Category: Headlines

by Herts Baseball News Editor

League leaders come to town this Sunday – Falcons looking to overtake them

While the Herts Falcons and the Harlow Nationals locked horns and shared the spoils in the biggest game of the season so far, the Southampton Mustangs took full advantage with two wins against the Essex Arrows. They now stand on top of the NBL. The Nationals are one game back while the Falcons are one and a half games behind.

This means that for the Herts Falcons the next game becomes even bigger than last Sunday’s showdown as Southampton makes the trip to Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead this Sunday, 17 June. Two wins for Herts in this upcoming doubleheader would put them above the league leaders in the standings.

The two teams met on the south coast on the second weekend of the season. Southampton won game one 7-5 while the Falcons won game two 7-3. Since then the Mustangs have been the best team in Great Britain winning 11 out of their 12 games. This incredible run wasn’t given the publicity it deserved. Although they have reached the playoffs in the last two seasons, they have not been ranked as one of the favourites to win the NBL championship. They sit on top of the league and are now seen by many to be a genuine title-contender.

Falcons shortstop Robbie Unsell had an amazing leaping catch to grab a laser-like line drive out of the air. Will he get the fans off their seats again this Sunday?

This Sunday Southampton’s probable starters are Gary Davison and Alberto Rodriguez. For the Falcons it is impossible to even guess who is likely to start on the mound. Manager, Lee Manning kept the Nationals guessing revealing his starting pitchers just seconds before first pitch and once again he chose a starting rotation completely different from previous games. 2011 NBL Best Pitcher Robbie Unsell started game one and Darrin Ward started game two.

The Mustangs have the NBL homerun leader Marius Urbanavicius who already has 3 home runs this season. The Falcons added two new players to the list of home run hitters as Mike Osborn and Cris Hiche went deep against the Nationals. Herts now have 6 players with home runs – Bird (2), Clark (1), Hiche (1), Niedringhaus (1), Osborn (1), Tretheway (1) – which is the highest among all NBL teams, tied with the London Mets who also have 6 players with home runs to their name this year.

AND THEN THERE WERE 4…OR 6 EVEN

While Harlow, Herts and Southampton trade blows at the top, the London Mets have been quietly catching up and they are now just two games behind the leaders. Essex and Lakenheath may be a few games further behind but they are still very much involved in the title race. This makes it 6 teams with genuine title hopes making it one of the most exciting seasons in recent years.

But without any doubt all eyes will be on Grovehill Ballpark this Sunday, 17 June, for the Falcons vs Mustangs clash. First pitch 12:00pm.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

“Pimping” a home run

Mike Osborn demonstrating his beautiful, and respectful, home run trot after he hit his first home run of the season on Sunday (photo courtesy of hp2photographic.com)

One of the many talking points after Sunday’s biggest game of the NBL season so far was the altercation after the 3-run home run by Edwin Alcantara which tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.

For a few minutes while the game was stopped fans were in the dark about what had sparked this confrontation. Even when different versions of events started circling around Grovehill Ballpark some fans were still fidning it difficult to understand the precise reasons.

Baseballgb.co.uk writer and Project COBB founder, Joe Gray, who was at the game reported on the incident in an article which enhances the post-match analysis so hertsbaseball.com was keen to post a link to the article (Click to view).

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts looking to add softball programme

Over the last 16 years Herts Baseball Club has built an impressive baseball programme and is currently one of the leading clubs in the United Kingdom. Herts have thriving adult and youth baseball programmes and high grade facilities but the one big component which has been missing has been a softball programme.

hertsbaseball.com had the opportunity to chat with club president, Aspi Dimitrov, about the prospect of softball being played in Hertfordshire.

hertsbaseball.com: We understand that the club is exploring the option to add softball. How did this idea come up?

Aspi Dimitrov: Although baseball is the multi-billion dollar sport watched by millions on TV around the world, a large proportion of people like to show their passion for baseball by playing softball which is the more recreational version of the game. During MLB’s All Star week celebrities and former baseball players get together for the MLB All Star Softball Game and it is the ideal way to get male and female players of all ages and ability playing together. Herts has baseball teams playing in all senior and youth leagues of British Baseball so we are already able to accommodate players of various abilities and ages into our baseball teams, however adding softball would enable us to make the game appealing for an even wider audience.

hertsbaseball.com: When did the idea of adding softball come about?

Aspi Dimitrov: The club has been eager to add softball for many years now and is something which the Herts Executive Board has discussed on many occasions. The main obstacle which has stopped us from making it possible has been that we need one or two members who would be able to give up some of their spare time to drive the project forward. We have so many members but they are all baseball-mad so they have been reluctant to give up their baseball time.

hertsbaseball.com: How do you plan to overcome this hurdle?

Aspi Dimitrov: We are hoping to organise several softball events this year and this may attract these key members who can provide the platform which we can build on. We already had one softball event on April 1 which was part of the 2012 NBL Opening Day celebrations at Grovehill Ballpark. It went very well. We managed to attract enough players for 4 softball teams. The majority were parents and family members of our youth team families and there were others who came to the ballpark for the first time to give softball a try.

hertsbaseball.com: What is the club hoping to achieve with the softball programme?

Aspi Dimitrov: Softball is very popular and in fact there are more softball teams than baseball teams in this country. The majority of softball teams and leagues are located in central London. There are no softball programmes in Hertfordshire at present. Hertfordshire County, North West London and the surrounding regions are a huge untapped market so there is potential for substantial growth. It is an exciting opportunity. If we find the right people to set up the administrative infrastructure we may be able to double the size of Herts Baseball Club in the next 4 or 5 years and create a large regional softball league here in Hertfordshire. Many softball leagues play their games on weekday evenings so if we can achieve this we can look forward to having baseball and softball league games being played at Grovehill Ballpark every day of the week.

hertsbaseball.com: So what is the next step in the project?

Aspi Dimitrov: We are very fortunate that this summer BSUK will be running softball taster sessions in St. Albans which is just a few minutes away from our ballpark. These will take place every Wednesday evening from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. These sessions will continue for a period of 8 weeks. The first session is on Wednesday, June 20. We have already started recruiting softball players, coaches, and facilitators and this BSUK project will hopefully attract enough new members to enable us to start the softball programme here at Herts. For more details about these softball taster session click here.

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Passions flare up as title race reaches boiling point

The Falcons vs Nationals showdown was billed as “the biggest game of the season so far”. There is absolutely no risk that the Advertising Standards Authority will be cautioning hertsbaseball.com for overhyping Sunday’s NBL doubleheader as it most definitely lived up to the billing.

The game was in doubt right up until 2 hours before first pitch due to a waterlogged Grovehill Ballpark, but once it was given the go-ahead fans started streaming down to Grovehill Ballpark, some fans coming from as far as Oxford.

Among the many who came was the GB senior national team manager, Sam Dempster, who had the opportunity to assess several possible candidates for the GB Team which has a big year ahead including the European Championships and qualification for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

The Falcons started game one with 2011 NBL Best Pitcher, Robbie Unsell, who got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the first without allowing any runs. But the Nationals were at it again taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning on a home run by Jarrod Pretorius. Their pitcher Roberto Almanzar was very effective in the first few innings not allowing any hits. The Herts batters eventually got into their usual rhythm which has devastated NBL opponents all season long. They tied the game 5-5 in the fourth inning and took a 9-5 lead going into the sixth. Jeff House was now on the mound for Herts and he had to come up against a Nationals lineup looking determined not to lose this game. They responded with a home run by Luis Goncalves which flew over the right field foul pole. Most of the Herts fans seated on the first base side thought that it was a foul ball, but umpires Hare and Dollin were unanimous in their decision confirming that it was a home run. Harlow followed that with a 3-run home run by Edwin Alcantara to tie the game 9-9 in dramatic fashion. Tensions were running high as Falcons players felt that Alcantara’s reaction as he trotted around the bases was disrespectful towards Herts. For a moment it seemed like the incident would end up in a bench-clearing brawl but both teams soon focused back on the game.

Into the top of the seventh inning the Nationals continued their relentless offence bringing 4 runs in. That 4-run lead was too much for Herts to claw back and the visitors recorded a dramatic come-from-behind win.

Harlow Nationals first baseman Jarrod Pretorius dives for a bullet down the first base line from a Herts Falcons bat (photo by British Baseball Magazine click image for more)

Darrin Ward started game two for the Falcons in his first game since his move back to Herts from the Essex Arrows. He was in commanding form changing speed and locating his pitches very effectively. By the third inning Herts had a 13-1 lead after bombarding the Nationals with hits including home runs for Ryan Bird, Cris Hiche and Mike Osborn. Into the 5th inning and with the score 13-3 the Nationals managed to avoid the mercy-rule coming into effect scoring 2 runs.

With the scoreboard operating staff having to attend an emergency, the lack of scoreboard updates gave the Nationals the impression that Herts had written them off and that they consider the game to be won. That seemed to spur the Nationals on. And they mounted a strong come back, but at the end the Falcons stayed in control and won the second game 15-10.

An exciting afternoon of baseball which had everything and the fans certainly enjoyed it. The scores mean that the NBL race is very finely poised with the promise of more encounters like this one to come between now and the postseason playoffs.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles unable to end Archers’ unbeaten streak

British A-League

Herts Eagles 15 Essex Archers 32

written by Duncan Hoyle

 

Senna Ashida was solid at shortstop for the Eagles

Herts Eagles knew they would be up against it when they travelled over to Waltham Forest for their league game against runaway leaders Essex Archers. The Archers have dropped down to Single A despite having an impressive record at AA last season and so far this year have easily won all 5 of their league games.

Despite the forecast in the early part of the week predicting rain all day, gameday turned out to be a dry, humid day. With a number of key players unavailable, the Eagles were forced to play Will Belbin at catcher – a position he hasn’t played since 2010, Senna Ashida moved from left field to 1st base and debutant Mike Cresswell made his debut in right field.

Herts got off to a good start, with Duncan Hoyle hitting a line drive to centre field to bat in Joseph Osborne and Senna Ashida to get the scoreboard ticking over in the first inning. At the end of the 1st the score was 3-2 to the Archers, and with the consistent Theo Scheepers once again putting in another good shift on the pitching mound, the Eagles were able to keep in touch with the Archers in the early exchanges. In the second and third innings, 18 year old Mike Cresswell got his Herts career off to a great start by getting a RBI in the 2nd, and then hitting a drive to right field to bring in another 2 runners in the 3rd. Tak Ashida was looking good at short stop, and Will Belbin was catching confidently. Belbin was letting little get past him but unfortunately injured his finger in the bottom of the 3rd. He was substituted by the versatile Adrian Smithers to avoid any long term damage. Most of the Herts batting lineup were able to get on base one way or another, and were then baserunning confidently to be able to pick up runs regularly.

However, as the game went into the 4th inning, Essex began to show why they are top of the league. Their powerful batting lineup started to get their eye in, and the Herts outfield suffered some long chases as the ball sailed over to the fence on a number of occasions. Despite a couple of great outfield catches from Osborne, the Archers were beginning to get away from the Eagles.

In the middle of the 5th, the score was 14 – 8 to the Archers. Herts then had a half inning they will want to forget as 13 runs were added to the Archers total, as a now tired Herts defence started to let a few errors creep into their game. The Archers made the Eagles pay for these errors ruthlessly, and with their powerful batting line up bossing the game they were even able to hit an inside the park home run.

The Eagles kept giving nothing less than 100%, and kept the runs ticking over. Lefty batters Joseph Osborne and Senna Ashida are both getting a reputation of being able to draw a walk from the pitcher – Osborne in particular is becoming something of an expert in this as in his 6 at bats he found himself on base no less than 5 times from walking. Craig La Roux finally got himself a deserved hit towards the end of the game, and he also made his second pitching appearance of the season to close out the 6th with the Archers having finished their scoring on 32. The Eagles kept on battling right until the end and Senna Ashida and Simon Roberts where able to get round to score in the top of the 7th to take the Eagles run total to a respectable 15. The mercy rule then came into effect, as it has done in every game for the Archers. Despite what on paper looks a heavy loss, Herts will be able to take away some satisfaction from the manner in which they played the game and the fact they scored 15 runs – 1 more than all five previous opponents of the Archers have scored put together.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts survive late Feltwell rally to pick up 2 wins

Marty Cullen Jr pitched a 1-hitter to pick up another win

Herts U17 All Stars picked up two important wins versus the Feltwell Redbacks which count towards the postseason playoff seeding of the National Baseball Championships.

On Friday afternoon all youth league games scheduled at Herts for Saturday were cancelled due to waterlogged fields. By midnight Herts and Feltwell managed to salvage their U17 League games by switching them to RAF Feltwell.

The Feltwell Redbacks are affiliated with the Redbacks organisation but are a team consisting of players from the US airbase at RAF Feltwell. This is their first year in the league, but despite this they proved to be a difficult opponent especially in the second game which could have been won by either team.

In game one Marty Cullen Jr started on the mound for Herts. He gave another impressive performance pitching a complete game allowing only 1 hit and 2 runs and only 1 of these 2 runs was earned. Richard Ganster went 4-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Jake Caress, Kyle Lloyd-Jones and Marty Cullen Jr each had 2 hits in the game. Marty Cullen Jr’s two hits were a double and a triple. Liam Green continues to torment opponents with his bat. He went 3-4 which included a single, double and an inside the park home run. He just missed out on completing the cycle, with a just a double missing.

Click to view Game 1 box scores and play-by-play

Game 2 was a very different contest. Chris Kiefer who is one of the most promising young players in the league took the mound for the Redbacks and he made it very difficult for Herts to repeat their dominant offensive results from the first game of the day. At the same time Herts pitchers walked 12 batters and hit another 5. This made their task even more difficult. Their Manager, Cristbal Hiche had to use 4 different pitchers to try to steady the ship. Herts had a slight advantage with 8 hits against Feltwell’s 5 but the game was ultimately won by the team which committed the fewest errors. Feltwell committed 7 errors in the field, while Herts had their best fielding performance of the season without any errors in game 2.

In the bottom of the last inning the RedBacks put the visitors from Hertfordshire under tremendous pressure. They loaded the bases with the runner on first base representing the winning run. It seemed like Feltwell were about to complete a memorable turnaround, when the backstop came to Herts’ rescue. A Redbacks runner decided to come home from third on a passed ball. The ball rolled to the backstop and bounced hard off the wooden panelling giving Herts catcher, Marty Cullen Jr, enough time to throw to pitcher Jake Caress who was covering home plate, to apply the game-ending tag.

Click to view Game 2 box scores and play-by-play

Herts return home with two vital wins in the race for the National Championship, but the Redbacks deserve a lot of credit for making this a very exciting and tense second game.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Saturday’s youth league games at Herts cancelled due to waterlogged diamonds

A ground inspection today has confirmed that both diamonds at Grovehill Ballpark are flooded.  The weather forecats indicates a sunny day, however the grounds crew has confirmed that, based on previous experience, the water will not dry out in time for Saturday’s games. This means that the all 5 games scheduled for tomorrow have now been cancelled.
Possibility of switching the U17 game between the Feltwell Redbacks and the Herts All Stars was discussed but unfortunately the diamond at RAF Feltwell is also flooded.
The news puts Sunday’s NBL games in doubt. Another ground inspection is scheduled on Saturday afternoon.
The next youth league games are scheduled for Saturday, 16 June, as follows:

TIME
VENUE
LEAGUE
VISITING TEAM
HOME TEAM
11:00
Grovehill Ballpark
BBF (U14)
London Sports
Herts All Stars (U14)
13:30
Grovehill Ballpark
BBF (U14)
London Sports
Herts All Stars (U14)
11:00
RAF Feltwell
BBF (U17)
Herts All Stars (U17)
Feltwell RedBacks
13:30
RAF Feltwell
BBF (U17)
Herts All Stars (U17)
Feltwell RedBacks
11:00
Grovehill Ballpark
U11
Herts Dodgers
Herts Giants
Both the U17 and U14 league games will count towards the postseaosn playoff seeding.
by Herts Baseball News Editor

Biggest game of the season so far

This Sunday, 10 June, Grovehill Ballpark will stage the biggest game of the season so far. The reigning NBL champions, Harlow Nationals, will clash with the Herts Falcons who have been grabbing the headlines this year more than any other team in the country.

The Falcons were on top of the standings a week ago but a loss at home against the Essex Arrows allowed both the Harlow Nationals and the Southampton Mustangs to overtake them. Herts now stand just half a game back.

Sunday’s clash between the Nationals and the Falcons has been eagerly anticipated. It is the first opportunity to see whether the revamped Herts Falcons can overcome the champions. Both teams are well equipped offensively and defensively. The Nats have last year’s league MVP, Edwin Alcantara, and slugger, Maikel Azcuy, both with 1 home run in their name this season. The Falcons have their own firepower with Dave Tretheway, Kevin Niedringhaus, Phil Clark and Ryan Bird already opening their home run accounts for the year and there are several more members of the team who are itching to get off the mark.

Grovehill Ballpark is one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the league and fans will be expecting to see a home run or two this Sunday. However, both teams have strong pitchers who may have other ideas. The Nationals have relied largely on Jamie Ratcliff, Brendan Cunliffe and Roberto Almanzar on the mound and so far they have allowed the lowest number of runs per game in the league (4.30 runs per game). The Falcons have used no fewer than 6 pitchers already and they have the luxury of another 5 pitchers who they can call on, including Darrin Ward who completed his transfer from the Essex Arrows last week.

Who will be the starting pitchers for Herts in these series? Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, has kept the rest of the league on their toes with a different starting rotation every week of the season so far and it will be interesting to see what he will have up his sleeve against the Harlow Nationals.

Defensively Herts have performed much worse compared to Harlow allowing 6.73 runs per game, but it is their batting which has made them one of the frontrunners this year. So far they have obliterated their opponents scoring 10.17 runs per game, which is the highest average in the NBL.

With this match-up so finely-balanced and with so much at stake in the title race, this Sunday’s clash is a mouth-watering prospect for fans of British baseball who can make it to Grovehill Ballpark. The game starts at 12:00pm. Admission is free.

 

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Games at Herts postponed due to rain

All 5 games scheduled at Grovehill Ballpark today, 3 June, have been postponed due to rain. Games affected include the NBL matchup between Herts Falcons and Bracknell Blazers, the two exhibition games involving the Great Britain Under-19 National Team, as well as the AA-League doubleheader between the Herts Hawsk and the Essex RedBacks.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Ward is back

Herts Baseball Club announced that pitcher, Darrin Ward, has just completed a transfer back to the Herts Falcons. Ward has been wearing the Herts uniform since 2008, but before the start of the 2012 season he made a surprising move to NBL rivals, the Essex Arrows.

His return is a major boost for Herts who find themselves half a game back on the reigning champion Harlow Nationals.

During his 4 years with Herts, Darrin Ward was voted Herts MVP 3 times (2008, 2009 and 2010 with the Herts Eagles), Best Pitcher twice (2009 and 2011), 3-time Batting Champion (2009, 2010, 2011). Ward is a former Great Britain National Team player. His NBL career stretches all the way back to 1992 when he played for the London Warriors. He spent 8 seasons with them (1992-1999) winning the NBL in 1992, 1993 and 1997. His return to Herts means that he is now reunited with his old London Warriors teammate Michael Osborn for the first time since the 1990s. Osborn moved to Herts at the start of the season and he was looking forward to playing with Ward again. He was disappointed when he learned of Darrin Ward’s move to Essex earlier this year, but today’s announcement means that they will be playing side-by-side again.

Darrin Ward’s career batting average in the NBL is an impressive .378, slugging average .602, with 16 home runs and 130 RBIs. As a pitcher his record is 14-17. He has made only 11 errors in 211 NBL innings prior to 2012. (stats courtesy of Project COBB)

Herts Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, was grateful to Essex for their co-operation. “I would like to thank the Essex Arrows in the manner they have handled this transfer” said Manning. The transfer was completed in time for Ward to be eligible for selection for this Sunday’s NBL game at Grovehill Ballpark against the Bracknell Blazers (11:00am) and exhibition game with the GB U19 National Team (4:00pm).