Category: Headlines

Falcons win first game to set up Sunday’s big clash with Nationals

(This article was written by Oliver Mintz-Lowe and first appeared on britishbaseball.org)

National Baseball Championships, Saturday, 25 Sep 2012 (NBL)

Herts Falcons 8 Southampton Mustangs 6

A strong pitching performance from Michael Osborn helped Herts Falcons to an opening day win, as the number two seeds came from behind to beat the Southampton Mustangs.

In torrid weather conditions both teams did well to play out a largely error-free encounter, but it was ultimately a six-run Herts inning that changed the course of the game.

Falcons pitcher Mike Osborne started exceptionally, retiring the first six batters of the game with three strikeouts, while his offense scored two runs, from an error and sacrifice fly, to give the number two seeds an early lead.

But Mustangs pitcher Lee Ralph managed to spark a rally, picking up the first Southampton hit of the game with an infield single. This was followed by a Ben Davis RBI single, a throwing error and RBI groundout reverse the scores and give Southampton a surprise lead.

In torrential rain and circling thunderstorms, both sides initially managed to keep errors out of the game as the offenses struggled for runs.

But after a rain delay it was Herts the took control, putting up six to blow the game open. With one swing of the bat Chris Hiche managed to reverse the lead with a two run homer. Another run, courtesy of a sacrifice fly, followed by a walk, chased Mustangs starter Lee Ralph from the game. But his replacement Frosina struggled, walking in three consecutive runs, as the game got away from Southampton.

The number three seeds showed plenty of fight as they attempted to claw their way back into it, with Gary Davison hit a two-out three-run-homer in the top of the seventh, making it a two-run game. But Osborn picked up the final out of the game, sealing a winners bracket clash with Harlow.

Click to view box scores

The win for the Falcons and the earlier edge-of-the-seat 13-12 win for the Nationals sets up a mouth-watering encounter on Sunday between the Herts Falcons and the Harlow Nationals. Here is the schedule for Sunday, 26 September:

NBL Schedule

Sunday, August 26

10:00, Game 3: Harlow Nationals vs Herts Falcons

13:30, Game 4: London Mets vs Southampton Mustangs (loser will be eliminated)

17:00, Game 5: Loser Game3 vs Winner Game4 (loser will be eliminated)

AAA Schedule

Sunday, August 26

10:00, (Semi-Final) Liverpool Trojans vs Cambridge Royals

17:00, (Semi-Final) Essex Redbacks vs Oxford Kings

AA Schedule

Sunday, August 26

13:30, (Final) MK Bucks vs Nottingham Rebels

Click to view report of the other NBL game on Saturday, Harlow Nationals vs London Mets

 

Hawks Co-Managers on the eve of AA Semi-Final vs Nottingham

With just hours remaining before the 2012 National Baseball Championships begin at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead, we had a chat with Herts Hawks co-managers, Andy Cornish (AC) and Greg Bochan (GB) from New York via satellite, as the team prepares for their massive semi-final clash with the Nottingham Rebels.

hertsbaseball.com You have played in several NBCs in your career.  This is the first time that your team will play at home.  Will that have a positive effect on the team or will that add unnecessary pressure?

AC: Of course it will be positive; to have the fans, the other teams, and most importantly to have actually played on the field before the weekend is a huge boost

GB: I think it will have a positive effect on the team. We’ve always had good support from our fans even at away games but the familiarity of Grovehill will be a bonus.

hertsbaseball.com How much higher is the pressure on you for the finals, bearing in mind that your co-manager will have to listen to the game on the radio?

AC: I think that the pressure will be on Greg, who we are going to miss. I will have to remind the players that this is the same game as every other game we have played throughout the year, and we need to play 100% for 27 outs. If that happens I will be very happy.

GB: Since I’ll be listening on the radio I won’t feel much pressure :). it’s very tough not being there for these post season games. I’m thrilled that the Hawks are playing great and at the same time I am gutted that I couldn’t be a part of the last playoff game and the upcoming finals. I’d love to be able to feel the thrills those guys must be experiencing.

hertsbaseball.com Is the National Baseball Championship the place to try some small-ball?

AC: We have played small ball throughout the year at situational points, and it has worked well. If the situation does come up, I have the faith that we will be able to execute with the accuracy and energy that we have done all year.

GB: I don’t think this should be answered as I don’t want opponents reading about our strategies. But it’s always a good time to play small ball.

hertsbaseball.com We all know that the Hawks are building their success on solid defence and good pitching.  What is the element that would need to be added if they are to give a good show against the highly rated Nottingham Rebels on Saturday?

AC: Our pitching has been excellent all year, but there is a whole new game to play. The Rebels look like they have good hitting, we still need to keep them off balance, and I know that our pitchers can do it. I think to be successful this weekend; our pitching and defence have to be on top of their game. With our strongest team out on Saturday and Sunday, I have no worries about the hitting, I am very happy 1 through 9 of the line-up, we have speed, power, and in a few cases both as we have shown over the last few weekends.

GB: I think at this point its confidence. We’ve put up the numbers and now we have to believe we can continue doing so. Confidence goes a long way on the diamond.

hertsbaseball.com In view of the plethora of pitching talent that the Hawks currently enjoy, have you made up your mind about your starting pitcher for the semi-final game on Saturday?

AC: I have a plan on who is going to pitch which day. Both of our elite pitchers are going to get a look in over the weekend

GB: No comment.

hertsbaseball.com What is your standing order to the players for their fitness and dietary regime in the next few days left before the finals?

AC: I think that we need to do what we have been doing. I will be having my usual Friday night of fajitas and relax in front of a film. We need to be hydrated.

GB: Keep doing what you’ve been doing, it’s worked so far. Maybe don’t get too drunk this Friday and Saturday nights.

hertsbaseball.com Many of the fans are dying to know what is the meaning of “Boom”?

AC: Well. To be honest, I have no idea. I like to think that it is that explosion of energy from the players when something magical happens. I am hoping to keep it rolling this weekend.

GB: Booya!

SATURDAY’S GAMES INVOLVING HERTS TEAMS

The Herts Hawks semi-final game with the Nottingham Rebels is at 4pm on Saturday, 25 August, at the old diamond. The Herts Falcons start at 3pm in their opening game versus the Southampton Mustangs at the new diamond. This means that Herts fans will have to choose one or the other, or position themselves strategically so they can see both games, or move from one diamond to another, and back again, depending on which team needs the support the most.

In search of the 1969 Champions – Watford Sun Rockets

In yesterday’s fantastic article Joe Gray gave us a historical context of the upcoming National Baseball Championships and specifically with regard to the top-tier level that is the National Baseball League (click to view full article).

As the article mentioned, if the Falcons manage to win the NBL Championship, it would be only the second time that Hertfordshire would boast a national champion team. The first was back in 1969, when the Watford Sun-Rockets upset the Liverpool Trojans in an 11-inning final played at Harvey Haddon Stadium in Nottingham.

Herts Baseball Club is now in a mad rush to try to find members or descendants of the Watford Sun-Rockets from the 1969 season and it is asking all its supporters or any British baseball fans to help them in this search.

If you know anyone who may be connected with the Watford Sun-Rockets or anyone who may have any leads which may help this effort please contact Herts Baseball Club.

Project COBB’s Joe Gray has published an article about the 1969 Watford vs Liverpool final and this may help us get the search started. Click this link to open a separate PDF file (1969 National Final details are on page 2)

MICHAEL OSBORN

The article also listed several players who are going into this weekend’s NBCs looking to make ther mark in British baseball history. herts Falcons’ Michael Osborn is one of them. If the Falcons emerge victorious from the weekend then Michael Osborn (formerly of the London Warriors and Richmond Flames) would become only the 12th player in British baseball history with at least four national titles. This would certainly be great reward for his dedicated career, which spans back to the late 1990s.

2012 national champions to be decided this weekend in Herts

(the start times of the NBL and A League games shown in red in this article were updated on 23 August 2012 to reflect the changes announced by the BBF)

British baseball fans are on the edge of their seats in anticipation of the National Baseball Championships (NBC) this weekend. Year-after-year the NBC never seems to disappoint. By the end of the Bank Holiday Weekend we will know the identity of the champions in the four British baseball leagues. But before that we will be going through the emotions and excitement of at least 13 baseball games with enormous implications riding on every single one of them.

After Sunday’s playoff games, we now know the names of the 14 teams which will be heading to Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead in the hope of making history.

NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE (NBL)

The reigning champions, Harlow Nationals, booked their place in the NBC several weeks ago and they did it in style by finishing top of the NBL standings after winning one of the games in the doubleheader against the Herts Falcons on Sunday, which was enough to stay top. The Falcons stayed in second place as a result and go into the NBC as the second seed team. Southampton also secured an automatic entry finishing third and they going into the weekend with the wind in their sails after an impressive sweep away at the champions two weeks ago.

The final NBC place was taken by the London Mets who won the wild card battle with the Lakenheath Diamondbacks at Finsbury Park on Sunday.

NBL Schedule

Saturday, August 25

12:00, Game 1: Harlow Nationals vs London Mets

15:00, Game 2: Herts Falcons vs Southampton Mustangs

Sunday, August 26

10:00, Game 3: Winner Game1 vs Winner Game2

13:30, Game 4: Loser Game1 vs Loser Game2 (loser will be eliminated)

17:00, Game 5: Loser Game3 vs Winner Game4 (loser will be eliminated)

Monday, August 27

11:00 Game 6: Winner Game3 vs Winner Game5

14:30 Game 7: same as above (will be played if Winner of Game3 loses Game6)

 

AAA LEAGUE

The Liverpool Trojans return to Grovehill Ballpark for a third year in a row aiming to defend their AAA crown. They have had an almost perfect season so far with a record of 26-2 in the regular season and they secured their place in the Semi-Finals last weekend with a win against the Menwith Patriots. Joining them in the Semi-Finals are the three best AAA teams from the South. Last year’s losing finalists Oxford Kings will be looking for revenge. The ever-growing Redbacks organisation will be represented this weekend by their first team who finished first in their AAA division. Completing the AAA semi-final lineup are the Cambridge Royals who entered the AAA League for the first time this year.

AAA Schedule

Sunday, August 26

10:00, (Semi-Final) Liverpool Trojans vs Cambridge Royals

17:00, (Semi-Final) Essex Redbacks vs Oxford Kings

Monday, August 27

14:00, (Final) Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2

AA LEAGUE

The AA League is the third-tier of the British Baseball Leagues but it is the largest and perhaps the most unpredictable. We started with 25 AA teams, divided into the North, Midlands and South divisions, and after a regular season and two weeks of playoffs we are down to 4. The Nottingham Rebels and the Milton Keynes Bucks are both from the Midlands division and they overcame the two best AA teams from the North to book their Semi-Final places. Joining them are the two best AA teams from the Southern Division. Last year the Poole Piranhas lost in the semi-finals against the eventual winners, the Latin Boys. They are back again this year and they will face the MK Bucks. The last team to book their place in the AA semi-finals is the Herts Hawks. They ended the Guildford Mavericks’ 17-game unbeaten run on Sunday to eliminate them and this meant that for the first time in history two teams representing Herts Baseball Club will appear in the NBC.

AA Schedule

Saturday, August 25

12:00, (Semi-Final) MK Bucks vs Poole Piranhas

16:00, (Semi-Final) Nottingham Rebels vs Herts Hawks

Sunday, August 26

13:30, (Final) Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2

A-LEAGUE

The only team still unbeaten this year is Hove Tuesday. They entered the British Leagues for the first time this year and they have steam-rolled everything that comes their way. They will face the Leicester Blue Sox in the Final, a team representing a club which has made tremendous strides over the last few years developing both their adult and youth baseball programmes at apace which very other baseball organisations can match. Both teams will be eager for silverware.

A Schedule

Monday, August 27

11:00, (Final) Hove Tuesday vs Leicester Blue Sox

A CELEBRATION OF BRITISH BASEBALL

The NBC is a unique opportunity for fans of baseball and those who are new to the sport to get close to the action and witness the crowning of the 2012 Champions. Of course it would not be a true baseball celebration without good food. A variety of traditional baseball food and drinks will be on offer.

Venue: Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead (click here for venue address and other details)

Car Park: available at the venue free of charge

 

Hawks reach semi-finals after an epic win in Guildford

The term “epic” is sometimes used to describe a game of baseball in order to highlight the enormity of the occasion, and we are sometimes guilty of overusing it. This afternoon’s AA quarter-final between the Herts Hawks and the Guildford Mavericks was truly epic and there is absolutely no risk of misrepresentation. It had everything – the grand slam, the catch at the outfield wall, the masterful pitching, the energy of the fans, the staring contest, the tense atmosphere, the rally call form the managers, the class acts, and more.

The Herts Hawks are a confident and laid back bunch and they probably would not admit it in public but there must have been a sense of uncertainty ahead of the game. They were about to face a team which has won all 17 of their games so far this season, a team which they had not seen before and which other teams and experts have described as “invincible”. To add to that, the Hawks were missing 9 players, including regular starting infielders Greg Bochan, Louis Hare and Seth Lipstock.

CLASS ACTS

During the pre-game preparations news came in that there had been an emergency situation with the assigned independent umpire and therefore under the regulations in such circumstances the game was to be umpired by an official provided by the home team. There was a concern that in a game with everything at stake, the element of bias, or overcompensating against bias, may cause confrontation, but the Guildford umpires and Guildford’s officials deserve a lot of praise for managing the situation and umpiring with great integrity and impartiality. There will always be plays which are difficult for umpires to get absolutely right even in the multi-billion dollar Major League Baseball, but in terms of neutrality Herts Hawks will be the first to take their cap off to the Guildford officials.

The classy conduct by Guildford did not end there. The Hawks’ starting third-baseman, Andy Cornish, was delayed in traffic so he had to be taken out of the starting lineup card when it was officially exchanged in the official plate meeting between the two managers and the umpires. Cornish arrived just a few minutes after that as the game was getting under way and under MLB rule 4.01 (c) the only way for him to enter the game is if an official substitution is made which would have meant that the Hawks would not be able to use the substituted player for the rest of the day. Once again Guildford acted with admirable sportsmanship and their Manager, Tony Oliva, without any hesitation allowed the starting lineup to be amended. Technically, the Hawks had sufficient grounds to request that the start of the game is delayed (up to 30 minutes under BBF rules) but once the lineup cards were exchanged the amendment of the lineup would not have been possible without Guildford’s waiver.

FULFORD GETS THE “BARRY BONDS” TREATMENT

The Hawks got off to a strong start against Mavericks starter, Tetsuro Shinkawa. In the top of the first Paul Auchtelounie and Tim Elkins reached base with a walk and a single, respectively. With one out, up stepped Herts catcher Andrew Fulford. Guildford Manager, Tony Oliva, must have seen enough from Fulford during batting practice to convince him that he is a major threat and he instructed his pitcher and catcher to walk him intentionally loading the bases. It is only players like Barry Bonds that receive this level of respect. With the bases loaded Andy Cornish worked a walk for the first run of the game. Rod Naghar then got the sacrifice fly to give the Hawks an early 2-0 lead.

GRAND SLAM

In the second inning Andrew Fulford stepped up for his second plate appearance of the game, but this time the bases were loaded. Shinkawa decided to pitch to him. With a count of 3 balls and 1 strike Fulford blasted the ball high up into the sky and over the left field fence for a grand slam (a video of the grand slam will be available to view shortly). This was his second home run of the postseason.

The score was 6-0 but the Mavericks didn’t let their heads drop. They had adopted a “small ball” strategy with a combination of aggressive base running and bunting. Their aggressive running strategy was quickly stopped by the arm of catcher Fulford who threw out 2 runners during the game. Despite this they struck back with 2 hits and took advantage of a fielding error by the Hawks to make the score 6-3. They were back in the game now. Herts scored 2 in the 4th inning to make it 8-3, but Guildford were always threatening.

THE SPAGHETTI-WESTERN STARING CONTEST

In the 5th inning the fans became witnesses to something which they may never see again on a baseball field. Fulford had advanced to third base and he was looking to distract Guildford’s relief pitcher, Owen Hazelby, with claps of encouragement for team mate Rodney Naghar who stepped up for his at bat. It is customary for runners to try to put doubt into the minds of the fielders and the pitcher by taking an unusual lead, kicking dirt or attracting attention in any other possible way. This usually isn’t noticed by spectators as the pitcher stays focused on their role and delivers the pitch, but on this occasion Hazelby appeared to freeze on the rubber in the “stretch” position. He stood motionless for what seemed like an eternity. After 20 or 30 seconds of everyone at the field standing still, batter Rod Naghar called time as it is not realistic to expect someone to hold the bat in the air for such a long time. The pitcher stepped off the rubber and everyone was starting to return to their positions not very clear on what had just happened. Everyone was ready in their positions again but Hazelby once again stood still in the “set” position.

It was becoming clear to players and fans that Guildford’s pitcher did not want to throw the pitch until Andrew Fulford stops clapping his hands. After another 20-30 seconds of Hazelby standing in his “set” position, Andrew said quietly in the direction of the pitcher “I can do this all day” to which the pitcher responded with words to the effect of “I can do this all day too”, which in fact is not legal. Under MLB rule 8.05 (h) when “the pitcher unnecessarily delays the game” a “balk is awarded when there are runners on base”. In this situation a balk would have resulted in Andrew Fulford advancing form third base to score a run. This is a rule which does not come into effect very often so the umpires could be forgiven for not calling a balk. But the effect was that this turned into a staring contest, a shoot out in a spaghetti-western movie. Who will blink first? Andrew Fulford certainly had no legal obligation to stop clapping. This may have been a minor incident which had no direct effect on the outcome of the game and both players would probably have dropped the issue. However, in the context of a highly-charged elimination game this was about not displaying any weaknesses at a critical time of the game. The Hawks bench didn’t want to leave their team mate alone in this psychological battle, so they joined him in clapping and shouting words of encouragement for batter Rod Naghar who was waiting for the pitch to be delivered.

The Guildford fans on the other side of the field also felt they needed to show support for their player and this created a noisy and tense atmosphere – a bizarre scene of every player in the field standing still, endlessly waiting for the pitcher to throw the ball under a crescendo of noise. After a minute or so of this spectacle, Owen Hazelby finally threw the pitch to get a pop-up in the infield for the third out to a standing ovation from the home fans.

THE COMEBACKS

The incident fired up both teams, but it was Guildford who were more in need of a boost so they ended up as the beneficiary. They came out firing in the bottom of the 5th. They may have had only 2 hits in that inning but they did enough to force Herts to commit 3 errors and score 4 runs reducing the Hawks’ lead to 1 run. Herts starting pitcher, Nic Goetz, was still going strong but the fielding errors meant that he had to find that little bit extra to get out of this inning with Herts still in the lead. The Guildford fans could sense their team was truly back in the game now.

It was the turn of Hawks’ co-manager, Andy Cornish, to gather his team for a team talk and to get his team back in the game. Ho achieved an immediate response. With two outs, a single by Jim Arnott and a walk and steal for Tim Elkins put runners on second and third base. Up stepped Jon Lewys. Failure at the plate would have ended the inning and given the Mavericks a further boost. But Lewys delivered one of the most important hits of the season. He sent the ball deep into the outfield for a 2-run ground-rule-double. He was then driven home by an Andrew Fulford single. 3 runs were scored in that inning, all with 2 outs. The momentum was shifting back in favour of Herts. They added another run in the 8th inning after a single by Andy Cornish.

Going into the 8th inning and having thrown 100 pitches, Nic Goetz was relieved. His performance was outstanding allowing only 1 earned run through 7 innings.

In came pitcher Nick Russell. He has been one of the team’s most reliable pitchers all season and he delivered once again for the Hawks. He pitched two innings allowing no runs, no hits and only 1 walk. He received support from his teammates, including an amazing diving catch by catcher Andrew Fulford in foul territory and a catch at the wall by Paul Auchterlounie which was headed for a homerun.

The Hawks won it 12-7 and are now heading home for the Semi-Final next Saturday as the British Baseball community prepares for the deciding weekend of the National Baseball Championships on 25-27 August at Grovehill Ballpark in Herts.

Click to view box scores and play-by-play

Hawks Manager, Andy Cornish, said: “Today was excellent baseball. Everyone contributed in key moments. There was a moment where the momentum had shifted, but we dug deep and I think we wanted to win the game more. I want to thank Aspi, Kal and Slater for their excellent work as the coaches, and also Guildford for supplying some tough opposition. We have to reset now, and want the title as much as we wanted to win today’s game. We also welcome back a few key players, so I am looking forward to a weekend of tireless and emotive baseball.”

 

Eagles complete a successful season back in the league

by Duncan Hoyle

Herts Eagles finished their first season back in the BBF after a year’s sabbatical with a heavy defeat at runaway leaders Hove Tuesday.

However that didn’t knock the enthusiasm or the spirit of the Herts development team in any way at all. 15 players made the long trip to the south coast to play on Hove’s superb Pavilion Field ground – which not too long ago hosted the NBC’s.

Starting on the mound for the Eagles was 15 year old Will Zucker and once again he put in a confident and mature display to keep the Hove offense on their toes for the first couple of innings. He was supported on the mound by the ever dependable Theo Scheepers and Simon Roberts who was making his league debut on the mound. Roberts has been working hard to develop his pitching arm and he will take away a lot of confidence in his pitching display which included his first couple of strike outs and he can surely look forward to establishing himself as a main pitching option for the Eagles next season.

Other highights for the Eagles included the debuts of Sony Lama and Tom Kosak who have only been with the club for a fortnight but already look as though they will excellent additions to the club. Lama hit a superb triple which fell just short of a home run and just after got into score and Kosak had a painful introduction to British Baseball as he took a fastball to his chest on his very first pitch. However he had no problems in shaking it off and was stealing 2nd a pitch or two later.

It has been a tough year for the Eagles but they have come out of it with a 5-5 record and some good team and individual performances along the way. Highlights have included the wins versus Richmond and Essex Redbacks which included the Eagles only home run of the season by Adrian Smithers and the performances versus Guildford and London Marauders. The most pleasing thing has been the enthusiasm for playing baseball within the squad. Nearly all the team are rookies or youth teamers and there is massive potential within the squad. Youngsters like Will Zucker, Joseph Osborne-Brade, Adam Landau-Smithers, Senna Ashida, Mike Cresswell, Charlie Mayhew and Callum Vangundy should have many successful years of baseball ahead of them and will be looking to establish themselves at single A and push for places in AA in the seasons ahead.

Eagles players 2012 (league, exhibition and London Tournament)

David Ames, Senna Ashida, Tak Ashida, Ben Ashworth, Will Belbin, Vassil Botev, Jake Caress, Mike Cresswell, Rob Crouch, Glen Downer, Tom Everex-Armstrong, Jon Gamble, Rupert Greyling, Duncan Hoyle, Oz Kemal, Tom Kosak, Sony Lama, Adam Landau-Smithers, Craig Le Roux, Zach Longboy, Kieran Manning, Ben Marques, Charlie Mayhew, Joseph Osborne-Brade, Ken Pike, Simon Roberts, Theo Scheepers, Adrian Smithers, Geoff Thomas, Callum Vangundy, Keanu Wood, Reagan Wood, Will Zucker.

Herts Hawks need the X-factor to overcome the title favourites this Sunday

People often say that “statistics never lie”. If that’s the case then the Herts Hawks are in trouble. They will travel to Guildford this Sunday looking to turn the form book on its head and put statisticians out of business.

The season so far would indicate that the Guildford Mavericks and the Poole Piranhas are on course to cruise through the Quarter-Finals and into the National Baseball Championships. Guildford have won all 16 of their regular season games and they added their 17th win of the season with a 12-4 victory over the Daws Hill Spitfires in the first round of the playoffs last Sunday. They have conceded only 2.25 runs per game in the regular season and their offense averages 15.8 runs per game. The Hawks have scored at a rate of 9 runs per game and on average they have allowed 4.6 runs per game. No matter how hard the Hawks try to spin those numbers to extract something positive out of them, the odds are stacked overwhelmingly in favour of Guildford.

But we are into the postseason. This is the big stage where sometimes the underdogs can be written off only to find super-human strength out of nowhere and topple the most invincible of opponents. This Sunday the Hawks will need that X-factor, which statistics cannot explain. An outstanding pitching performance, a leaping catch at the wall, an inning-ending double play, a clutch hit in the late innings – the Hawks have proven that they have that special ability of rising to the big occasion against all odds.

The wettest British summer in history meant that the two teams did not meet in the regular season as the game was rained out, so both teams will have little information about each other and they will be looking to gather any intelligence they can get their hands on before Sunday.

.         John Kristensen              Tetsuro Shinkawa                  Owen Hazelby

Herts are expected to face one of Guildford’s three main starting pitchers. John Kristensen (4-0) started last Sunday’s playoff game versus Daws Hill and he has the lowest ERA (1.77) in the team. Tetsuro Shinkawa (4-0) is a player who is well known to everyone at Herts as he played alongside Herts players in the Hunlock Series last October. The Japanese pitcher has played the highest number of innings (32) on the mound for the Mavericks this year. His ERA is slightly lower than Kristensen’s at 3.03, however he has accumulated the largest number of strikeouts (38) in the team. Owen Hazelby is the third likely starter. He has an impressive 5-0 record this year with an ERA of 1.93.

There are three main Guildford players who bring power to their batting lineup. John Kristensen (4 HR), Owen Hzelby (2 HR), John Sparks (2HR) while Kyle Dooley and Testuro Shinkawa have the highest batting average in the team.

The game will be played in Guildford, 12pm start. It promises to be a colossal battle. The winner will progress through to the Semi-Final. For the loser the season would be over.

 

Sunday’s AAA Playoff game between Bristol and Cambridge switched to Grovehill Ballpark

The Bristol Badgers (in grey) will meet the Cambridge Royals at Grovehill Ballpark this Sunday. The winner will book a place in the AAA NBC.

One of the top games among the 9 playoff encounters scheduled for this Sunday is the AAA clash between the Cambridge Royals and the Bristol Badgers. Both teams just missed out on an automatic place for the AAA NBC finishing in second place in their respective divisions, agonisingly close to the division winners, Oxford Kings and Essex Redbacks. The Royals finished just 1 game back on the Redbacks while the Badgers finished with the same record as the Kings, 19 wins 7 losses, but missed out on top spot after applying the leagues tie-break rules.

Cambridge approached Herts Baseball Club with a view to playing this eagerly anticipated elimination game at Herts, as a neutral ground. This has now been confirmed and the game has been added to the games schedule at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. It will be played on the old diamond while the NBL pennant-deciding doubleheader between the Herts Falcons and the Harlow Nationals will be played at the new diamond. It is set to be an fascinating day of baseball at Grovehill Ballpark. Admission is free. Both games are scheduled to start at 12pm.

 

Falcons face-off with Nationals in a battle for the NBL pennant

Can the Falcons overtake the Nationals at the top of the NBL standings and clinch the pennant. The two teeams face-off at Grovehill Ballpark this Sunday in a repeat of the fiery encounter earlier this season. (photo by Jim Garnett, British Baseball Magazine, click image to view more)

With the surprising two wins by the Southampton Mustangs against the Harlow Nationals last Sunday, the race to win the National Baseball League (NBL) pennant is back on. A week earlier the Herts Falcons thought that their loss against the Lakenheath Diamondbacks would mean that they would not be able to catch the reigning champions from Harlow, but Southampton’s heroics last Sunday mean that the Falcons are just one-and-a-half games back with two games remaining.

These two final regular season games are this Sunday, 19 August, and it is a head-to-head battle between the top two teams in the standings, Harlow and Herts. If they are to leap over the Nationals, Herts will need to win both games of the doubleheader. The Falcons have already secured second place in the final regular season standings regardless of what will happen on Sunday and this is the highest league position in the club’s history. But it would be an even greater achievement if Lee Manning’s men can clinch top spot.

These two games were rescheduled after a rain storm earlier in the season resulted in the game being suspended just after an inning. We are awaiting confirmation whether or not the game will resume form the point at which it was halted, or whether the inning played earlier in the year will be disregarded.

The games were originally scheduled to be played at Harlow, but the teams have decided to stage them at Grovehill Ballpark. The Harlow Nationals will still be the designated home team in the two games. The first pitch is at 12pm.