Category: Headlines

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles unveil promising new signings in loss versus Old Timers

Oz Kemal was back for the Eagles

Herts Eagles 7 Old Timers 17.

written by hertsbaseball.com correspondent Duncan Hoyle

 

Herts Eagles battled well against a typically well organised and disciplined Old Timers team but eventually succumbed 7 – 17. However the Eagles will be able to console themselves with the many positive individual performances from the game.

On the warmest baseball playing day of the season so far, Herts starting pitcher Reagan Wood got off to a great start with 3 first inning strikeouts to keep the Old Timers down to 2 runs scored in the first innings. However the Herts batting unit just couldn’t get going, struggling to come to terms with the Old Timers lefty pitchers curve balls.

Wood was forced to leave the pitchers mound in the second inning with a slight shoulder strain and it was Geoff Thomas who had the difficult job of having to pitch out the rest of the inning. By the time the inning had finished the Old Timers had increased the lead to 8 – 0.

Debutant Craig Le Roux made his Herts debut in the 3rd inning on the pitchers mound, replacing Thomas who had pulled his hamstring during his pitching efforts, and Le Roux pitched superbly from the start. He was working well with Adrian Smithers, who was playing for the first time as catcher to rein in the Old Timers offense. After battling with some initial nerves, Smithers had an excellent game in his 5 innings as catcher, letting few balls get past him and he will gain a lot of confidence from his performance.

The Eagles made some good defensive plays including a good tag out at home plate by Smithers, a great relay play from deep left field which included Senna Ashida, Theo Scheepers and Oz Kemal, and a great 2-out play instigated by 13 year old 3rd baseman Callum Vangundy. Vangundy is a GB U15 international who was making his debut for the Eagles, and the natural quality he brings to the Eagles will be a big boost for the rest of the season.

Le Roux was able to keep the Eagles in the game, only going for a run or 2 each inning. Finally in the 6th inning the Eagles were able to get some much needed production going in the batting department, with another debutant, Rupert Greyling getting the offensive show on the road by nearly hitting a home run. He had to settle for a double, but was brought home to score the Eagles first run. Substitute catcher Oz Kemal got into the action with a superb hit to bat in 2 runs and by the end of the innings the Eagles had scored 5 to give themselves a chance of avoiding the mercy rule.

In the middle of the 7th inning the score was 17 – 5 to the Old Timers meaning the Eagles had to score 3 to take the game into an 8th inning. 15-year-old Will Zucker was another Eagles debutant who has previously played in Japan, and he got a good hit which he followed up with some great baserunning to get round to score. He looks like he will be an another excellent addition to the Eagles roster. Sadly for the Eagles only 1 more run was scored which meant that the mercy rule came into play at the end of the 7th inning.

The Eagles were bitterly disappointed in not been able to go all the 9 innings, but can take great pride in the spirited way in which heads didn’t drop and the fact that there are fixtures to be played in the next two Sundays, starting next week with an away day outing to Billericay in a clash with the Essex RedBacks.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts Hawks are back in the playoff race

Jon Lewys went 1-3 and drove in two runs in the second game against the Mariners

The Hawks suffered a nightmare month of April. On top of the wettest April on record, most of their roster was unavailable for the games versus the Croydon Pirates and the Poole Piranhas, which they lost and many feared that this slip has knocked them out of the playoff race after just 3 weeks into the season.

Earlier in the week a BBF announcement confirmed that the Hawks would need to finish among the top 4 teams in their AA League group to qualify for the postseason. That seemed to give the Hawks the boost they needed. They bounced back sweeping the series against the Kent Mariners. In game one Nic Goetz repeated his Opening day heroics on the mound. This time he pitched a complete game shutout. He allowed only 4 hits. He had a solid defence behind him which committed only one error as well as potent batting lineup which scored 11 runs. Louis Hare and Tim Elkins contributed with 2 hits each with 3 and 2 RBI respectively.

Click to view Game 1 Box Scores and play-by-play

Nick Russell started game 2 and he too pitched a complete game allowing only 4 hits. Kent did score 2 runs in the final inning but by then the Hawks had taken an unassailable 15-0 lead. Louis Hare (2-4 3RBI 2B) and Andy Cornish (2-4 3RBI 2B) stood out offensively for Herts.

Click to view Game 2 Box Scores and play-by-play

Co-Manager Andy Cornish was pleased with the team’s performance. He said: “I think today we made a real jump forward in our fielding game, both pitchers were at the top of their game. Nic Goetz and Nick Russell were great on the mound today.” He added that “The team was really buzzing after the game, and I for one cannot wait for the next game so that we can continue to put in solid performances”. Will the Hawks be able to shock the league by beating the London Mammoths who come to Grovehill Ballpark this Sunday, 20 May 2012 (12:00 first pitch).

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Test against Mets shows major improvement for Herts

The Herts U17 team came up against the reigning National U17 Champions, the London Mets. The team from the capital is always a formidable opponent and they have strengthened further with several new players from Venezuela and Japan. They beat Herts convincingly on the day, but the visitors are a much more solid team this year. The players are a year older, bigger and stronger and seem to have much greater confidence even against the champions.

John Peters shut them down allowing only 1 hit and 1 run over 5 innings. The Mets have just returned from the Pony European Qualifiers in Prague where they faced hard throwing pitchers so they didn’t seem intimidated by herts flame thrower, Liam Green. In fact the off-speed pitches of 13-year-old, Brodie Caress, seemed to trouble them more. Brodie was one of the few Herts pitchers who managed to contain the Mets offence allowing only 1 hit and no runs. Marty Cullen Jr got the only hit for Herts in that first game of the series, but depite the 13-1 loss, it was very positive to see only 1 error committed by the team.

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

In game 2 Marty Cullen Jr started on the mound. His pitching kept the Mets much quieter. Herts kept within touching distance right up to the fifth inning when the score was 7-2, but 5 runs in the bottom of the fifth clinched the second win for London on the day with a score of 12-2. Kyle Lloyd-Jones (2-3 RBI) and Richard Ganster (1-2) were the bright spots in the Herts batting lineup.

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

Last year Herts lost 19-2 and 23-10 in the same matchup and the team will be going back to Hertforshire knowing that they have made major improvements over the last 12 months especially given the fact that the Mets have strengthened further this season.

Next up for Herts is a home double-header against the Horsham Hornets who are joint leaders in the U17 League standings. First pitch 11:30am, Saturday, 19 May 2012.


 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts U14 team loses its first road games of the season

Written by hertsbaseball.com reporter Chris Jones

Herts U14 team last played a month ago, before the wettest April on record forced the cancellation of three successive weekends’ baseball. It felt good simply to get out into the sunshine and play the game. Twelve U14s made the trip south to face a daunting double-header against an experienced, well-drilled London Mets side.

In horseracing terms the Finsbury Park going would have been described as ‘soft’, but the Mets ground staff did a good job in creating a playable surface. After the Herts team squelched over to the visitors’ dugout, more of the handsome new Herts baseball jerseys were distributed to the players. Herts fielded a few new joiners (a big welcome to Leon Bowers, Alex Guthrie and Tom Jansson-Wright), and the team took to the field in a combination of white jerseys, an anorak and a couple of “Drew Mayhew” Herts t-shirts.

From the first inning Herts were up against it. Mets starting pitcher Takiya struck out the first three batters without bat touching ball, and in response London hit a triple and a double. Although base-stealing is not allowed at this level until pitch passes plate, the Mets also advanced six bases on wild pitches or passed balls. Callum Vangundy then struck out batters six and seven with some good pitching to close the inning. The second and third innings followed a similar pattern, and by the bottom of the 3rd Herts found ourselves down 10-0. But their defensive play had started to improve, with a good ground-out at first and a nice tag applied at third base. At the top of the fourth the visitors picked up their first two hits of the game: Aaron Witter hit a single and Callum Vangundy followed up with another single to bring home Tom Adams for an RBI. However, Herts continued to give up runs in the remaining innings, and the game ended 19-1 to the Mets. The difference between the two teams was mainly down to London’s 66% strike percentage, compared to Herts’ 40%; but more consistency will certainly come as pitchers gain experience on the mound. All credit to Herts, though – despite the scoreline, heads didn’t drop and there was a high level of commitment throughout.

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

The second game started more evenly. Herts picked up an early run after Tom Adams hit a single and Callum hit a double to bring him home. Starting pitcher Ben Jones then pitched a tidy inning, giving up only two runs. Later in the game he was relieved by Gavin Peterson who produced one of his best performances on the mound. The London Mets won the second game convincingly once again with a score of 15-1 and they certainly look like one of the favourites in the Under-14 League this year.

Next up for the youngsters from Hertfordshire is a home game on Saturday, 19 May, with the Leicester Blue Sox U14 team visiting Grovehill Ballpark in Hhemel Hempstead for the first time.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2012 BBF postseason format and structure announced

The BBF Board has released the “Road to the NBC”, a document detailing the post-season structure and schedules for adult and youth teams vying for spots in the 2012 National Baseball Championships.

The British Baseball Federation has announced the post-season format and schedule for the 2012 National Baseball Championship (NBC), to be held over the late summer bank holiday weekend, August 25-27. The adult NBC will include a double-elimination NBL bracket, semi-finals and finals for AAA and AA and a Single-A final, with the potential for 14 games played over three days at a single venue.

The NBC qualifications will take place on August 12 and/or 19, with 26 teams vying for spots in the finals.

The playoffs and NBC are earlier this year to take advantage of the three-day bank holiday weekend and a return to extended finals competition for the adult leagues, as well as to allow the GB Baseball programme to prepare and fundraise for the European Baseball Championships and World Baseball Classic qualifier in September.

INPUT AND FEEDBACK

The “Road to the NBC” was drafted with input from commissioners and league representatives as well as feedback from the teams themselves following last year’s highly successful Championship weekend. The BBF is hopeful that the adjustments made to the qualification process, structure and schedule — as well as the shift to a three-day event — will make the post-season experience even more exciting than in previous years.

Planning for the NBC is already in progress and the venue will be announced as soon as possible. As in 2011, the Great Britain Baseball National Teams programme will serve as event organisers, facilitating the staffing, catering, sponsorship and grounds maintenance for the NBC on behalf of the British baseball community. The NBC represents one of Team GB’s major fundraisers, and 100% of catering and merchandising profit from the weekend goes to support our national team players in overseas competition.

The Bronco and Pony post-season details, along with the 2012 Youth National Baseball Championships (YNBC) schedule will be announced later in May.

FULL DETAILS

For full details of the postseason playoffs and the NBC view the following documents:

BBF 2012 “Road to the Finals”

2012 Post-Season Structure

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Hawks suffer second loss of the season

Louis Hare recorded 8 strikeouts and allowed only 4 earned runs in 9 innings but it wasn't enough for the Hawks

The Herts Hawks hosted the Poole Piranhas after a two-week hiatus due to lack of rain, according to the ongoing hose-pipe ban policy. The old diamond at Grovehill, which is historically resilient to bad weather, was playable (bar a swimming pool in the visitor’s dugout, but, according to Hawks Co-Manager, Greg Bochan, “That’s why it is called the Visitors’ Dugout”.

Hawks were lucky enough to have several players on secondment, including Louis Hare, Kim Saionji, Arnie Longboy and Zach Longboy, and they were all needed. Despite getting off to a shaky start that resulted in the Piranhas taking a 5-0 lead in the first inning, Hare settled down on the mound (i.e. warmed up) and kept the Piranhas from getting away with the game. Unfortunately, the Piranhas’ pitcher was also on top form, throwing a lot of strikes and mixing in some knee-buckling curves with a difficult to hit fastball, and his defence, in particular the Poole short stop, held firm behind him. Auchterlounie, Saionji, Hare and later Zach Longboy all were able to get base hits off him, but the rest of the Herts bats were kept quiet and the first Hawks’ run came in after 4 innings.

Matt Johnston could be out for 4 to 6 weeks with a hamstring injury

The Hawks’ task was made more difficult when outfield dynamo Matt Johnston suffered a hamstring injury while attempting to steal second base. He had to be carried to the dugout and subsequently to the car park. The Hawks team will be hoping for his speedy recovery. Zach Longboy came in to replace him and did a great job, getting a base hit, but despite providing a creditable performance, turning a couple of double plays and staying in the game, Herts were unable to overcome the 5-run first inning deficit. The game finished Piranhas 9, Herts Hawks 4.

Click to view box scores and play-by-play

Herts Hawks Co-Manager, Greg Bochan, felt that the Piranhas deserved the win. He said: “In the first inning there were a lot of cobwebs being knocked off by Louis who hasn’t pitched in a long while. On top of that there were a few errors. This gave Poole a 5-run lead. After the first inning we started to settle into the game and it was pretty close from there on in. Poole had really good pitching and they held on for the win.”

The Hawks travel to the Kent Mariners next Sunday, 13 May 2012. They will need the missing members of their team to be back quickly and return to winning ways if they want to stay in the race for the postseason playoffs.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

This Saturday’s youth league games cancelled

A confirmation has just been received that the BBF U17, U14 and U11 league games scheduled at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead this Saturday, 5 May 2012, have been cancelled. 

A club spokesperson indicated that “the ballpark is still waterlogged and is still unplayable. There have been several inspections of the venue over the last 48 hours and there is still a significant amount of standing water.”

This comes after it was confirmed this week that this has been the wettest April since records began. This is the third consecutive week of cancellations of youth league games which is causing a major disruption to the league schedule, but the hope is that the baseball season can resume next week.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons, Hawks and Raptors games rained out

FALCONS @ METS

It has just been confirmed that the Herts Falcons visit to Finsbury Park for their NBL double-header versus the London Mets has been postponed due to rain.

The Falcons’ last game was the visit to the Southampton Mustangs on 15 April, they rest next weekend and return to NBL action on May 13 on the road at the Lakenheath Diamondbacks. This means that they would not see a competitive at bat for a total of 28 days. This is not ideal and the continuing wet weather is threatening to affect the Falcons’ training schedule as well.

hertsbaseball.com understands that the Harlow Nationals vs Southampton Mustangs games have also been postponed which means that the Falcons will remain joint top of the NBL standings after this weekend with 5 wins and 1 loss, same as the Nationals.

REDBACKS @ HAWKS and OLD TIMERS @ RAPTORS

The games scheduled at Grovehill Ballpark tomorrow, 29 April, have also been postponed.  Hawks games versus the RedBacks and the Old Timers visit to the Raptors will be rescheduled and be played later in the year.

This means that the rain has wiped out every single game involving Herts youth and adult league teams this weekend.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Eagles game in Brighton has been postponed

The Herts Eagles were scheduled to play their first league game on the road this Sunday with a trip to Pavilion Field in Brighton to face the A League expansion team which has been imaginatively named, Hove Tuesday. It has just been confirmed that the game has now been postponed and will be played later in the year.

Hove Tuesday entering the league this year was a very positive development not just because of the growth of the British baseball league, but also because this meant that one of the best baseball venues in the country has found a new tenant and teams will once again be able to play there.

Guess the year of this National League Final played at Pavilion Field in Brighton?

For many years the showpiece end-of-season National Championships were held at Pavilion Field. The facility features top specification dugouts, and had one of the best playing surfaces in Great Britain. In the early 2000s it was the home of the Brighton Buccaneers. The club folded but thankfully the Burgess Hill Red Hats moved in to ensure that the facility kept going. They too folded just a few years later which meant that Pavilion Field was left without a baseball tenant. There was a real fear that this wonderful baseball facility will be lost as local authorities could have converted it to be used by another sport.

It looks like the future of Pavilion Field is now secure once again with Hove Tuesday taking some very positive steps. Similar to Herts, Hove Tuesday also received funding from BSUK not only to bring the diamond to its former glory, but also to create additional baseball and softball fields.

The Herts Eagles will be looking forward to making the trip to Brighton later in the year to play this weekend’s rained out A-League game.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Falcons off the DL. Could fans be placing bets on NBL games soon?

British Baseball has been paralysed by what seems to be endless waves of rain which has drenched the British Isles over the last two weeks. The prolonged period of rain started as soon as the authorities introduced a hose-pipe ban. Many of this weekend’s league games have already been rained out.

There is no decision yet about the biggest game of the season so far for the Herts Falcons (5-1). They are scheduled to travel to Finsbury Park to face the London Mets (3-1) this Sunday. The team from the capital is seen as one of the favourites in the National Baseball League (NBL). A win for Herts could give them some breathing space at the top of the standings. A sweep for London and they will overtake Herts.

  

On the eve of this massive game, the Herts Falcons have had some good news with confirmation that 2011 MVP, Mahendra Prasad, has been added to the roster after spending the last four weeks on the DL with a knee injury. Another player who is working his way back to recover from injury is catcher Dave Westfallen. He missed the whole of the 2011 season with a persistent shoulder injury. Since the end of last season Westfallen has had fantastic news with the birth of his son and it also looks like his shoulder is recovering well. He is targeting the end of May to return to full fitness and may start with a few games with the Herts Hawks in the AA League before considering a return to the Falcons roster.

Falcons outfielder Jamie Munn has also had to miss the start of the season with an elbow problem, but Falcons Manager, Lee Manning, is hoping that Munn will be back to full fitness in the next few weeks.

With the positive news of players coming off the DL and the club’s new signings making their debuts this month, the Falcons will soon be back to full strength and fans of the club will have the opportunity to see the team firing on all cylinders. But at the moment all eyes are on the skies above.

Fans of the NBL will be interested to know that the league scores now appear on a sports website where various betting companies offer odds for sports fans to place their bets. The fields which are intended to show the betting odds for upcoming NBL games are currently blank but it would be interesting to see whether betting companies start to cover the NBL as part of their wide range of betting markets.