The Herts Red Sox got exactly what they needed to stay alive in the race for the Herts Little League title.  They won both their games while at the same time the joint leaders, the Cubs and the Yankees, dropped one and two games, respectively.  This means that going into the final day of the 2008 season, all three teams are still very much in with a chance of becoming the 2008 champions.

 

To start the day, the table-topping Herts Cubs were stunned by bottom of the table Blue Jays.  A combination of solid hitting from a rejuvenated Blue Jays batting lineup and masterful pitching by Alex Ringrose secured the win for the Jays.  They have really come alive over the last few weeks and despite being out of the running, they are causing an absolute mayhem with the ambitious plans of the teams above them in the standings.

 

This meant that the Herts Yankees had the chance to jump above the Cubs, but they were caught up in a classic pitching duel against the Red Sox.  Mikito Ariga for the Sox and Marty Cullen Jr had locked horns on the mound matching each other’s zeros, inning-after-inning.  The game went into extra innings.  The pressure was on and the Red Sox held their nerve to clinch it 1-0.

 

In the second games of the day, the Red Sox picked up another priceless victory, this time against the Blue Jays.  In a spirited come-back in the bottom of the last inning, the Jays scored three runs after some clutch-hitting from brothers Nicolas and Declan Carlean and Jays slugger Storm Frisby.  But it wasn’t enough as Alec Walker picked up a groundball at third for the final out of the game.

 

On field one at the same time, there was a face-off between the joint leaders, the Yankees and the Cubs.  The Cubs came through to win it 5-2.  Leftie Lewis Paterson launched his 2^nd and 3^rd home run of the season in the process with two blasts over the right-field wall and picked up the Player of the Week trophy.

 

This sets up a fascinating finale to the 2008 season.  There is a real possibility that two or more teams may be tied at the top of the standings.  In the event that two teams are tied, the season will be decided in a sudden-death Championship game between the joint leaders.  At the moment it looks like this game will be scheduled for Saturday, 13 September, and it will be played alongside a Bronze Medal sudden-death decider between the third and fourth placed teams.

 

Things get really complicated if there is a three-way tie between the Yankees, Cubs and Red Sox.  In such scenario, run differential of the three teams will be decisive.  The team with the best run differential qualifies automatically for the sudden-death Championship game.  The other two teams will play against each other in a sudden death extra innings shoot-out immediately after the scheduled games on the final day.  The team with the second best run differential will have home-field advantage.

A recent discovery in Sussex, England, indicates that the earliest records of the game of baseball originate from the British Isles.

MLB has made a movie about this discovery.  Click on the link below to visit the MLB site and use the menu on the left-hand side to see extra video footage.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/mediacenter/baseball_discovered/

…but if history is not your thing, why not check out the plays of the week in HOW 'BOUT THAT?

The Herts Little League has confirmed that the league games rained out on 9 August 2008 will be played next Saturday, 16 August.  This means that the final league day will be moved to Saturday, 23 August.

For full details visit the updated Little League Schedule page.

With the Herts Little League and the Herts Falcons having a week off from league action they have sent in some videos from the world of baseball.

 

The British Baseball Federation has issued a press release confirming that the planned Youth Wild Card Playoffs involving teams from the Herts, Horsham and Plymouth Little Leagues have been cancelled.  This comes as a big disappointment for everyone connected with the Herts Little League as everyone was looking forward to this opportunity to go head-to-head with the best teams from around the country. 

The Herts Little League Commissioners are considering options for the staging of alternative events and the Herts Baseball Newswire will keep you informed about any further news.

The following is the official press release from the British Baseball Federation.

Baseball Youth Final 4s Playoffs CANCELLED

The Baseball Youth Playoffs previously scheduled for September 6 & 7 have been CANCELLED. The decision was taken for a number of practical reasons. The Youth Final 4s will still take place on September 13 & 14 at Cartmel Valley in the Lake District.

The September 6 & 7 date was the only realistic one available but threw up clashes for the GB Juvenile Tour and for Pony age players who would then be unavailable to in the National Baseball Championships with their senior teams.

It was not possible to move the playoffs earlier in the season as scheduled games are planned. At this stage the BBF was unable to make the planning and logistical arrangements for a good quality event for young players, coaches and families.

The BBF apologises to those clubs and participants who had expected to take part in the qualifiers on route to the Final 4s. The Final 4s revert to its most recent format. In both Pony (Under 16) and Bronco (Under 13) brackets the first and second placed regular season teams, both north and south, will make the four teams. Eight teams in total will make the trip to Cartmel Valley, four in each bracket.

Looking ahead, the planned introduction of the new Little League structure for 2009 will be an exciting development within the youth baseball community. It will bring together all those who work for the promotion and enjoyment of the youth game and enable a broader base of post season activities for participants.

The Herts Little League Commissioners have frantically been looking from one weather report to another in the hope of some good news.  Unfortunately, the weather forecast is so bad that the Commissioners have reached the decision that it is best to postpone tomorrow’s Little League games. 

 

Tomorrow was to be  the penultimate Saturday of the league schedule and the League Commissioners are exploring options of extending the Little League season in order to allow all games to be played out, especially these exciting final games of the season.

 

One option is to use one of the available Saturdays in August (23 or 30 August).  The decision is complicated slightly by the fact that the BBF Wild Card Playoff game, which was originally scheduled on 6 September, may be switched to another date to avoid the clash with the British National Championship Final 4 for the adults which takes place on the same weekend.

 

The Herts Little League will confirm details as soon as a decision is reached.

 

With only two weeks remaining, the Herts Little League season is heating up.  The Herts Cubs have been setting the pace from the very start and for the first time this season they have lost their lead in the league standings.  The Herts Yankees have managed to put together a 4-game winning streak in the most crucial time of the season.  They are now tied at the top with the Cubs.  Pitchers Michael Davis and Marty Cullen Jr combined over the course of the day allowing no runs and shutting down their opponents with two magnificent pitching performances.

 

Heavy downpours could not dampen the enthusiasm of the Herts Baseball Little League players and fans in week 6 of the league schedule.  To start the day first placed Herts Cubs met their nearest rivals the Yankees and they found it difficult to get their offensive game going against Marty Cullen Jr who pitched a complete game shutout for the Yankees to win 7-0.

 

But the real game of the day came later in the day.  The Blue Jays find themselves bottom of the table but in spite of this they have been playing terrific baseball and have been unfortunate to be on the losing end of four closely fought one-run games.  This turned out to be a real classic pitching duel.  Zack Longboy was pitching a gem putting up zero after zero on the scoreboard but his Yankee counterpart, Michael Davis, was matching his zeros inning-after-inning.  With the game going into extra innings, it was Yankees pitcher, Michael Davis, who delivered a crushing blow driving in the winning run for the Yankees.   Another heartbreaking one-run loss for the Blue Jays, but they deserve credit for the amazing courage and determination which they have shown week-in-week-out.

 

The attention turned to Field 2 where the Cubs and the Red Sox were also into extra innings.  The news of the Yankees win was filtering through and the pressure was on the Cubs players.   Finally, the Red Sox came through in the bottom of the 5^th to win it 15-14 and that meant that the Cubs’ lead on top of the Little League is gone.  They now share first place with the Yankees.

 

The scene is set for a thrilling last two weeks of the Herts Little League season.  While the Cubs and the Yankees are wearing themselves out at the top, the Red Sox are making a late push for the title.  The League action continues next Saturday at 12pm with 4 more exciting matchups.

 

The Player of the Week award went to Herts Yankees’ hero of the day, Michael Davis.

 

League Scoreboard and Standings

The British Baseball Federation has confirmed the venue for this year’s National Youth Baseball Championships.  It will be the Cartmel Valley Baseball Club, which is located in the Lake District.

 

After the end of the Herts Little League season in August the focus will turn to this event, which is the British equivalent of the Little League World Series.

 

Herts Baseball Club will look to reward the most dedicated, hard working and talented Little Leaguers by selecting them to represent Herst Baseball Club at this prestigious National event.  The decision, which players will be selected, will be a very difficult one for the coaches to make.   With three weeks still to be played in the Herts Little League every player still has the opportunity to earn the honour of playing for the Herts Little League All-Star Team.

 

But before the Herts players start to make their travel arrangements they will have to overcome a tough opponent in a one-off Wild Card playoff game.  The opponents are yet to be confirmed but are likely to be either the Horsham or the Plymouth Little League All-Star teams.  This deciding game is scheduled for Saturday, 6 September.  The Wild Card playoff venue is yet to be confirmed and the hope is that Herts will win home field advantage which will mean that the team can count on its many loyal supporters.

 

Herts Baseball Club’s AAA adult league team, the Herts Falcons, is on course to reach the AAA Adult British National Championships, which is also scheduled to take place over the weekend of 6-7 September.  Herts Baseball Club wants to ensure that these two events do not clash and have submitted an official request to the British Baseball Federation with the hope that a clash can be avoided.

 

The following is the official press release issued by the British Baseball Federation with more details about the eagerly awaited National Youth Baseball Championships – Final 4.

 

OFFICIAL BBF PRESS RELEASE

Cartmel Valley to host National Youth Baseball Championships this September

 

Cartmel Valley Baseball Club will be the hosts for the British Baseball Federation's National Youth Baseball Championships on September 13-14. The top four teams from each of the Pony and Bronco age category leagues will play out to be crowned National Champions in their age group.

 

The Cartmel club can offer a stunning setting for this year's finals. It is an idyllic South Cumbria village with the baseball diamonds on the local secondary school field and many pubs and restaurants within walking distance, not to mention the famous ‘Sticky toffee pudding’ shop.

 

The club has arranged the option of accommodation/breakfast with the YMCA Lakeside on the shore of Lake Windermere with rooms, cabins and ready-erected tents for visiting teams to enjoy the stunning scenery of the Lake District. It should make for a memorable weekend away for both the players and their parents.

 

Spectators are welcome and parking is free. Food and drink will be available on the field.

 

The first-placed teams from the North and South divisions of the Pony (Under-16) and Bronco (Under-13) leagues will qualifying automatically for the National Championships.

There will be playoffs on the weekend of Sept 6 for the remaining places between the second-placed North and South teams and teams from the Plymouth, Horsham, and Herts leagues (venue to be confirmed).

 

Related links: www.britishbaseball.org