Category: Headlines

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Ravens vs London Mets AAA League Game Cancelled due to flooded field


The heavy and prolonged rain on Saturday and Sunday morning has flooded Grovehill Ballpark and today’s AAA League game between the Herts Ravens and the London Mets II has been cancelled.

The heavy rain claimed casualties even among the multi-million dollar football venues such as Charlton Athletic’s home game versus Doncaster Rovers yesterday, so it looks like the baseball schedule is likely to be affected today across the UK.  We are awaiting news about the baseball diamond in Enfield where the Herts Hawks play their first round playoff game versus Sidewinders. At the time of writing this article that game is still on. That playoff game has a later start time of 1:30pm.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

The Playoffs have arrived. Hawks face Sidewinders in first round on Sunday.

Last year the Herts Hawks eliminated Southampton and Guildford on the way to the Semi-Finals. Can they do it again?

The Herts Hawks begin their postseason campaign this Sunday, 25 August. Their fifth-place finish means that they will be facing the Sidewinders, which is probably one of the most liked teams in the league. The core of the team is made up of Japanese players and they always play in the Japanese tradition with the utmost respect to the game.

The Hawks’ late come-from-behind win against the Mariners on the last day of the regular season is considered by many to have done a big favour to the Daws Hill Spitfires who were pushed down into sixth place as a result and will face the Guildford Mavericks. Although the Mavericks finished one place above the Sidewinders, the recent reinforcements by the team from Enfield make them a formidable opponent and perhaps marginally stronger than Guildford going into the playoffs. Mavericks fans will probably disagree.

The Sidewinders will hope to celebrate again on Sunday.

The Hawks go into this playoff game missing several key players. One of them is Nick Russell who has been the ace of the team on the mound with an ERA of 0.83 this season (ranked second in the league). They will be missing the home run power of co-manager Andy Cornish who hit his third homerun of the season last weekend. Also missing are Sunday’s game one winning pitcher, Andrew Slater, and slugger Tim Elkins.

So a depleted Hawks squad will be making the short trip to North London, but the team is still more than capable of winning against the higher seeded Sidewinders. The Sidewinders won the last meeting of the two teams in an exciting 5-4 game. Another close game is expected this Sunday.

Playoff games are special and the players will have that tingly feeling in their stomachs on Sunday. There is an extra incentive this year as the prize for the teams which go through the first two playoff rounds is a place in the Semi-Finals to be played on 7 and 8 September at the brand new Farnham Park – British Baseball’s equivalent of football’s new Wembley Stadium.

The game will start at 1:30pm in Enfield (click for directions) this Sunday, 25 August.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Falcons Kangaroo Court is now in session

According to Wikipedia, there is some debate over the origin of the term “kangaroo court”, but some sources suggest that it may have been popularized during the California Gold Rush of 1849.

It also indicates that many Major League Baseball teams have a kangaroo court to punish players for errors and other mistakes on the field, as well as for being late for a game or practice, not wearing proper attire to road games, or having a messy locker in the clubhouse. Fines are allotted, and at the end of the year, the money collected is given to charity. The organization may also use the money for a team party at the end of the season.

The Herts Falcons Kangaroo Court is a little different, as this video from the latest court session would suggest.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Historic day for everyone connected with Herts Baseball Club

Falcons philosophical after their 18th consecutive win (photo by Richard Lee www.richardleephotography.org)

The Herts Falcons won their home doubleheader versus the Essex Redbacks to end the regular season on top of the National Baseball League, for the first time in the club’s 17-year history. They finish with a record of 24 wins and 4 losses. The London Mets (23-5) and the Southampton Mustangs (23-5) finished a game behind, but it is the Mets who clinch second place on the tie-break rule (head-to-head record between the two teams). This means that London join Herts to go through to the Semi-Finals, while Southampton have to go through the quarter-finals of the Playoffs, despite an outstanding regular season which they ended on a 16-game winning streak.

The Falcons beat the Redbacks 7-3 and 15-0 at Grovehill Ballpark. Michael Osborn was the winning pitcher in the first game picking up his sixth win of the season for an overall record of 6 wins and no losses. 14-year-old Tom Everex-Armstrong made his NBL debut for the Falcons and fans of the club hope that this is the first of many NBL seasons with Herts.

Another no-hitter by Ryan Bird (photo by Richard Lee www.richardleephotography.org)

Ryan Bird produced another outstanding pitching performance throwing a complete game no-hitter for a second consecutive game after his no-hitter at the Pirates last weekend. Only a walk allowed in the third inning prevented him from making it a perfect game. He ends the regular season with an ERA of 0.00 and a record of 5-0, despite starting only 2 games.

Game 1 Box Scores (click to view)

Game 2 Box Scores (click to view)

The Redbacks ended the season with 2 wins and 26 losses and may feel that they could have done better in their debut season in the NBL, but this should not discourage them. They have an amazing group of people at the club and perseverance will help them to go through this difficult period and come out stronger on the other side.

Sunday’s games may not have been the edge-of-your-seat-drama which Herts fans have become accustomed to, but this was all about making history winning the club’s first ever NBL pennant. The players and coaching staff took the opportunity to thank the club’s loyal fans, whose number has been growing visibly over the course of the season.

The date for Falcons supporters to put in their diaries is Sunday, 15 September which will feature the Semi-Final between the Herts Falcons and one of the teams which will join them at Franham Park via the Playoffs.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Kent get ‘Slatered’ in the first, but Hawks need Devine intervention for second

by Andy Cornish and Greg Bochan

With the Hawks already through to the playoffs, this was all down to where they were going to finish in the table and determine their next round opposition. The first game went as planned but the second was much tighter and needed something a playoff deserved.

Game 1 started in style; with a runner on base, Andy Cornish belted his third home run of the season deep over the left field fence. From there, the bats kept going with 13 runs crossing the plate in the second inning. On the other side Andy Slater kept throwing strikes, and ended the day with a solid 7 strikeouts over 5 innings. The game ended 22-9 going 5 innings. John Kjorstad ended the game batting 4-5, with 5RBIs, and Cornish 3-5 with 5RBIs.

In the second game Kent came out firing and the Hawks were giving them help along the way in the form of a multiple misplays and even an error on the number of outs. With runners on first and second, a ground ball went to Devine at short. He fielded cleanly, tossed to Ben Marques at second, who fired to John Kjorstad at first, a smooth double play. John flipped the ball towards the mound and the infield trotted off. Quickly, the outfield got message to the infield that it was only 2 outs, but by then the runner from third had crossed the plate.

Hawks are getting a reputation for losing count. This latest blunder goes along with the club’s 2012“knob out” trophy which they were awarded last year for thinking they won the game an inning early.

Alas, Hunter Devine wasn’t finished with this story. With an inside the park home run, putting Devine second in the HR category for the team, the Hawks tied the game going into the final inning. Kent were able to get one back. And they could have plated additional runs were it not for the final out at home. With Cornish mis-playing a pitch, he was able to retrieve the ball and get back to the plate in time to block the runner coming in from third.

Hawks now needed one run to tie and two to win. Paul Auchterlounie was able to get around the bases and score the tying run with one down. It was now Hunter’s turn to once again do some damage. With Bobby Gould at third and Greg Bochan at second, Devine crushed a pitch through the middle to score Bobby and end the second game. Devine finished 3-4 with 4RBIs and his second walk off hit of the year. Ben Marques went 2-2 but went off injured – Aspi’s special massage lotion has been sent to ensure that he is ready for the playoff games. Greg Bochan finished with 7 innings pitched, 5 earned runs, 7 strike outs, and a hard fought 13-12 win.

A dramatic win to end the season, something that was a bit too close for comfort, but a good season all round, ending 5th in the table with a 9-7 record. The Hawks can look forward to going straight into their post season with a game on Sunday against the Sidewinders, a team that beat the Hawks 5-4 only three weeks ago.

Andy Cornish, Hawks co-manager, commented ‘Jeez, what a game! We didn’t help ourselves in that second game. Maybe we were already eating our burgers, but we managed to get through. Everyone played their part, and we need to just build on that and enjoy the next few games. We have exceeded my expectations for this season, but now my expectations have changed and every week, I want to win. Every other team had better watch out, Here come the Hawks baby!’

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons on verge of making history this Sunday. Hawks also play to determine playoff path.

FALCONS vs REDBACKS (National Baseball League)

Last Sunday the Herts Falcons secured an automatic place in the NBL Semi-Finals and will not have to go through the lottery of the playoffs. Some would say that, as a result, this Sunday’s final games of the NBL regular season are not significant. However, the Falcons will know that they have the opportunity to make history if they can win both games of their doubleheader against the Essex Redbacks.

In its 17-year history Herts Baseball Club has never won the NBL pennant awarded to the team finishing in first place over the course of the regular league season. The Herts Falcons reached the NBL postseason in 2009 and 2012, but they have never won the pennant. They came close last season finishing second behind the Harlow Nationals, one and a half games back with a record of 17 wins and 6 losses.

Before this weekend’s final games the Herts Falcons are tied with the London Mets, however the Mets have an advantage based on conceding less runs in the head-to-head games between the two teams. This means that the Falcons will need to win both games this Sunday to jump ahead of the Mets and win the 2013 NBL pennant. The NBL champion will be determined in the postseason games in September, but for Herts fans picking up the pennant on Sunday would mean a great deal.

The game starts at 12pm on Sunday, 18 August, at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead and a good number of fans are expected to be there.

HAWKS vs MARINERS (Double-A League)

Fans will also be making their way to Grovehill Ballpark to see the Herts Hawks in their final game before the Double-A League playoffs. Southampton’s win against the Kent Mariners last Sunday guaranteed a playoff place for the Hawks so similar to the Falcons, the season is not on the line on the last day of the regular season, but the outcome of the game this Sunday will determine the path which the team will have to go through in the playoffs.

The Hawks currently occupy sixth place. If the team fails to win both games on Sunday, they will stay in sixth place and will face a trip to Guildford in the first round of the playoffs on 25 August. However, if they win both games against Kent on Sunday this put them ahead of Daws Hill Spitfires into fifth place, which means that they would be facing the Sidewinders instead. The Sidewinders have already approached Herts to plan such scenario and due to a clash at their venue, they have proposed that the game is played at Grovehill Ballpark. So there is still a lot to be decided this Sunday.

Game starts at 12pm at Grovehill Ballpark this Sunday.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Bird pitches a masterpiece 15 Ks no-hitter shutout win

by Cristobal Hiche

If baseball was decided on paper, the Toronto Blue Jays should be on top of the AL East rather than in last place. Similarly, every Herts fan (and Falcons players too) could have thought the Falcons (20-4) would just get two easy wins against South London Pirates (7-17). However Falcons players knew quite well that a loss would mean losing 1st place and possibly having to play quarter-finals playoff games. This meant for those die-hard fans who went all the way to South London to watch the games, they got to see the ‘Blitzkrieg’ offensive style in the first game and a rare gem in the second game.

The first game started with some Bingo Bango, with Falcons scoring 4 runs in the top of the first inning. This was partially helped by various errors by the Pirates defence. The relentless Herts offence continued with runs scored in each inning and by the top of the 4th it was already 12-0 thanks to another great day with the bat for Ryan Bird (3-4, 4RBI), Xavi Gonzalez (2-4, 4R, 3RBI), Carlos Velazco-Carus (2-3, 2RBI) and John Blose (3-3, 1RBI). As usual, Robbie Unsell was pitching a solid game but in the bottom of the 4th he got himself in a bit of trouble and with men on 1st and 2nd, allowed a base-clearing double by Aaron Rowlands to make the score 12-2. Herts Falcons scored another run in the top of the 5th and closed the door on the Pirates’ batters to win it on the mercy-rule with the final score 13-2.

The second game started the same way with 2 runs scored by the Falcons in the top of the 1st. Now I could continue to describe about the good offensive performances of Ryan Bird (3-5, 3RBI), Xavi Gonzalez (3-5, 2RBI), Cris Hiche (2-3) Darrin Ward (2-3) or any of the other players that hit well this afternoon. However, the story of the day is the gem thrown by Ryan Bird in his 1st start of the season. Ryan Bird threw a complete, no-hitter, shutout game which is probably one of the finest performances in the recent history of the NBL. Not only that, but he did that by striking out 15 batters (71% of all the outs) and only walking two batters in the entire game. Maybe it was the very unusual all-lefty battery (Ryan pitching and Cris Hiche catching), or the Bingo Bango written in a player’s forearm, that confused and maybe intimidated the Pirates’ lineup. But I think most likely it was the great command of Ryan’s fastball and his ability to constantly and accurately hit the corners of the plate.

With these two wins Falcons stay in 1st place and are one step closer to finishing 1st in the regular season, which would be a great achievement in itself for this team. Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, summarised the day by saying: “We played two great games. It was important not to take Pirates for granted and all the players showed that. Everybody gave 100% and hit well”. He had special words for the pitchers: “Robbie pitched very well as usual but Ryan stole the spotlight by throwing an amazing no-hitter shutout. This gives us the confidence of having great depth for the finals and that Ryan can pitch at least 6-7 solid innings”. He would not comment if Ryan has won a starting spot for the playoffs, but quipped that this is bad news for all the other teams.

The die-hard Falcons fans left the ballpark happy seeing such unique performance and that their long trip was worthwhile. It’s possible that history might be re-written once again this Sunday when Falcons face Redbacks for the season finale at home. Therefore I really encourage everyone to come this Sunday to Grovehill, enjoy the sunny day, get a tan, and of course watch some exciting Bingo Bango baseball.

 

by Duncan Hoyle

Eagles boss steps down after two very successful seasons at the helm

On Sunday the Herts Eagles 2013 BBF season was completed with a double header against Leicester at Grovehill Ballpark.
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Amazingly the Eagles have not lost a game to the weather this year, despite the amount of fixtures being increased to 14 and last year’s swimming pool of a season still in the memory, which has meant the season has been completed relatively early.
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And fittingly the day was a great day of Single-A baseball, with both sides fielding the majority of their sides with youngsters and rookie players, with the two games being split with one win each.
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Ben Marques picked up his first career win on the mound (photo by Rob Jones)

In the first game Ben Marques showed a lot of class and composure to record his first career pitching win to get the Eagles off to a great start on the day, while in the second Leicester showed character to hit back and win despite Manny Banson playing his heart out for the Eagles to get on base every one of his 5 at bats.

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There is no doubt this season has been a tough learning curve for the Eagles. However a 4 – 10 win-loss record is something to be pleased with when you consider over 70% of the Eagles roster has been made up of rookie players in their first full season of baseball, and it looks as though they will finish only 2 or 3 wins off the playoff zone. There have been some great performances, both as a team and individually. The shock victory over the Eagles sister team and Farnham Park playoff-bound Raptors will live long in the memory of the Eagles who played that day, and the sheer jubilation of coming back from the dead to beat local rivals Milton Keynes was also a highlight that spoke volumes for the enthusiasm and character of the Eagles.
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Individually, there has been numerous good displays from the Eagles. Youngsters Mike Cresswell, Charlie Day, Adam Landau Smithers and Jamie Lang have all had excellent seasons and have displayed a superb attitude throughout. Added to the enthusiasm of club favourites Manny Banson and Tomasz Kosak, the experience of Rob Jones, feared slugger Adrian Smithers, the dependable Texan, Serge Plata, the eager Chetan Shah, and Will Belbin, who has had his best season to date, there have been a lot of positives to take from the season. Late season signings Chris Eley and Rob Gibson have also showed enormous potential in the short time they have been with the club.
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After 2 years in the Eagles hot seat, manager Duncan Hoyle will be standing down to focus on his playing career. But whoever takes over will go into the job with the knowledge that they will have a strong foundation to build upon, with hopefully a new intake of promising players to add to the clubs growth. It is very pleasing to see a total of 7 of last year’s Eagles currently playing a part in the Raptors and Hawks play off push and the hope is that this year’s Eagles will soon start to progress through the Herts organisation.
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There is still the end of season stats to look forward to, with scorer and umpire Joseph Osborne-Brade currently working hard to get the winners of the respective batting and pitching awards announced. A special mention should be made to Joseph, currently battling hard to return from a serious injury for his dedication in supporting the Eagles this season.