Category: Headlines

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts tied at the top of the U17 league after a win against Horsham

The Herts Harriers knew that they are making good progress over the last few months, but they will feel even more satisfaction now that the improvements are being reflected on the scoreboard and in the league standings.

BBF U17 League: Leicester Blue Sox 0 Herts Harriers 15 (click to view box scores)

They started Saturday’s league action with a win against the Leicester Blue Sox. Brodie Caress pitched a complete game shutout allowing only 2 hits and striking out 8. The team from the Midlands was a little unfortunate to lose their starting pitcher in the early innings with a slight injury, but they recovered well in their second game of the day against Horsham. They are a young team which is making its league debut this season and feature many young players who will have several years in this age group to build a title-challenge.

Herts Harriers Manager, Cris Hiche, felt that the high score in the game versus the Blue Sox does not fully reflect the game “We won the game fairly quickly but that doesn’t mean they’re a bad side. One just needs to see how they turned it around against Horsham. I think for us the key was not to underestimate them and be patient at the plate. All our players did extremely well to follow and stick to our game plan and to be aggressive on the bases.”

BBF U17 League: Herts Harriers 5 Horsham Hornets 2 (click to view box scores)

The last game of the day matched Horsham against Herts. Both teams reached the playoff quarter-finals last season and both will be hoping to go further this year and end the dominance of the London Mets and the Cobham Cougars. The game featured 7 players from the Great Britain U19 and U16 National Teams (Horsham-3, Herts-4) and the GB Senior National Team Head Coach, Sam Dempster, was present, radar-gun in hand, to assess them and the other players from the three teams involved on the day.

GB U16 player, Tom Everex-Armstrong, was the starting pitcher for Herts but before he even stepped on the mound he contributed driving in Callum Vangundy with a single in the top of the first inning. Herts held that 1-0 lead for 2 and 2/3 innings with good pitching and defence. Horsham tied the game with 2 two-out hits by Whitton and Cox in the bottom of the third inning.

Herts regained the lead in the fourth inning on hits from Charlie Mayhew and Tom Jansson-Wright who went 2-for-2 with RBI in this game. Conner Brown came home to extended the lead in the fifth inning. Tom Everex-Armstrong kept going strong on the mound pitching very efficiently retiring Horsham with around 15 pitches per inning. He was substituted after 5 innings allowing only 2 runs and striking out 6. Jose Morillo came in to close the game with a 5-2 lead. He did it in style retiring the batters in order with 2 strikeouts and a groundball out.

“We played a fantastic game against a very difficult Horsham team. Their pitching was really good with their starter throwing 67mph and their reliever 72mph. However, our players showed we aren’t afraid of any pitcher and can manufacture some runs. The game was close but we managed to win it by playing a perfect game in every aspect. I’m very pleased with everybody’s performance and this should give us the confidence to dream big this year.” said Cris Hiche.

With only a few games played so far in the BBF U17 league it is too early to start analysing the standings, but Herts fans will enjoy being tied in first place at the moment.

 

by Rob Jones

Euphoric house: Eagles walk off as winners

In more than a decade playing baseball, I have been walked off on many times, writes Rob Jones. I can easily think of two occasions within a few weeks of each other, when first Braintree and then the Old Timers snatched a victory from my team in the bottom of the ninth. And yet it took much rummaging in my brain to find an instance when I had enjoyed the euphoria instead of the deflation of a walk-off.

That just shows how rare and special Sunday’s Eagles victory was over the Raptors. A rain-soaked, see-sawing four hour epic of conflicting emotions. Anticipation. Concern. Confidence. Frustration. Jubilation.

I had a lot invested in the game. For one thing, I had used up a day of my annual leave from work to be able to take part! And the weather was threatening to scupper it all. In the end, the heavy rain never really materialised, more a steady drizzle. And us in the British baseball community… well, we laugh in the face of steady drizzle.

Reaching high: Rob Jones at bat on Sunday

The Eagles as a whole had invested a lot too. After two heavy losses, you want to win. I don’t think there was ever any question of a grudge match, but you do want to do well against your most direct rivals — and what could be more direct than the Raptors, the other Herts Single-A team, and the one which is built for greater success?

When we started badly you feared the worst. Rookie errors made by rookies are no surprise, but that didn’t make Duncan any happier about them, and it didn’t make us any happier. The Raptors can hit well, and they didn’t need our help to do it. When we got our own bats out, that led to the confidence and some satisfaction. And we tightened the defense considerably.

I have not hit particularly well so far this season, but managed better contact in this game. There were a couple of ground balls from the tip of the bat, but at least one of them allowed to reach base on either an infield hit or an error (I couldn’t entirely see which). And other hits, including a double, were more solid. I was less than an inch away from a perfect triple down the right field line, too – frustratingly, that was just another strike.

But at that point it didn’t seem to matter. We were well in control. Not much came my way in the field, that I can recall. But when I was removed along with other starters I didn’t mind too much.

That was when this really became a game of two halves though! The Raptors made a remarkable comeback, and I tip my hat to them for that. Not only the 13 runs they scored in one inning, but the way they fought to use that as inspiration to actually go on and win. Watching from the sidelines as the runs came in, and as Eagles rallies were snuffed out, was a nervy experience.

The biggest triumph of the day was for the team spirit of the Eagles. Because everyone really wanted this win, and refused to crumble even when it would have been far easier. Momentum and confidence count for a lot in baseball, and seeing a 17-run lead eroded doesn’t make you feel good!

But the ending was the storybook one — for the Eagles, at least. A pinch hit single, stolen bases, the walk-off hit and the mobbing at home plate. Whilst I did finally manage to conjure up a walk off win from my memory (from 2006 – you can even watch that one on YouTube) there was no home plate party that time. This time, we had our act together more.

So there was the euphoria. The first Eagles win of 2013, a clear upset victory, and a fitting finish to a great game. An experience which defines why we turn up on a rainy Sunday. Why we turned up for so many rainy Sundays before we got to this point. A lot of laughs, some really good plays, and a good competitive ball-game from which both sides should take a lot of heart. I speak as an Eagle this year, and the players on our roster should definitely be proud of that win.

 

by ChrisJones

A Game of 90 Minutes

It was the latest match-up in this old, celebrated fixture. These two teams, local rivals, fought for glory. It was top-of-the-table against bottom-of-the-table. Neutrals sided with the plucky underdogs – could they defy the odds?  It was an hour and a half of intense action, back and forth, no quarter given. But, in the last seconds of the game, the favourites were beaten, by a margin of one.

Yes, the FA Cup Final was a cracking game. But earlier, 15 miles away from Wembley, Grovehill Ballpark witnessed the Giants taking on the Dodgers once again.

We kicked off with practice, focusing on hitting and pitching, together with some infield drills. A smaller group of potential pitchers developed their accuracy on the mound. This year’s effort to entrust pitching duties to the players rather than the coaches seems to be the right call.

The under-14s and under-17s had practice sessions, so we had the use of the new diamond, with the fence pegged out barely beyond the adults’ infield. Aspi manned the public address system, and called out the lineups for us. A huddle comprising the cream of the Herts coaching staff stood watching from the pavilion, joined today by Sam Dempster, Head Coach of the Great Britain national squad. Lesser teams might have been daunted by the pressure. But not our under-11s.

The Dodgers were the visitors today, and first up at bat. Ben Jupp was on the mound. William Morillo got the ball rolling with a single, and before long the Dodgers had two runs on the board after a few fielding errors. Lucas Lebrato hit a line drive for a double to bring home Noah Haines for the third run. But with two runners in scoring position the Giants were able to get the third out to keep the score at 3-0.

In reply, with Lucas Lebrato pitching, the Giants picked up their first run when Ben Jupp singled to bring home Christian Lynch. Lewis Auchterlounie repeated the trick, and Noah Lynch hit another single to load the bases with no outs. The Dodgers were relieved to strike out the next three batters, and the score was 3-2 to the Dodgers at the bottom of the first.

The second inning was scoreless for both teams. Jupp pitched a no-hit second inning for the Giants – two strike-outs and a 4-3 groundout. In similar form, Lebrato allowed only one single in disposing of the Giants.

For the third inning, Christian Lynch took over the pitching role for the Giants. Noah Haines reached first on an error, and Lucas Lebrato continued his good form with the bat, with another double, although he was forced out after he and Noah both tried to occupy third base at the same time. Jonathan Wakelam was the victim of a 1-3 groundout, although Noah Haines made it home on the throw. The Dodgers were retired with a 4-2 lead, though, as Alex Troutman struck out looking, leaving runners on first and third.

The Giants quickly loaded the bases, with a couple of errors and a single from Alex Jones. Christian Lynch then hit a two-RBI single, and Nicholas Durer hit a line drive single to bring Alex Jones home. Ben Jupp then fired a ball to the fence for a double and two further runs. That was the maximum five runs for the inning, and 7-4 to the Giants after three.

Nicholas Durer now came in as pitcher. Joe Gipple and Lucas Lebrato both secured RBIs with singles, to bring the score to 7-6. With two outs, and runners on first and second, Lenny Flavin came to the plate, and hit a fly ball up to Oliver Durer at third base. Oliver dropped it, but kept his head, grabbed the ball from the dirt, and tagged Lucas out at third. And that was the ballgame.

Practice over for the under-17s and under-14s, we had been joined by a trio of older brothers. Callum Vangundy cheered on Rory as he batted. Jose Morillo shouted encouragement at William, and Ben Jones offered ‘advice’ to his little brother Alex. Watching the five to ten year-olds giving it their all, Sam Dempster seemed impressed. As he commented, “everyone starts here”.

Game Summary

Season Statistics:

 

by Rob Jones

Derby day ends with upset win for Eagles

Herts Eagles 31-30 Herts Raptors, Grovehill, Sunday 12th May

How many runs do you need to lead by if you are to feel secure in a baseball game? Yesterday’s Herts derby didn’t give us a definitive answer, but we do know that it’s more than 17. Because that is the cushion which the Eagles had built up over their Single-A rivals by the end of the fifth inning. But it was not enough to prevent a nail-biting finale.

Herts debutant Antony McDowell pitched a complete game

The game started badly for the home side, Duncan Hoyle’s Eagles, as missed chances and poor throws allowed the Raptors to rack up runs. Hoyle had to call in his fielders for a pep talk before a single out had been recorded, an illustration of how crucial this game was.

Raptors scored six in the first frame, but the Eagles quickly answered back with 5 against starting pitcher Jeff Witter. Mike Cresswell led off with a single, and after stealing bases he came home to score the first run. We will hear more of Cresswell later. By the end of the second inning, Eagles led by 15-6.

The Eagles had a Dominican debutante on the pitchers mound, Antony McDowell. He was making his first start for the club, though he clearly was no new boy to baseball. He kept the powerful Raptors bats in check and the defence tightened up behind him, so that for four consecutive innings the Raptors did not score a single run.

Rain had fallen a couple of times by the end of the fifth, when the score had reached 23-6, and heavy downpours had been forecast for late afternoon. It’s possible that minds on the Eagles bench were starting to turn towards a mercy rule victory, or even a convenient rainout now the game was official. Several of the starters had been subbed out to give playing time for the large squad.

Arnie Longboy’s Raptors, though, were far from giving up. As McDowell perhaps showed some signs of tiredness, the hits and the runs started to come. Theo Scheepers was a constant threat, and Longboy himself hit a long drive to the outfield. The highlight was a bases clearing triple by Brodie Caress — and he crowned his hit by coming home to score on an overthrow.

The Raptors' Brodie Caress pitched, hit and fielded like a winner, but ended up on the losing side.

The Raptors scored an improbable 13 runs in the top of the sixth, and were down by just four. And the Eagles run rate had slowed dramatically since the early outburst. Caress had come in to pitch, and looked as if he could be in line for a remarkable win. Catcher Ken Pike helped cut down base-stealer with a laser throw to end an inning, and keep his team in the game.

The momentum was clearly with the Raptors. But now, with the rain falling steadily, the Eagles stood firm when they could have crumbled. Rory Hutchinson, new to the game of baseball, had been introduced at shortstop as part of the sixth-inning changes. He made back-to-back excellent stops to secure outs and save runs. In the wilds of right field, Adam Landau-Smithers made two heart-stopping snow-cone catches on fly balls drifting back towards the fence.

McDowell had got a second wind, and was perhaps determined not to see his remarkable effort go to waste. In all, he threw close to 250 pitches on the day. His efforts helped limit any further big onslaught from the Raptors, although they did take the lead. They were in front, 30-28, as the Eagles went in to bat in the bottom of the ninth. The stage was set.

The first man got on, stole second. And up stepped pinch hitter Adrian Smithers, last year’s home run champion. He’d not played since the first game of the season, but he came through with a drive down the third base line to bring in a run. He scored the tying run himself after Will Belbin continued his excellent form at the plate and got aboard.

And when lead-off man Mike Cresswell stepped in, Belbin was there on third base as the winning run waiting to score. Cresswell was calm, as if nothing was at stake. The crack of the bat was a clean sound and the ball sailed decisively out to the outfield. Arms aloft, Will Belbin crossed the plate. He was mobbed by a team which had its first win of the season in the most dramatic fashion.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Players have started signing up for the teams to represent Herts in the Little League World Series

The Little League World Series has been attracting millions of ESPN viewers over the years. Some of the games draw larger audiences than Major League Baseball games which are being played at the same time. The equivalent example for British sports fans would be if the FA Youth Cup attracted more TV viewers than the Premier League game televised on Sky Sports at the same time.

Every August the best little league teams from across the globe travel to Williamsport Pennsylvania to determine the champions in the different age groups. But before this there are a series of qualification games being played at regional level, moving up to national and then continental qualifying rounds, similar to the qualification process for the football World Cup.

 

Over the last few years only one team from Great Britain has been entering the Little League Europe and Africa qualifying games. This year it looks like more British baseball clubs will be entering the competition and Herts Baseball Club is one of these organisations which plans to apply for entry.

The fact that more than one British team plans to enter implies that the British representatives in the Europe and Africa qualifying rounds will be decided in an elimination tournament later this year.

In order to comply with the eligibility requirements, Herts baseball Club is beginning the process of registering players for this competition. The club is inviting anyone in the following age groups to contact the club with a view to being added to the rosters.

• Little League “Major” Division for players aged 9, 10, 11 and 12 on 1 May 2013

• Junior League Division for players aged 12, 13 and 14 on 1 May 2013

Those who are outside of these age groups can still contact the club in order to sign up for the regular season with the Herts teams in the appropriate age group.

Herts Baseball Club is able to welcome players regardless of previous experience. Even those who have never played the game before can sign up. The coaching staff will assess all candidates and determine the final rosters. To register or to find out more about this opportunity contact Herts Baseball Club.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

GB team manager Sam Dempster to work with Herts coaches and players this summer

It has been confirmed that this summer Great Britain Senior Team Manager, Sam Dempster, will be involved in several sessions with the Herts youth and adult baseball programmes.

Over the years Sam Dempster has always taken time to visit Herts and work with the players and coaches. The club has benefited enormously from this. With support from BaseballSoftballUK and the Great Britain National Team programme this effort will continue this year.

Sam Dempster is expected to make his first visit to Grovehill Ballpark this Saturday, 11 May, when the Herts U17, U14 and U11 teams have training sessions and games. In previous years he has worked closely with the players running practice sessions and clinics. This summer the focus is expected to turn more on work with coaches and their development. This is likely to bring much longer-lasting benefits as coaches are able to pass on that added value to the players for many months and years to come.

Herts Club President, Aspi Dimitrov, said: “Everyone at our club knows coach Dempster. The young kids who he has worked with since 2008 have grown into big and strong athletes and he has played a big role in their development and the success of our club”.

Apart from his role as GB team manager, Sam Dempster, acts as an envoy for Major League Baseball around the world, and is also a member of the coaching staff at the Milwaukee Brewers.

It is not too late for boys and girls aged 6 to 16 to join and take part in these sessions and enjoy the summer of baseball coming up. New payers are joining the club every week throughout the year. For more details about joining the Herts teams contact us.

“With the football season ending we are receiving increasing number of enquiries from football players of all ages interested to play baseball during the summer. The chance to train with GB Team Manager, Sam Dempster, is the baseball equivalent of training with England football manager, Roy Hodgson, and our members realize that they are very fortunate to have this opportunity” said Dimitrov.

 

by Rob Jones

The best of rivals

The Raptors are expected to deploy their young pitchers against the strong-hitting Eagles lineup

It’s an experience which few British baseball clubs can even contemplate. But this Sunday, for the second year in a row, Herts will see two of its teams go head to head in a competitive league match. And there is little question that it is one of the choice Single-A match-ups on the baseball calendar for 2013.

The Herts Eagles and the Herts Raptors will play twice this year, and the first contest is arriving early in the season with both sides having something to prove. They are both feeling their way into the year, and will want to use their club rivals as a springboard to greater things.

The Raptors have the upper hand, having started the year 2-0. They beat the Leicester 2Sox by a football score, after a game which had started evenly matched, then came from behind to beat the always tough prospect of the Old Timers.

But the Raptors manager Arnie Longboy is looking for further improvements from his players. “Going into this game we’ve done okay”, he says, “but we still need to overcome mental errors if we want to compete in the post season.” He adds that he will tell his players to be ready for a close game and “not to let up.”

Much will depend on the outstanding young pitchers such as Zack Longboy and Will Zucker, as well as on catcher and compulsive base-stealer Ken Pike.

“The Eagles are especially hyped up to do well and it can get very competitive”, says coach Longboy.

His opposite number on the Eagles has an idea why that might be. “There will be a bit of extra spice”, explains Duncan Hoyle, “as several of last years Eagles will be with the Raptors this time around.”

Theo Scheepers and Sonam Lama are just two of the players who switched rosters to the Raptors in the off-season, while veteran Rob Jones went in the other direction to add some depth to an Eagles line-up which includes many novice ballplayers. All of those who have experienced both camps will want to show their old team-mates what they can do.

“It’s an exciting prospect to help the large numbers of new players who are coming on board”, says Jones. “We have guys with great arms, great bats, and they are learning the game very fast.”

Of course, Duncan Hoyle was a Raptor himself once, before stepping into managerial duties. He says: “I’ve seen enough from our batting to know we can score well at Single A, so I’m looking forward to the occasion and I know we can give a good account of ourselves.”

The Eagles have indeed scored 33 runs in two games, despite suffering defeats in both, so there is clear ability there. Mastering the fielding could make the difference — “I want us to focus on our game”, says Hoyle, “we need to start bringing down our error count and look to cut out the mistakes.”

Mike Cresswell and Will Belbin are two of the Eagles who have already done good work with both the bat and the glove, and the team will be looking for big performances.

The first ever Herts derby clash in 2007 was surrounded by hype as the Falcons took on the expansion Hawks for the first time “in anger”. The club has come a long way since then — now fielding five adult teams as well as strong youth sides and a Little League — but there is still something special about a derby.

As Raptors’ coach Arnie Longboy puts it: “I think this is the Herts baseball fixture of the season, because the club knows that Herts will come out on top! Play ball!”

The Eagles are the nominal host team for the fixture at Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead, on Sunday May 12th. First pitch is at 1:30pm.

by Rob Jones

The first cracks of the bat

It was a bright, cold and sunny Monday morning. I had slept like a log, but another four hours of sleep wouldn’t have gone amiss. That’s what a couple of weeks of baseball can do to you. My arms ached and my pride was wounded but I had certainly had an interesting start to the 2013 season, writes Rob Jones.

The two games could hardly be more different. In the first, I was with the Raptors as they ran up a football score against Leicester 2Sox. In my second game, I was on the receiving end of a similar thumping as the Eagles were undone at Hemel by the Tonbridge Bobcats.

There was a consistent thread in both games — and that was my bat making lousy contact with the ball. I hit infield dribblers, comebackers, pop-ups and all sorts of rubbish. Horrid. It was crowned by a strikeout in each game, which is galling as two strikeouts is usually my total for a season, not a fortnight! Both were on third strikes which I considered high — especially the first of them — but I guess you live and learn.

Rob Jones
Your correspondent Rob Jones hits a sac fly in the closing stages of the Tonbridge game (pic: David Ames)

The bat-on-ball contact did get better as each game went along, so I take solace in that. I hit one decent single at Leicester, and then a single, double and sac-fly in the run-fest against Tonbridge.

My overall performance in the field was of a better standard. OK, yes, I dropped a pop-up on the infield against Tonbridge, and yes I should have been slapped for it. It was a classic lesson in not thinking about the people around you, and not thinking ahead to the impending double play. I failed to close my mind to these things, and paid the price. Duncan, who was pitching, also paid the price, as he had to go through it all over again. A lesson for us all.

Otherwise, I fielded all the ground balls which came my way, and I had put away a couple of outfield catches in my first-week outing. It feels good when you can slip back into baseball smoothly, after a long winter break. Training both indoors and back on the Grovehill diamond really help, but it is satisfying when any good work continues during a competitive game.

I felt that the fielding performance of both Raptors and Eagles was actually pretty good. There was some sloppiness which could be put down to rust, particularly with the Raptors, and to the first “game-time” situations of the year. But there were few howlers. The Eagles are fielding a lot of genuine rookies, who will learn fast, and Raptors eked out a tough win against the Old Timers in week 2, so must have improved!

There is just room for a quick word on my pitching debut for the year. I haven’t taken the mound since 2011, but I felt quite comfortable up there. Apart from walking the first batter, I did stick to my usual mantra of not giving away free passes. At this level, I have often seen walks eat away at a team and while I know I can’t blow away hitters, I also know that I can throw strikes. Unfortunately a hot-hitting Tonbridge team rather teed off on me.

I did get two outs — one thanks to a good stop by Mike Cresswell — and nearly got out of the inning. But we made some fielding errors, and missed fly balls. This isn’t a grumble against my team-mates, as one of the errors was by me when I picked up a bunt cleanly but threw high and wide to first base. But you do really feel the effect of those errors when you are the man on the mound.

I threw one or two curve balls that I was happy with, but probably stayed away from it too much for fear of walks. If the coach lets me get back up there, I must try to work batters more.

So that’s how 2013 opened for me. Barely days after becoming a big money transfer to the Herts Eagles, I found myself all suited up for Opening Day with the Raptors. Life’s full of surprises. And I headed up to a new venue for me, Leicester. Western Park is a nice little diamond. As undulating as most British ballparks, and with its batting circle and bases having the consistency of a slightly pebbly beach. But with a permanent backstop, a decent amount of cover from trees, and an overall good feel.

Milton Keynes and Haverhill will also be new experiences. And I am still looking forward to the year. Although I still need more sleep. It’s hard to tell what the season will be like, or what the story will be when summer fades away. But I like the opening chapters.

by Cristobal Hiche

The NBL has a new leader. Title race wide open.

Herts game two starter Robbie Unsell pitched a gem allowing only 2 earned runs

written by Cristobal Hiche

A Herts fanatic would try to find many excuses to justify two painful losses suffered this Saturday afternoon in Finsbury Park against the London Mets. The fact is London Mets won two hard fought games with determination.

They led every inning in both games besides the 1st inning of the 1st game because Falcons scored 2 runs in top of the 1st and looked poised for another high scoring Falcons victory. However Mets fought back in the bottom of that opening inning, tied the game, and slowly but surely kept scoring thanks to timely hitting throughout the game. By the 3rd inning it was 8-2 for the Mets. Offensively Herts looked nothing like previous outings but they looked to make a comeback in the 5th with 2 runs. Mets had none of that and scored 5 runs in the bottom of the inning. Herts wouldn’t give up scoring another 3 in the 6th, yet Mets made sure not to give a window of opportunity to mount a rally, and scored another 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th to leave the score 16-7 (final score). Mets manager Erick Henson said: “The Herts team is always a great opponent. We just hit the ball really well. I need to look the stats with more detail but it felt that with even 2 outs and men on base, we were able to bring them in”.

Click to view game 1 stats

The 2nd game was quite the opposite with great pitching from Robbie Unsell and Pietro Sollecito. Although Robbie pitched a great complete game (7 innings) and gave up only 2 earned runs, it was Mets veteran Pietro who stole the show. Not having overpowering pitches and facing the best offensive team in the league, Pietro not only kept Falcons bats quiet but was throwing a perfect game until the top of the 5th and pitched a shutout until the top of the 7th. Up to this point, he just worked both sides of the plate, hitting the corners, and making sure Herts batters hit the pitches he wanted them to hit. Like any great pitching performance, defence also played its part making great catches to some solid hitting by Falcons players.

With the score 4-0 in the top of the 7th and the top of the order coming up, Herts took the approach to score at least 1 run to avoid the shutout for the 1st time in 2 years. This gave them the focus to be aggressive at the plate and on the bases. Before you knew it, it was 4-2 with man on 3rd and 2nd base with 1 out. Herts manager Lee Manning put pinch-hitter Ben Marques for Darrin Ward and Mets manager Erick Henson made the tough decision keeping Pietro on the mound with a reliever ready in the bullpen. Pietro didn’t disappoint his manager and induced the next 2 batters to hit fly balls and keep the runners on base. Great ending for a great game.

Click to view game 2 stats

It’s an unusual outcome for the Falcons who got swept for the 1st time in 2 years and didn’t look sharp all day long. As usual, it’s hard to tell if the loss was a product of the Falcons poor performance or Mets just playing better. Probably it was a combination of both. As manager Lee Manning mentioned in the post-game conference, “We hit very poorly. We didn’t field properly. Our pitching was good”. Regardless, expect 2 very good games next time they meet as the Falcons look to avenge these losses and the Mets try to confirm they didn’t get the Falcons on a poor day but rather they’re the team to beat this year.

These two wins for the Mets take them to the top of the NBL standings with a perfect 4-0 record, while the Falcons (5-3) are now in third place, a game back on the new leaders. Herts rest next week. They return to league action on 19 May as they travel across the county border to play against rivals Essex Arrows (2-4).

Team W L Pct GB GP RF RA
Mets 4 0 1.000 – 4 39 16
Mustangs 5 1 0.833 – 6 46 26
Falcons 5 3 0.625 1 8 70 39
Blazers 3 3 0.500 2 6 51 36
Diamondbacks 3 3 0.500 2 6 24 40
Nationals 2 4 0.333 3 6 44 43
Arrows 2 4 0.333 3 6 34 36
Pirates 2 4 0.333 3 6 30 60
Redbacks 2 6 0.250 4 8 41 83

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Triple Herts vs London clash this Saturday

While the Herts Eagles, Hawks, Raptors and Ravens take a break from league action this weekend, three other Herts teams are travelling to Finsbury Park for an almighty Herts-versus-London day of baseball this Saturday, 4 May 2013.

First up in the morning the Herts Harriers (U17) will meet the London Mets (U17) in a repeat of their Opening Day clash which was decided in extra-innings. This is only an exhibition game so it will not count towards league standings and quite a large number of players are away on other assignments but is still expected to be a mouth-watering encounter. First pitch is 10:00am

At 10:30am on the adjacent diamond the Herts and London U11 teams will meet in another exhibition game. Over the years the London U11 team has been superior to the much younger Herts U11 team but they are a year older now and it will be interesting to see the outcome of this game and assess the progress made by the Herts U11 programme.

Immediately after the end of the youth baseball games, everyone is looking forward to the NBL clash between the Mets and the Falcons. The Mets (2-0) have played only 2 league games so far due to a rainout against Harlow last month so it is difficult to say where the Mets are likely to stand in August. They are the only team with a 100% winning record and the only team to sweep the Lakenheath Diamondbacks this season. This would indicate that the balance of power in the NBL race could be shifting towards the Mets. All the scouting reports received so far seem to support this.

Herts Falcons (5-1) go into Saturday’s titanic clash tied at the top of the NBL standings with the Southampton Mustangs (5-1). They know that a sweep for the Mets would push them down into third place while the Mets will go into first. The first pitch in this doubleheader is scheduled for 1pm. If you don’t have anything else planned for this Bank Holiday Saturday, get down to Finsbury Park for this top-of-the-table matchup.