We are into the final week of the 2012 baseball season and it is all set to be a spectacular event which will decide the 2012 Hunlock Series Champions.

One of the new features of this year’s Hunlock Series is the introduction of the “9th Inning Game”. All 18 games scheduled for this final day of the Series will be played over 1 inning only. This will recreate the tension and drama of the ninth inning. Can the teams manufacture the all important go-ahead run? Can they deliver the walk-off hits? Can the pitchers and defence execute with the game on the line?

Aspi Dimitrov, Hunlock Series Commissioner, said: “Great Britain National Team player, Adam Roberts, suggested this format and our club has been considering how best to add it to the schedule for a few years now. It is finally here. The excitement and the pressure of the ninth inning comes once a day for MLB managers. Let’s see how the Hunlock Series managers and players will handle 9 ninth innings in one day.”

Dimitrov added: “There is a slight risk that adding these 1-inning games can devalue the earlier games in the Series, but we will have to wait and see how this experiment will play out and how the managers and players will approach it.”

One thing is certain. The Roosters have battled hard to go into the final weekend ahead of the chasing pack and they would not swap their place with anyone, so that alone is sufficient proof that the earlier games are seen as vital in this competition.

These “9th inning games” will be played just like the ninth inning of any MLB game. There are however a few special rules which will apply this Sunday, mainly dealing with the transition from one game to the next and aiming to ensure that managers are not taking unfair advantage. Here are the special rules which will apply to the “9th Inning games”:

• During the “9th Inning-games” each game will last one inning only.

• The game ends when 3 outs are recorded in the bottom of the inning or the home team takes the lead, whichever occurs first.

• If 3 outs are recorded in the bottom of the inning and the game is tied, each team is awarded half a win.

• The batting order of each team remains unchanged for the duration of the day unless a substitution is made.

• A substituted player cannot re-enter the same game, however that player can re-enter a subsequent game.

• The batting order at the end of the previous game will be the official batting lineup for the start of the next game, where the batter who was next to bat, when the game was completed, will be the first batter to bat in the next game.
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Click to view the Games Schedule for Sunday’s deciding games and latest Hunlock Series Standings.

At the start of Sunday’s games all the pressure was on White Lightning who started the day with 0-3 record. They produced an outstanding performance against the Black Widows building a 7-1 lead. The team was still missing some of its big guns including last week’s home run hero, Reagan Wood, but they were reinforced by the presence of Andy Cornish and Lee Manning, both with NBL experience. Manning was doing well on the mound with a 6-run lead. The Widows had other ideas though and they stormed into action. Every batter they sent up to the plate seemed determined to stay alive and they did with some impressive hitting and hustle. The Black Widows turned the game on its head and won it 8-7 in dramatic fashion with a walk-off.

The Widows’ second game was just as dramatic. They tied the game against the Red Roosters with a last-ditch run to take it into extra innings. However, the comeback could not be completed as the Roosters drove in two runs in the top of the inning and held on for a 7-5 win.

This was the second win of the day for the Roosters. The first win came against the Blue Dogs. This was a colossal clash between two teams who have arguably the most experienced squads and are packed with powerful hitters. Nic Goetz and Kevin Niedringhaus were the starting pitchers for Blue and Red, respectively. Both pitchers have pitched in the NBL and it proved to be a classic pitchers’ duel. Niedringhaus lost last week’s pitching duel against Darrin Ward, but this time he came out on top leading the Roosters to a 3-2 win.

The Blue Dogs bounced back with a convincing 11-1 win against White Lightning, but suffered another setback when they lost 4-1 to the Black Widows.

In the final game of the day the Lightning were still looking for their first win of the Series. They were up against the Red Roosters who were sitting comfortably on top of the standings. White Lightning may be missing their big names, but those who have been available are growing in stature and are making a name for themselves. They had just suffered a shattering blow losing to the Black Widows and the Blue Dogs and started the game against the Roosters allowing 4 runs in the opening inning. But they came back again to take a 5-4 lead against all odds. They have shown character and have not let their heads drop in the face of adversity and they have won many fans along the way.

Red Roosters suffered a massive blow in the late innings of the game. Centerfielder Joseph Osborne-Brade used his speed to beat out a groundball and reach first base safely but as he reached first and run through the base he appeared to fall awkwardly and ended up lying on the ground in a lot of pain 10 or 20 feet down the first base foul line. As reported earlier, he was taken to Watford General Hospital for a scan and this has confirmed a fracture of the thigh bone. Herts Baseball Club is hopeful that Osborne-Brade will be back in time for the start of the 2013 season and members have been sending their messages for a speedy recovery.

The game between the Red Roosters and White Lightning was suspended and it will be completed as part of the games schedule on Sunday, 14 October.

Cick to view up-to-date Scoreboard and latest Hunlock Series Standings.

White Lightning was missing several of its big guns in Sunday’s opening games of the Hunlock Series including their trio of NBL players from South Africa, Bird, Pretorius and Tretheway. They had a difficult start losing 13-4 against the Roosters. Despite this the team showed a lot of character to turn it around. They battled hard in the next two games and came agonisingly close to picking up a win. They lost both games by 1-run but the players who have mainly Single-A or Double-A experience really raised their game against opponents featuring NBL superstars.

Stand-in manager, Theo Scheepers, and Reagan Wood were instrumental in turning the team around after the early setback.

The Lightning find themselves bottom of the Hunlock Series standings with no wins and 3 losses. But those who are writing them off at such an early stage should think again.

They may prefer to keep it quite, but they are expecting their big stars to be back for this Sunday’s second round of Hunlock Series games. This includes players who played in the NBL this season like, Ryan Bird, Andy Cornish and Lee Manning. This, added to the players who battled on Sunday could give the team the winning formula.

Sunday’s Hunlock Series games included the official introduction of cricket-sensation Guv Bhangal, who is a neighbour of Darrin Ward and decided to give baseball a try in the Hunlock Series. Bhangal has played some cricket in the past but had never held a baseball bat in his hands before Sunday. In a Roy Hobbs-like moment he stepped up for his first at bat and launched the ball over the outfield fence for a home run. Many experienced baseball players spend many seasons before they manage to hit their first home run. It took Bhangal only 1 at bat, which is sensational but not unprecedented.

In 2007 cricket player Dan Kerry made his baseball debut for Herts against the Milton Keynes Hurricanes. On the mound for the Hurricanes was baseball legend Darrin Ward. The first pitch to Kerry hit him in the ribs, but he was adjudged to have swung so the at bat continued. On the second pitch Dan Kerry hit a towering home run which travelled around 390 feet over the left centerfield wall of the old diamond at Grovehill. Dan Kerry went on to try out for the Great Britain National Baseball Team. Will Guv Bhangal end up being monitored by the GB Team scouts?

Bhangal introduced himself to Herts baseball club in the best possible way and he proved that the home run was not a fluke with display of more power later in the day driving the ball hard down the left field line for a double. What will “the Natural” have up his sleeve next Sunday?

The first week of Hunlock Series games produced some very close encounters with 4 of the 6 games being decided by 1 run. At the end of the day 3 teams are tied at the top of the standings.

WHITE LIGHTNING 4 RED ROOSTERS 13 (click to view box scores)

The Red Roosters started strongly with a convincing 13-4 win against White Lightning. Their first round pick, Nick Russell, produced another solid performance on the mound. The scoreline would suggest that he had the support from the team’s batting lineup, but in fact White Lightning outhit them 6-4 with Lucas Lattergrass (3-3) and Craig Le Roux (1-2 2B) standing out from the Lightning lineup. It was walks and errors which proved very costly for White Lightning otherwise the game could have been very different.

BLUE DOGS 5 BLACK WIDOWS 6

The Black Widows are a team managed by the Herts U17 team manager, Cris Hiche, who adopted a clear strategy during the Draft of putting together the U17 team. We understand that before Sunday’s games Hiche was desperately trying to pick up the other youth players who ended up in the rosters of other teams, but to no avail as rival managers seemed reluctant to make a deal. With so many young players in the Black Widows’ lineup it was a major upset that they managed to beat the experience and power of the Blue Dogs in a dramatic 6-5 walk-off win.

RED ROOSTERS 4 BLUE DOGS 5 (click to view box scores)

The Blue Dogs bounced back against the Red Roosters in what was billed as the clash of the day. The two teams featured the highest number of NBL players and both managers chose NBL pitchers to pitch in this matchup – Darrin Ward for the Dogs and Kevin Niedringhaus for the Roosters. Both pitchers dominated allowing only 1 earned run each with Ward striking out 8 through 4 innings and Niedringhaus 7 over 3 innings.

Ward also helped himself with a home run in that game holding on for the win despite a late Roosters’ rally.

BLACK WIDOWS 3 WHITE LIGHTNING 2 (click to view box scores)

White Lightning regrouped and produced an outstanding performance against the Black Widows. The team picked up Lucas Lattergrass and Perrie Sherman from the free agents block just 24 hours before this game and started as catcher and pitcher, respectively. They provided the stability they needed after a rough ride in the earlier game. The defence behind them was also much improved with only 1 error in the game. They took a 2-0 lead going into the late innings, but the Widows came back with several quality at bats including Duncan Hoyle and Kyle Lloyd-Jones making good contact in consecutive at bats to drive ground balls to the right side of the infield allowing runners from third base to score and tie the game at 2-2. In the last inning the Widows scored the go-ahead run without a single hit in the inning but with some productive at bats. Cris Hiche came on to pinch hit working a lead-off walk to get on base and the team brought him home to score with several productive at bats. The loss was very harsh on White Lightning, but the young Widows are certainly showing maturity of seasoned professionals. Jake Caress came in relief with a 1-run lead and he closed the game without showing any nerves in a tense situation.

BLACK WIDOWS 2 RED ROOSTERS 8 (click to view box scores)

Red Roosters ended Black Widows’ 100% record with an 8-2 win. Rob Jones, Lima Green, kevin Niedringhaus, Carlos Casal and Nick Russell all recording a hit, but it was new recruit Matthew Cox who got the biggest cheer after flying around the bases on a hit to left field to score with an inside-the-park-homerun.

WHITE LIGHTNING 14 BLUE DOGS 15

With both teams running low on pitchers this proved to be a high-scoring game. White Lightning once again came agonisingly close to winning but lost a second consecutive 1-run game. The win put the Blue Dogs in a three-way tie at the top of the standings.

Stand-out players of the weekend:

Guv Bhangal – his home run in his first ever baseball game has provided enough material for a Hollywood movie. Guv Bhangal introduced himself to Herts baseball club in the best possible way and he proved that the home run was not a fluke with display of more power later in the day. What will “the Natural” have up his sleeve next Sunday.

Lucas Lattergrass – provided much-needed stability for White Lightning in the absence of some of the team’s more experienced players. The team was down after a bad loss in the opening game of the day, but Lattergrass, aong with Theo Scheepers and Reagan Wood, had a calming influence and offered words of encouragement and constructive advice for his team mates.

Jake Caress and Cris Hiche – impressive pitching outing for both. No runs, no walks, and no hits allowed by them.