the Little League World Series, which is broadcast live on ESPN around the world. Little League was founded in 1939. Today it is the world’s largest and most respected youth sports organization with more than 2.6 million participants in more than 75 countries across the world.

The Herts Under-12 teams will also be taking part. For that age group the competition remains at a national level and culminates with the Little League UK Championship on 14-15 June which will be played at Farnham Park.

KEY DATES
U17, U15, U13, U12 Little League UK Qualifier – 14 and 15 June 2014, Farnham Park, UK
U17 Little League European Qualifier – 6 to 12 July 2014, Novara, Italy
U17 Little League World Series – 10 to 16 August 2014, Bangor, Maine USA

For more information, games schedule, scores, standings and more visit the U17 Baseball League web pages.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Harriers prepare for Belgian challenge

This Bank Holiday Weekend almost all British baseball league teams are resting due to a GB event, however there are several Herts teams in action.

On Saturday, 24 May, Herts Harriers will make the short trip to Canons Park for the final day of the ISST Baseball Championships. Herts will join five varsity league teams – ASL Eagles, ACS Cobham, TASIS, STJ Lions and IS Brussels.

From the scores over the last two days we expect that the Herts Harriers will face the IS Brussels team from Belgium. The game was originally scheduled for 9:00am, however the organisers have moved the start time back to 9:30am, an adjustment which has been required due to the adverse weather forecast.

Herts Harriers will be missing a large number of players due to GB team call-ups and the injury to starting pitcher, Tom Armstrong, in last Sunday’s NBL game versus Essex Arrows.

Also on Saturday, at Grovehill Ballpark, there is under 12 league game between the Herts Dodgers and the Herts Giants.

On Sunday, the Herts Raptors welcome the Haverhill Blackjacks in a repeat of last season’s Single-A national championship semi-final which the Raptors lost narrowly. The game will start at 1pm at Grovehill Ballpark’s New Diamond.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

There is no joy in Mudville…

Drew Mayhew’s hit was one of just a few on a tough day for the Raptors’ offence

British Single-A League
Kent Mariners 16 Herts Raptors 3
Adrian Smithers reporting form Grovehill Ballpark

The Kent Mariners held the previously hot Raptor bats to just two hits during a six inning (time restricted) game, inflicting a third straight loss upon the Herts ‘A’ team in their long awaited home opener.

The game, originally scheduled for a 3pm start, was delayed by almost two hours as the AAA doubleheader between Herts Eagles & Hove Tuesday overran. By the time they had finished and vacated the old diamond it was almost 5pm. The Raptors squad had, for the last four hours, either been sitting around in the hot sunshine watching the AAA game or taking part in fielding practice or pitching try outs to keep themselves entertained.

With the sun now high in the late afternoon sky and directly behind home plate, making any flyball to the outfield hard to see for both teams, the game finally started with Kent scoring three runs in the top of the 1st inning. Raptors pulled one back in the bottom of the inning, as lead off bat and starting pitcher Michael Cresswell was hit by a pitch before stealing 2nd and 3rd. Raptors shortstop Daniel Bennett then grounded into a 6-3 play scoring Cresswell and collecting the only Herts RBI of the day. Kent plated six runs in the top of the second due in part to some uncharacteristic mistakes by the Raptors infield and outfield. The Herts team replying with a single run scored by catcher (and walking rulebook) Tomasz Kosak. Neither side scored in the third inning despite Raptors first hit of the game from Bennett and due in part also to an excellent catch on the mound by Cresswell, gloving a ball that had been lasered straight back at him.

Charlie Mayhew took over the pitching duties from Cresswell in the fourth inning with the score 9-2. Kent added four more runs in another error strewn inning by the Raptors until they got out of it on an unassisted double play by shortstop Bennett, catching a driven ball before tagging out the runner. Who having gone on contact – with only one out – was trying in vain to regain second base. Drew Mayhew then got Herts second hit of the game putting himself in position to come around the bags to score Raptors third run making the score 13-3 after four innings.

Kent extended their lead by 3 more runs in the fifth and sixth. With the score 16-3, and needing 13 runs to tie the game, the weary Raptors faded away with only Drew Mayhew reaching base on an error. It had been an exceptionally long day and it showed.

Raptors manager Geoff Thomas said; “Unfortunately we didn’t do ourselves justice today and were soundly beaten by a better team. I’m looking forward to us bouncing back next game and showing everyone what we can do.”

It will be a tough game for the Raptors who face visitors Haverhill Blackjacks on Sunday 25th May at Grovehill Ballpark. First pitch is at 1pm.

by Daniel Levitt

Arrows win Herts-Essex derby

report by Daniel Levitt

The season of freak injuries continued for the Herts Falcons as they took on the Essex Arrows in a double header at Grovehill Ballpark on Sunday.

They went into the game with a 1-3 record and few expected their depleted squad to pose a threat, but despite this, the Falcons came within six outs of causing a major upset.

The visitors to Grovehill jumped out to a four-run lead before their hosts could even step up to the plate. They didn’t let up, scoring all of their sixteen runs by the seventh inning. Despite a valiant effort to steady the ship from long-reliever Phillip Clark, who pitched three innings and gave up three earned runs in three innings, the damage had already been done.

There were some positives to take away from game one and they came from the bat of Jose Sosa, who launched a three-run home run as part of a two-hit game. Third baseman Jamie Gregory tacked on another home run, his first of the season, on his way to hitting 2-3 for the game.

The Falcons looked to start afresh in game two, with control on the pitcher’s mound the primary focus. After giving up a total of ten base-on-balls in game one, the duo of Sosa and Gregory swapped the bat for the ball and halved the walks to five in game two.

Sosa, making his first start of the season, was the subject of some kind words from Falcons Manager, Lee Manning: “Jose was fantastic in his first start. He crushed the ball and was exactly what the team needed after the first game”.

Jose Sosa greeted at home plate after hitting one of two homeruns against Essex (photo by Richard Lee richardleephotography.org)

The Falcons appeared to be on their way to a series split, leading 7-3 after five innings, however the curse struck again. Tom Armstrong collided with the outfield wall while attempting a spectacular outfield catch and, after a 45-minute delay to enable the ambulance to take him to the hospital, it was difficult for Sosa to restart his engine on the mound.

Gregory couldn’t stop the onslaught, resulting in a six-run sixth and nine-run seventh. Before they knew it, Manning’s team were looking up at an 18-7 deficit, and a seemingly impossible task to overturn. Just like that, Herts were on the wrong side of a series sweep, falling to 1-5 on the season.

Regarding the mounting injuries, Manning added, “the injuries are killing us, but the lads have played through the pain and we should have a few of the injured players back for the next game”.

Up next for the Falcons is a trip to the south coast, where they will play two games against the Southampton Mustangs, who sit atop of the NBL standings with a 5-1 record.

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Injury-hit Falcons looking to take leaf out of Tony Pulis’ book this Sunday

The Herts Falcons are going into the weekend’s NBL games with the odds stacked firmly against them. Their roster has been severely weakened after the injuries sustained last Sunday in the games against Bracknell. Cris Hiche is one of the league’s leading batters with a batting average of .778, 1 home run, and he is expected to be out for 6 weeks. It would take a miraculous recovery for pitcher Abel Salas to be fit in time for Sunday’s games. There is also doubt about Mike Osborn’s fitness after his collision with Hiche and foot injury sustained earlier this year.

On the other hand the Arrows are buoyant after a winter which brought a number of high profile reinforcements turning them into a major contender for the title. Their starting pitchers Richard Chesterton and Lance Louw have picked up two wins each so far this season and are among the leaders in ERA, with 2.14 and 2.33, respectively. Over the years we have been used to seeing the Arrows in their traditional black and white uniforms. This Sunday, we will see them in their brand new orange jerseys mildly resembling the Brighton Buccaneers of the early 2000s.

Can Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, do a “Tony Pulis” and come up with a winning formula against the odds?

The game starts at 1pm at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.

There will also be two other matchups. Triple-A League favourites Hove Tuesday (0-0) will be making the trip from the South coast to face the Herts Eagles (1-3). The Kent Mariners (1-2) will also be in town in a Single-A League game against the Herts Raptors (0-2) who will be looking for their first win of the season. The start times for these two games needed to be adjusted in order fit all 5 games. If all parties are in agreement the Eagles will start their doubleheader at 10am while the Raptors will play the Mariners as soon as the Triple-A games end, which is estimated to be at around 3pm. The Herts Hawks (4-4) are on the road this Sunday. They will face the Richmond Dragons (4-2), a direct rival in the race to the playoffs.

Before all of that, the Herts youth teams will be in action on Saturday. The Herts Harriers will appear in an international tournament. Their opponents will be the American Varsity League teams, ACS Cobham, and AS Paris (France). The games will be played at ACS Cobham, which is just a few minutes away from Chelsea Football Club’s training ground. At the same time in Hemel Hempstead the Herts Under-12 League games resume. Several new players are expected to make their U12 league debuts having joined the club after last Saturday’s open day.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Title chase setback for Herts Falcons

(photo by Joe Gray ProjectCOBB.org.uk)

National Baseball League
Game One: Herts Falcons 6 Bracknell Blazers 7
Game Two: Herts Falcons 4 Bracknell Blazers 14 

After taking a 6-3 lead against GB’s star pitcher Jordan Edmonds and seemingly in control away at the Bracknell Blazers, the Herts Falcons suffered a setback in the race for the NBL title. First the Blazers rallied with four runs in the bottom of the final inning to win the first game of the doubleheader 7-6, but perhaps what would be even more costly in the long-run are the serious injuries to centerfielder, Cris Hiche, and pitcher, Abel Salas. Hiche had to be taken to hospital where it was confirmed that he had fractured his wrist in an outfield collision with Mike Osborn as both tried to bravely make the play for the same fly ball. Salas was taken out of the game with a hamstring injury. He was slated to be the starting pitcher in the second game of the day, but the injury mean that the team’s pre-game strategy had to be scrapped. The Blazers took full advantage to win the second game convincingly 14-4.

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, could not be with the team as he was awaiting the arrival of his second child. “We have to battle through the storm while our injured players recover and try to pick up wins along the way to stay in the NBL playoff race” said Manning.

New arrival, Jose Sosa, made his debut in this game and it looks like he wants to give his all for the cause. He drove the ball hard and deep and went within a few feet of a home run which would have been some achievement at the enormous Farnham Park, which has not seen any home runs since it opened last year. The Falcons will hope that pitcher Mike Osborn will be able to recover from the collision with Cris Hiche and that he will be able to continue playing with the painful foot injury which he has been carrying since sustaining it in winter training.

(photo by Richard Lee richardleephotography.org)

Triple-A League
Essex Redbacks 11 Herts Eagles 4
Essex Redbacks 13 Herts Eagles 3 

In the Triple-A League the Eagles lost both games against the Essex Redbacks, 4-11 and 3-13.

Photo by Ralph Bartholomew

Double-A League
Brentwood Stags 13 Herts Hawks 14
Brentwood Stags 21 Herts Hawks 11 

In the Double-A League, the Herts Hawks pulled-off another miraculous comeback. After trailing 4-11 against the Brentwood Stags they turned the game on its head to win 14-13. Ace pitcher Nick Russell kept the Hawks in the game with another good performance, but it was clutch at bats in the bottom of the final inning and a lapse of concentration which cost the Stags dearly. They were leading 13-12 with 1 out and the bases loaded. A ground ball was hit straight at their pitcher and they were preparing to celebrate as all the visitors had to do was to turn a routine 1-2-3 game-ending double-play by throwing to the catcher for the second out at home and then a throw to first base to force out the batter for the final out of the game. It all fell apart for Brentwood as the ball popped out of the catcher’s glove which allowed the runner from third base to score the tying run while everyone else was safe. It all came down to the next at bat with Charlie Day battling against the hard-throwing Brentwood pitcher. Day battled to a full count and in the final pitch was a ball which walked the winning run in.

In the second game the pitching staff of both teams once again struggled to find the umpire’s consistently tight strikezone, which made it a great day for the hitters and resulted in many walks. Brentwood came out on top winning the second game convincingly 21-11.

NEXT GAMES

Next week all four Herts adult teams are in action. With their injury problems, the Herts Falcons go into their home game against the revamped Essex Arrows as the underdogs. Game starts at 1pm on Sunday, 18 May, at Grovehill Ballpark, in Hemel Hempstead. 24 hours before that the club’s youth teams will go into the unknown as they face several American U19 teams including a team from Paris, France.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons add Sosa

Jose Sosa has completed his transfer from the Southern Nationals to the Herts Falcons ahead of Sunday’s NBL game with the Bracknell Blazers.

The 34-year-old Dominican has five NBL seasons under his belt. Between 2009 and 2011 he played for the Croydon Pirates. In 2012 he won the National Championship with the Harlow Nationals. Last year he moved to the Southampton Mustangs. Over his five NBL seasons he has hit 7 home runs, with batting average .297 and slugging average .429. Sosa is a switch-hitter.

 

His primary positions are first base and centerfield, but he has also pitched over the years with a record of 11 wins and 22 losses and an earned run average of 7.97.

NBL statistics courtesy of ProjectCOBB.org.uk