UPDATE: Since publishing this article the BBF has confirme that the Under-14 Playoffs on 10 September will be moved to Finsbury Park while the Under-17 games will remain at Daws Hill.

Late this evening the British Baseball Federation (BBF) announced details of the 2011 postseason for the British Youth Baseball Leagues, including the draw for the playoffs.  Players and fans of Herts baseball have been eagerly awaiting this announcement.  As expected, the draw is particularly difficult for the Herts U14 and Herts U17 All Star teams. 

Both Herts teams will need to go through a gruelling playoff format.   The Playoffs will be played on Saturday, 10 February 2011, at the former RAF Daws Hill airbase in Buckinghamshire.  

BBF UNDER-17 PLAYOFFS 

In the Under-17 competition, the Herts All Stars will first face the Essex RedBacks at 11:30am.  The two teams have faced each other four times in the regular season and the RedBacks have dominated this match-up winning all four games.  The winner will then clash with the London Mets who are the top seeded team and the undoubted favourites to win the national championship.  The winner of that game would progress through to the National Baseball Championships (NBC) to be played in Richmond on 17 and 18 September. 

BBF UNDER-14 PLAYOFFS 

The task for Herts in the Under-14 bracket is even more gruelling.  They are the reigning National Champions after their memorable 2-1 win against the London Mets last October, but in order to secure their place in the NBC and defend their title, the Herts All Stars have to win three playoff games in a row on the same day.  Herts are the number three seed for these Playoffs and they open the day at 9am against the number six seed, Essex Atoms.  The two teams have not faced each other in the past, so the Atoms could prove to be a dangerous opponent.  

If Herts manage to win this first game, next for them will be winner of the Bracknell and Essex RedBacks game.  This game is schedule to start at 1pm.  If they manage to win this second game they will then go on to play against the loser of the game between top two seeds, London Mets and LYBL.  This final game is scheduled for 3pm. 

So the task for Herts U-14 is clear – win three games in a row otherwise the team will have to relinquish the National Championship trophy.  If they manage to do this they will book their place for the National Championship event a week later.

09:00	Game 1	Cobham Cougars U17	@	Horsham Hornets U17	6 innings
11:30	Game 2	Herts All Stars U17	@	Essex RedBacks U17	6innings
14:00	Game 3	Game 2 Winner	@	London Mets U17	6 innings
14:00	Game 4	Game 1 Loser	@	Game 2 Loser	6 innings

10:00	Game 1	Bracknell U14	@	Essex RedBacks U14	5 innings
10:00	Game 2	Essex Atoms U14	@	Herts All Stars U14	5innings
12:00	Game 3	London Mets U14	@	LYBL U14	5 innings
12:00	Game 4	Game 2 Loser	@	Game 1 Loser	5 innings
14:00	Game 5	Game 1 Winner	@	Game 2 Winner	5 innings
16:00	Final	Game 5 Winner	@	Game 3 Loser	5 innings

Members of the Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants have been keeping an eye on the weather reports with trepidation. Unfortunately the champagne has been put on ice as the weather has not been kind and Saturday’s Herts Majors and Minors Championship Games have been postponed due to expected prolonged and at times heavy rain.

With the school holidays commencing next week this event will be rescheduled for later in August or September. 

The positive news is that the best part of the baseball season is yet to come.  The Herts Futures Tournament, the Under-14 and Under-17 BBF Playoffs, the U14 and U17 Natonal Baseball Championships, as well as a potential international event are still to come and this is when the season really shifts into top gear.

You can follow all these events right here on the Herts Baseball News site.  For details on how to join the Herts youth teams in time for these events visit the official site of the Herts Baseball Little League

The Herts Under-17 All Stars may have had a tough introduction to the BBF Under-17 League in what is the first year ever for a Herts team in this age group, but the team is learning fast and their growth as a team has been evident on the field of play and on the scoreboard as the season has progressed.

They travelled to the picturesque setting of Cobham International School to face the Cobham Cougars who reached the Final in last year’s under-17 National Baseball Championships, losing to the London Mets.

In game one the Herts batters found it very difficult to cope with the Cougars starting pitcher. Despite managing to get six runners on base by earning a walk, there weren’t any hits to drive the runs in. Any solid contact that Herts managed to make with the bats ended up in the hands of the very capable Cobham defence.

Cobham’s pitcher was on the verge of pitching a complete game no-hitter. He needed to get just one more out to produce something very rare in baseball, but with two outs and a full count, Herts third baseman, Kyle Lloyd-Jones, launched the ball deep into right field for a stand-up double. Cobham’s pitcher was visibly disappointed, but judging from his performance he is expected to have many more opportunities in the future to record a no-hitter or perhaps even a perfect game. He did complete the game striking out the next batter. The final score was 12-0 and although this seems like a blow out, the Herts players performed very well defensively with only 4 errors in the game and pitcher Lewis Green improving on his strikes-to-balls ratio (50-40) and striking out 4 Cobham batters in three innings. With Zack Longboy away, Kyle Lloyd-Jones made his debut on the mound, getting the out which he needed with no earned runs.

Game two was a very exciting clash. Starting pitcher Liam Green had control problems in the first two innings and Cobham took advantage by scoring 7 runs. However, Herts came back into the game with their never-say-die attitude. Liam Green settled down and didn’t allow any more runs for the rest of the game. He walked 8 batters in the first two innings but after that nightmare start he walked only 1 and gave up only 1 hit. The Herts defence was working very efficiently behind him committing only two errors in the game – lowest of the season so far. Only three Cobham batters came up to bat in the third inning after an inning ending double play by Kyle Lloyd-Jones. In the fourth they retired the three batters even quicker with three consecutive groundouts, two went to shortstop Lewis Green and one to second baseman, Jose Morillo. This was the most effective inning for the Herts Under-17 All Stars of the year requiring only 5 pitches by Liam Green.

The performance of the Herts defence got the team fired up offensively as well. They started the third inning with back-to-back-to-back singles by Kyle Lloyd-Jones, Lewis Green and Jake Caress. Undoubtedly, the outstanding hitter for Herts was debutant, Charlie Boneham. Coming with a cricket background, this was his first ever game of baseball and yet he seemed so relaxed in the batter’s box despite facing some of the hardest throwing pitchers in the League. Boneham was involved in all three runs scored by Herts. He picked up an RBI in the third inning driving in Lloyd-Jones. In the fourth inning with Jake Caress on first base, Boneham drove the ball deep into right centerfield with a line drive for a stand up RBI triple. Having reached third base he then took advantage of a passed ball to come home and score the third run for Herts.

Herts went into the final inning trailing 7-3 and they managed to get Jonny Compton-Weight and Jose Morillo on base in that inning but the Cougars closer kept his composure and secured the win for Cobham.

Game 1 Box Scores (click to view)

Game 2 Box Scores (click to view)

ENGLAND’S EURO TEAM SWEEPS HERTS

With no league games scheduled for the Herts Under-14 All Stars the team took advantage by travelling together with the Under-17 Herts team to Cobham for a game against Team England which will be representing the country in this month’s Little League European Qualifying games in Poland. With many Herts players away, Coach Kent Peterson, gave some of the club’s Under-11 players an opportunity to get a taste of Under-14 baseball. There was always going to be a disparity between the two teams but it was a useful experience for the young Herts prospects.

The positive news for the Herts Under-14 All Star Team is that once the games in Poland are completed the team expects to be reinforced with the return of three players who will be very critical for Herts when they play in the Postseason Playoffs and National Championships in September.

 

Intentionally walking a batter is a strategy used by the fielding team to reduce the damage that may be caused by a big hitter coming up to bat, or to face a weaker hitter, or to load bases in such a way that would give the defensive team a better chance of getting out of an inning.  The Herts Under-14 All Stars found themselves needing to adopt the “intentional walk” strategy in the bottom of the final inning of their game with the Essex RedBacks. The intentional walk which they executed turned out to be the game winning play. It will go down in baseball history as the most effective intentional walk ever and it is very unlikely that the multi-million dollar superstars of Major League Baseball will be able to equal that.

Starting pitcher Tom Everex-Armstrong made his debut for Herts and pitched a gem to give his team a good platform to go on and win the game.  He allowed only 3 hits and 2 runs, striking out 9 in his 4 innings of work.  Going into the bottom of the final inning Herts were leading 14-7 but they found themselves in a shaky situation as Essex had scored 5 runs in the previous inning.  With 2 outs and runners on first and second base, up stepped Essex slugger, Chris, with one home run to his name already.  Herts Manager, Kent Peterson, gave the intentional walk sign to his son and closing pitcher, Gavin Peterson.

Despite being Under-14, both Peterson and catcher, Brodie Caress, were very familiar with how to execute the intentional walk and ensure that the batter had no chance to reach out and make contact with the ball.   The hitter took the first pitch as it was way outside.  He seemed to realise that he was about to get the ultimate acknowledgement that his opponents want to avoid him at all cost, and from that point it was very difficult to find a reason or explanation of what happened next.  On the next pitch, to the surprise of the large crowd which had gathered, Chris made a late nonchalant swinging motion with his bat.  The umpire wasn’t quite sure what was happening but had no option but to call strike.  On the third pitch, Chris swung again but this time aggressively, clearly trying to make contact with the ball.  He missed.  The Essex coaches started giving him clear instructions not to swing at these intentional walk pitches out of the strike zone.  With fans and players streaming in from the Under-17 game which had just finished on the adjacent diamond, tension was building up and everyone was on their feet, not knowing what exactly they were seeing and what will happen next in what was meant to be a routine intentional walk.  It must be said that the batter Chris was obviously a very competent ball player.  Despite being Under-14, he had earlier pitched a brilliant game for the Essex Under-17 team and coming from an American family was obviously a very accomplished and knowledgeable baseball player.  The only plausible explanation is that he simply wanted to make a big impact on the game and tried to do the impossible.  With a 2-1 count he followed the instructions of his coaches and took the next pitch without swinging the bat, but on the 2-2 pitch he stunned everyone by taking an almighty hack at the pitch and managed to make contact with the ball for a foul tip.  Amazingly, Herts catcher, Brodie Caress, somehow caught and held on to the foul-tipped ball for strike three, third out, a win for Herts and jubilant celebrations as Herts players and fans invaded the field.

There are over 2,000 MLB games shown on TV every year but the game of baseball somehow continues to surprise us with something new and unique every time.

The final out will be talked about for a long time, but it is also worth mentioning Callum Vangundy, Brian Moulton, Drew Mayhew, Ben Jones and Jamie Brener who all had a good day at the plate and gave the pitching staff the run support they needed.

Essex won game one 13-7, so the Herts Under-14 All Stars stay with a .500 winning record in the league standings.

LATE INNING DRAMA

The clash between the Under-17 teams of Herts and the Essex RedBacks was just as dramatic.  A shaky start for Herts in game one gave them a mountain to climb, but pitcher Zack Longboy came in and pitched almost perfect 2 and 2/3 innings allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk, but most importantly, no runs. He was helped by some good defensive plays, most notably Charlie Mayhew’s spectacular catch in the outfield followed by his throw to second base to get the force out and the inning-ending double-play.  Herts were catching up fast, but at the end they ran out of outs losing 11-9 with the tying run at the plate.

Game two was a real classic. Both teams were matching each other inning-after-inning.  It came down to the bottom of the final inning.  A walk allowed the winning run to get on base and then quickly stole twice to get to third.  With the runner on third base representing the all-important winning run, Herts had to employ the extreme defensive formation of both infield and outfield playing in to have a chance of stopping the runner advancing on a ground ball or on a sacrifice fly.  At the end the defence could do nothing about it as a wild pitch went passed the Herts catcher for the winning run to come in.

Despite two heartbreaking losses, there were many positives for Herts including impressive batting by, Kieran Manning (2-3, 2 RBI) , Matteo Manzi (2-6, 4 RBI), Jose Morillo (2-5, 1 RBI), Liam Green (4-6, 3 RBI), Jonny Compton-Weight (2-7, 2 RBI) to add to the 0.00 and 2.08 ERA performances by Longboy and Green in game 1 and 2, respectively.  They will need a few more good pitching outings like this to bring down their ERA for the season, as the London Mets Under-17 team caused some long-term damage to that statistic in the Opening Games of the BBF Under-17 League season.

For full stats, box scores, standings, schedule and more, visit the official Herts Little League website.

 

The Herts Yankees and Herts Dodgers were looking to bounce back after recording losses in week one of the Herts Baseball Little League.  The Dodgers got their first win of the season with a convincing 18-8 score against the Giants. Dodgers’ batters had an outstanding game at the plate.  Ben Jones was one of the star performers going 4-for-5 with 5 RIBIs including a home run over the centerfield wall.  Dodgers celebration were short-lived as the Giants came back strong in game two winning 17-13 which means they lead the series 3-1.  Game two saw home runs by Matt Cowler (2)  and Aaron Witter. 

In the Herts Major League, the Herts Yankees had a spring in their step with several key reinforcements coming in for them.  Lewis Green started on the mound for them and gave them exactly the start which they needed.  They had a healthy 9-3 lead going into the third inning, but then the Red Sox came alive and started to put runs on the scoreboard and eventually took the lead going into the final inning.  A late surge by the Yankees in the final inning included a 2-run home run by Liam Green (2) bringing them to within one run, but then Red Sox pitcher, Zack Longboy, shut the door retiring three batters in succession to end the game and give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the series. 

Rivals London Mets Come to Town this Saturday 

 

Next Saturday, 21 May 2011, the Herts U-17 and Herts U-14 All Star teams will clash in the National League against their London Mets counterparts. This is a repeat of the dramatic London versus Herts National Final which Herts won to lift the Under-14 National Trophy last October.  This year Herts is entering an Under-17 team for the first time in its history. Many of the Herts Under-17 players were members of the Under-14 Championship-winning team from last year. This time they will be facing much older and more experienced players, so it will be exciting to see how they will start in the Under-17 British League. With so many Under-14 Herts players moving up to the Under-17 team, there will be many new faces representing Herts at the Under-14 League level. 

Everything is set for a fantastic day of baseball between two of the biggest rivals in Great Britain.  The games begin at 12pm this Saturday, 21 May 2011, at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead.  Free admission for all.  Hot Dogs, and alls sorts of other snacks and refreshments will be available on the day. Many new players have signed up with the Herts teams this year and new players can join the League and give baseball a try at any point of the season. For more details contact Herts Baseball Club by visiting the official website of the Herts Baseball Little League.

WEEKEND’S BOX SCORES IN THE HERTS LITTLE LEAGUE

Herts Yankees at Herts Red Sox
Score By Innings	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
Herts Yankees	4	5	0	4	1	0	4	18	15	12
Herts Red Sox	2	1	3	3	5	5	0	19	9	0

Herts Red Sox 19, Herts Yankees 18
Herts Red Sox					Herts Yankees
	ab	r	h	bi		ab	r	h	bi
Brodie Caress p-ss	3	3	1	0	Jose Morillo ss-c-3b	3	3	1	0
Charlie Mayhew lf	2	3	0	0	Gavin Peterson cf-p-3b-c	4	3	1	0
Kyle Lloyd-Jones 1b	2	4	2	0	Cameron Ross 2b-cf	4	4	3	2
Kieran Manning c	5	2	2	0	Liam Green c-ss	5	3	4	3
Harry Purvis cf	4	2	1	3	Jonny Compton-Weight 1b-p	4	3	3	1
Zack Longboy ss-p	1	2	0	0	Callum Vangundy 3b-rf	2	2	1	1
Brian Moulton 2b	3	1	0	0	(b4) Daisy Ross rf	2	0	0	1
Tristan Le Coz 3b	3	0	2	2	Lewis Green p-1b-3b	5	0	2	4
Alex Rayner rf	2	2	1	0	Rhys Burns lf-2b	2	0	0	0
					Tom Adams rf-2b-lf	4	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS	25	19	9	5	TEAM TOTALS	35	18	15	12

E: Jose Morillo(5), Lewis Green(2), Tom Adams(2), Liam Green, Callum Vangundy, Gavin Peterson. DP: Herts Yankees 1. LOB: Herts Red Sox 6, Herts Yankees 7. 2B: Brodie Caress, Harry Purvis, Jonny Compton-Weight(2), Lewis Green, Liam Green, Cameron Ross. HR: Liam Green. SB: Zack Longboy(3), Harry Purvis(2), Brodie Caress(2), Charlie Mayhew, Kyle Lloyd-Jones, Brian Moulton, Tristan Le Coz, Alex Rayner, Jose Morillo(5), Gavin Peterson(2), Jonny Compton-Weight.

Herts Red Sox	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Zack Longboy W	4.00	9	9	9	5	7
Brodie Caress	2.33	6	9	8	3	3
Herts Yankees
Lewis Green	2.00	4	3	0	0	2
Gavin Peterson	2.00	4	6	1	6	1
Jonny Compton-Weight L	1.33	1	10	4	10	1

HBP: by Brodie Caress (Callum Vangundy). . . . . . . WP: Brodie Caress(3), Zack Longboy(2), Jonny Compton-Weight(11). PB: Kieran Manning(2), Gavin Peterson(5). T: 2:49. A: 78.

Herts Dodgers at Herts Giants
Score By Innings	1	2	3	4	5	R	H	E
Herts Dodgers	1	5	5	2	5	18	28	1
Herts Giants	1	0	4	0	3	8	17	2

Herts Dodgers 18, Herts Giants 8
Herts Dodgers					Herts Giants
	ab	r	h	bi		ab	r	h	bi
Alexander Deacon p	5	3	5	3	Jamie Brener 1b-ss	3	1	2	1
Rylie Peterson lf	5	1	3	1	Lewis Auchterlounie p-sf	3	1	2	0
Ben Jones c	5	3	4	5	Ryan Reynolds 3b-cf	3	3	3	0
Theo Longboy 1b	4	1	3	5	Matt Cowler cf-3b	3	0	1	1
Zoe Wakelam 3b	4	1	1	0	Aaron Witter ss-1b	3	2	1	1
Colin Vawter cf	4	2	3	1	James Roberts 2b	3	0	3	3
Nicholas Durer 2b	4	2	3	0	Beau Mack-Rehnsi c	3	0	2	2
Jonathan Wakelam sf	4	1	1	0	Christian Lynch lf-p	3	0	0	0
Oliver Durer rf	4	2	2	1	Louis Boote rf-lf	2	0	1	0
Keanu Wood ss	4	2	3	2	Alex Trautman rf-ph	2	0	0	0
					Alex Crombie sf-dh	2	1	2	0
TEAM TOTALS	43	18	28	18	TEAM TOTALS	30	8	17	8

E: Alexander Deacon, Lewis Auchterlounie, Aaron Witter. LOB: Herts Giants 7, Herts Dodgers 12. 2B: Ben Jones, Theo Longboy, Aaron Witter, Jamie Brener. HR: Ben Jones

Herts Giants at Herts Dodgers
Score By Innings	1	2	3	4	5	R	H	E
Herts Giants	4	2	5	4	2	17	23	0
Herts Dodgers	0	2	5	5	1	13	23	2

Herts Giants 17, Herts Dodgers 13
Herts Giants					Herts Dodgers
	ab	r	h	bi		ab	r	h	bi
Lewis Auchterlounie 3b-lf	4	1	1	0	Colin Vawter 3b	4	0	2	1
Jamie Brener lf-2b	4	3	3	2	Nicholas Durer cf	4	1	3	2
Matt Cowler cf	4	2	3	3	Keanu Wood lf	4	2	4	1
Aaron Witter 1b	4	3	4	4	Rylie Peterson 2b	4	2	2	1
Christian Lynch c	4	1	2	0	Alex Crombie p	4	2	2	2
James Roberts ss	4	2	2	2	Oliver Durer c	4	3	4	1
Ryan Reynolds rf-3b	4	2	3	2	Alexander Deacon ss	4	3	4	2
Beau Mack-Rehnsi 2b-rf	4	2	3	2	Ben Jones 1b	4	0	1	2
Alex Trautman p	4	1	2	1	H Player 9 rf	2	0	1	1
TEAM TOTALS	36	17	23	16	TEAM TOTALS	34	13	23	13

E: Alexander Deacon, Rylie Peterson. LOB: Herts Giants 6, Herts Dodgers 9. 2B: Jamie Brener(2), Matt Cowler, Beau Mack-Rehnsi, Alexander Deacon. HR: Matt Cowler, Aaron Witter.

Last Saturday ahead of the Opening Day clash between the Herts Yankees and the Herts Red Sox there was a last minute player trade.  Cameron Choudhuri moved from the Yankees to the Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later. The Herts Little League has just confirmed that the player going in the other direction is Jose Morillo. He has developed very quickly into one of Herts Baseball’s hottest prospects and already made his debut with the club’s adult team, the Herts Raptors, who play in the British Single-A League.  He will add experience and a lot of power to the Yankees lineup.  It is a much needed boost for the Yankees who found themselves on the losing end in game one and need to bounce back in game two.

The Herts Yankees made another move by picking up Johnny Machin, who is expected to make his debut in the Herts Major League in early June.  It has been reported that the Machin family are big New York Yankees fans so they will be pleased with this news.

Fans of the Herts Little League can keep track of player transactions throughout the season on the League’s official website. (Click to view)

 

The Red Sox got off to the best possible start of the season with a convincing win against the Herts Yankees. The Giants are also in commanding position sweeping the Herts Dodgers on Opening Day of the Herts Little League season.

The Herts Little League team rosters were announced earlier in the week but the Yankees found themselves with a  seriously depleted squad on Saturday with several of their big guns out of action.  Jonny Compton-Weight who just returned after representing Great Britain in the Czech Republic and who is expected to play a key role for the team was unable to take part after suffering with the flu. Callum Vangundy, Jack Harding, Robert Binns and Vincent Moulton were also missing from the Yankees lineup.

The Red Sox took advantage of this by taking a 5-0 lead in the first inning. Lewis Green who has been making tremendous progress as a pitcher over the last 2 years came in to pitch in the second inning for the Yankees and pitched a perfect inning without allowing any hits or walks.  One run did come in during that inning after the Yankees defence committed two errors but this does not take away from the fantastic pitching performance by Green.  The Yankees seemed to be buzzing all of a sudden and were back in the game with a towering 3-run home run to right-centerfield, by Liam Green. That made the score 6-4.  Zack Longboy who was the winning pitcher for the Sox in last year’s final started on the mound and gave his team the platform they needed pitching three innings very effectively allowing 4 hits and 2 walks. By the time he was relived by Brodie Caress the Red Sox had a commanding 11-4 lead thanks to hits by Jose Morillo, Longboy and Kyle Lloyd-Jones who hit a towering 2-run home run. Caress came in and pitched 3 quality innings.  The only minor hiccup came in the top of the sixth when Lewis Green hit his first home run of his career driving in three runs. By that time it was too little too late for the Yankees.  They will need their big guns back for game 2 next Saturday if they are to stand a chance against the dangerous Red Sox.

The clash in the Minors Division between the Dodgers and the Giants was a much more even affair.  Both teams were matching each other inning after inning. It came down to the bottom of final inning.  The Giants were trailing by three runs.  Singles by Rose van Dort and Josh Jones were followed by doubles by slugger Matt Cowler and Beau Mack-Rehnsi.  The knockout punch was delivered by Ryan Reynolds to give the Giants a wild 16-15 win. 

In game two both teams improved their defensive game.  The Dodgers seemed eager to tie the series and they held a 4-2 lead until the closing innings, but the Giants rallied again in the final inning winning 9-4. 

The series continue next Saturday, 14 May, once again starting at 11am.  Will the Dodgers and the Yankees be able to make a comeback or will their opponents continue their domination.

Herts Yankees at Herts Red Sox
Score By Innings	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Herts Yankees	0	0	4	0	0	3	7	7	4
Herts Red Sox	5	1	5	5	5	0	21	12	6

Herts Red Sox 21, Herts Yankees 7
Herts Red Sox					Herts Yankees
	ab	r	h	bi		ab	r	h	bi
Charlie Mayhew 1b-cf	2	3	1	1	Matteo Manzi cf-1b-3b-p	5	1	3	1
Brodie Caress 2b-p	2	2	1	0	Charlie Owens 2b-rf	2	0	0	0
Jose Morillo ss	3	3	2	2	Gavin Peterson c-3b	4	0	0	0
Kyle Lloyd-Jones 3b	4	3	2	2	Cameron Ross 1b-p-cf	3	1	0	0
Jake Caress lf-c	3	3	2	2	Liam Green p-cf-1b-c	4	1	1	3
Kieran Manning c-lf	3	2	1	3	Kieran Burns rf-3b	1	0	1	0
Zack Longboy p-rf	3	1	2	3	(t5) Cameron Choudhuri 3b-lf	1	1	0	0
Drew Mayhew cf-2b	2	2	0	0	Tom Adams cf-ss-lf	3	1	1	0
Tristan Le Coz rf-1b	1	1	0	0	Lewis Green 3b-p-2b-rf	4	1	1	3
Cameron Choudhuri b	2	0	1	1	Rhys Burns lf-ss	1	1	0	0
Tomas Sharpe b	0	1	0	0	(b4) Alan Ross lf-ss	0	0	0	0
TEAM TOTALS	25	21	12	14	TEAM TOTALS	28	7	7	7

E: Brodie Caress(2), Jose Morillo(2), Kyle Lloyd-Jones(2), Matteo Manzi(2), Cameron Ross, Tom Adams. DP: Herts Red Sox 1. LOB: Herts Red Sox 8, Herts Yankees 9. 2B: Jake Caress, Kieran Manning, Cameron Choudhuri. HR: Kyle Lloyd-Jones, Liam Green, Lewis Green. SB: Jose Morillo. CS: Lewis Green, Tom Adams.

Herts Red Sox	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Zack Longboy W	3.00	5	4	4	2	1
Brodie Caress	3.00	2	3	3	3	2
Herts Yankees
Lewis Green	1.00	0	1	0	0	0
Cameron Ross	0.67	4	4	4	4	0
Liam Green L	0.33	1	5	0	2	2
Matteo Manzi	0.00	7	11	9	3	1

HBP: by Zack Longboy (Kieran Burns). , by Matteo Manzi (Tristan Le Coz). . . . WP: Zack Longboy(3), Matteo Manzi(8), Liam Green(3), Lewis Green. PB: Gavin Peterson(5). T: 2:30. A: 78.

Herts Dodgers at Herts Giants
Score By Innings	1	2	3	4	5	R	H	E
Herts Dodgers	5	0	3	2	5	15	23	3
Herts Giants	5	4	2	1	4	16	23	2

 

Herts Giants 16, Herts Dodgers 15
Herts Giants					Herts Dodgers
	ab	r	h	bi		ab	r	h	bi
Jamie Brener 3b	4	4	2	0	Alexander Deacon c-p	4	2	2	1
Joshua Jones ss-1b	4	3	4	1	Ben Jones 3b-c	4	3	3	0
Matt Cowler 1b-2b	4	2	2	3	Nicholas Durer cf	4	2	2	0
Beau Mack-Rehnsi cf	4	4	4	3	Theo Longboy p-3b	4	4	4	2
Ryan Reynolds rf	4	1	4	5	Zoe Wakelam 2b	4	2	3	5
James Roberts 2b-ss	3	1	2	2	Oliver Durer ss	3	1	3	2
Alex Trautman p	2	0	0	0	Ozan Martin 1b	3	0	3	3
Christian Lynch lf-c	3	0	1	0	Jonathan Wakelam rf	3	0	0	0
Lewis Auchterlounie c-lf	3	1	2	0	Rylie Peterson lf	3	1	3	2
Talia Martin rf-sf	3	0	1	1	Andrew Powell rf-sf	3	0	0	0
Rose van Dort rf-ph	3	0	1	0
TEAM TOTALS	37	16	23	15	TEAM TOTALS	35	15	23	15

 

E: Jamie Brener, Joshua Jones, Theo Longboy(2), Oliver Durer. LOB: Herts Dodgers 8, Herts Giants 9. 2B: Beau Mack-Rehnsi(3), Matt Cowler(2), Jamie Brener, Rylie Peterson.

 

Herts Giants	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Alex Trautman	4.00	23	15	14	0	8
Herts Dodgers
Alexander Deacon	2.33	10	7	7	0	5
Theo Longboy	1.67	13	9	8	0	1

  

GAME 2

Herts Giants at HOME Opponent
Score By Innings	1	2	3	4	5	R	H	E
Herts Giants	1	1	0	4	3	9	16	0
HOME Opponent	1	3	0	0	0	4	10	2

Herts Giants 9, HOME Opponent 4
Herts Giants					HOME Opponent
	ab	r	h	bi		ab	r	h	bi
Beau Mack-Rehnsi 3b	4	3	3	1	H Player 1 p	3	2	2	1
James Roberts 1b	4	1	2	2	H Player 2 2b	3	0	0	0
Joshua Jones c	4	0	1	1	H Player 3 1b	3	0	3	1
Matt Cowler cf	4	1	4	2	H Player 4 lf	3	0	2	2
Christian Lynch lf	4	0	1	1	H Player 5 c	3	0	0	0
Jamie Brener ss	3	0	0	0	H Player 6 ss	3	0	0	0
Ryan Reynolds 2b	3	2	2	0	H Player 7 3b	3	0	1	0
Lewis Auchterlounie p	3	1	2	0	H Player 8 cf	2	1	1	0
Alex Trautman rf	3	1	1	0	H Player 9 rf	2	1	1	0
TEAM TOTALS	32	9	16	7	TEAM TOTALS	25	4	10	4

E: H Player 1, H Player 2. LOB: HOME Opponent 6, Herts Giants 8. 2B: Matt Cowler(3), Beau Mack-Rehnsi.

Herts Giants	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Lewis Auchterlounie	5.00	10	4	4	0	11
HOME Opponent
H Player 1	5.00	16	9	6	0	5

T: 1:20. A: 78.

  

The waiting is over. The boys and girls of summer will get the 2011 Herts Baseball Little League season underway this Saturday, 7 May 2011, at Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead. Players from across Hertfordshire, London and as far as East Anglia will be putting on the Herts jerseys as the race for the championship begins.

The season will open with two mouth-watering match-ups. The reigning Champions, Herts Red Sox, will face bitter rivals the Herts Yankees. Red Sox Manager, Arnie Longboy, will be hoping that his team can pick up where they left at the end of last season. Their opponents, the Herts Yankees, picked up the bronze medals last year and they will be eager to get back to winning ways early. Both teams will field very strong lineups with each of them featuring members of the Herts All Stars team which represented Hertfordshire so magnificently at last year’s British National Baseball Championships and returned home with the silverware.

The other Opening Day match-up is expected to be another exciting clash. When baseball fans hear Dodgers and Giants, they think of the famous West Coast rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. The Herts Dodgers and the Herts Giants Opening Day clash is likely to be just as fiery.

As always, at the start of every season, there will be many new faces after numerous player transfers, trades between the teams and free agents joining the League during the close season, so it will be a fascinating opening day.

This year’s Herts Little League will see a changed format with teams from other parts of the country taking part as well in an Inter-League format similar to the one introduced in America a few years ago. It brought a lot of excitement to Major League Baseball and it is expected to spice things up in Hertfordshire as well.

Apart from the race for the Herts Little League Championship, throughout the 2011 season members of the Herts Little League will also be taking part in BBF league games against teams from other parts of the country. The Herts teams competing in the BBF Leagues are referred to as All-Star teams and they are a selection of the best performing players from all the Herts Little League teams in the various age groups.

Last year Herts had one All-Star team competing in the BBF Under-14 (Bronco) League. This year Herts is committed to give more of its members the All-Stars experience by adding two more All-Star teams competing in the BBF Leagues.

With the weather expected to remain sunny, there isn’t a better way to spend Saturday then at the ballpark enjoying the various snacks and drinks which will be on offer. The games begin at 11am. Free admission for all. Many new players have signed up with the teams over the last few weeks and new players can join the League at any point of the season. For more details contact Herts Baseball Club by visiting their official website www.hertsbaseball.com