Category: U12

by Herts Baseball News Editor

First road trip for Herts U13 and U11 teams

report by Mike Wakelam

With Brighton setting up a new youth baseball programme in 2016, Herts U13 and U11 teams headed south for their first road trip of the season. With great weather and a warm welcome, a great day was had by all. The U11 teams had a couple of very competitive coach pitch games, with the first tied at 10, and Herts mixed team prevailing 10-8 in the second game.

Herts U13 team kicked off the first game by scoring 3 in the first inning with Mizuki Hosoi doubling before James Dullea drove in one and Joshua Jones drove in two. Rikuto Maruse, new to the baseball in September 2015, pitched the first 3 innings, giving up only two runs. The game was a tight one run affair until the top of the 6th, when Herts scored six more runs to break it open, the final score 11-4. Mizuki Hosoi and Cal McCreavy pitched effectively in relief.

In the second game James Dullea took the mound and threw 4 innings of two run ball, striking out the first 7 batters he faced, and 10 overall in a stellar performance. Alex Trautmen came on and pitched 2 strong innings in relief. Herts bats once again came alive scoring in all but one inning. The final score in this one was 11-3.

There were several defensive highlights during the day, with Joshua Jones firing a bullet across from 3rd to 1st to nail a runner and Oliver Sparks making a diving stop at 2nd base. Offensively, Mizuki Hosoi went 6 for 8, with 4 doubles and 4 RBI, Rikuto Maruse continued to hit the ball hard going 4 for 5 with 3 RBI, James Dullea showed poise at the plate in clutch situations, going 5/6 with 4 RBI and Joshua Jones went 5 for 7 with 6 RBI on the day.

“This team is really looking great not only on the field but as a team, “ manager Mike Wakelam said, “we have two players out injured at the moment, including one of our main catchers, and to see players step into that role temporarily for the team is great. The numbers looked great today, but the way they’re working together is their biggest strength at this stage of the season. The hospitality in Brighton was first class, and we look forward to hosting them in a couple of weeks at Grovehill, hopefully we can provide the same sun we saw down here!”

Herts U13 and U11 teams host LYBL at Grovehill next week, Saturday the 8th of May.

by Greg Bochan

Herts U12 team victorious in their YNBC qualifiers

Herts U12 team were victorious in their YNBC qualifiers on Saturday during an exciting day of baseball.

The day started with a tough match up against Horsham, who had already won their first game of the day. As the visiting team, Herts hitters came out swinging with Nicholas Durer leading off with a double. Josh Jones then reached on an error before James Dullea doubled them both in. Although Herts continued to hit the ball throughout the game, with singles from Jonathan Wakelam, Cal McCreavy and Durer, solid defence from Horsham prevented any more runs. James Dullea started the game for Herts and was in masterful form. Dullea pitched 4 and 2/3 no-hit innings before reaching his pitch count for the day, and left having struck out 13! He also made a fine play on a weak ground ball to first base. Durer fielded it cleaning and fed to Dullea who was covering from the mound and bare handed the ball before stepping on the bag. With two outs in the fifth Horsham scored their first run with a based loaded walk and the score was 2-1. In the bottom of the sixth, Durer stepped to the mound and got two quick outs. Horsham then had runners on first and second with their best hitter at the plate. He promptly scorched a line drive to left field, but Josh Jones was there to make the catch and Herts erupted as they took the victory.

With Horsham having beaten Brentwood in the first game, Herts still had to win against Brentwood in their second game to go through. Having thrown only one inning in the first game, Nicholas Durer started the second. Durer was pitching well, but a finger injury meant he had to leave after 2 and a third. Brentwood scored in the first before Herts answered in the bottom of the inning with five runs. Durer again led off the game with extra bases, this time a triple and then scored on Joe Gipple’s single to centre. Josh Jones then walked before singles by James Dullea and Cal McCreavy. Brentwood’s aggressive young team answered with a run in the second before blanking Herts, and then scored two in the third, but that would be all they would get as Alex Trautman stepped to the mound and shut them down for the final two and two thirds innings in a fine relief appearance. Herts then scored five in each of the third and fourth innings to come away with a solid 15-4 victory and advance to the National Championships.

Notable performances

Nicholas Durer went 4 for 5 with a double, a triple and walk.
James Dullea went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a walk.
Joe Gipple hit the ball hard all day going 3 for 6 and putting the ball in play every time at bat.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Round-up of the under-12 UK Little League Championships

photo by Vicky Sinclair

The Herts under-12 team came up against the best teams in the country this weekend as part of the UK Little League Championship. They were drawn in the “group of death” where they to the eventual winners LYBL and to Horsham. That meant that they were playing in the consolation games on Sunday, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the youngsters from Hertfordshire. Their second encounter with Horsham was a classic which went into extra innings. The game ended in a 15-15 tie with a heart-breaking out at home which stopped Nicolas Durer from scoring the winning run. In their final game of the tournament they lost 7-3 to the Mets.

Play of the day went to Josh Jones who made four spectacular catches in left field one of which was an extravagant diving play.

UK LITTLE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS – U12 FINAL SCORES
Herts 0 LYBL 12
Horsham 4 Herts 0
Horsham 15 Herts 15 (tie declared in extra innings)
Herts 3 London Mets 7

The youth league season continues as the Herts youth teams build-up to the biggest prize of the baseball season, the National Baseball Championships which will be played in September. There is still plenty of time for any new players to join the teams and be eligible for that eagerly anticipated event.

 

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts youth baseball teams bring back 3 wins from Essex trip

With just two weeks remaining to the Little League UK Championships Herts teams from various age groups travelled to Brentwood in Essex.

Herts Cardinals (U15) 16 Forest Glade Redbacks (U15) 11

In the under-15 games the Herts Cardinals recorded their first two wins of the season. Their opponents were the Forest Glade Redbacks. Akito Bando has given the team a big boost since joining. He was the winning pitcher in game one which finished 16-11. There was a home run by Aaron Witter in that first game, but there was more to come from the 12-year-old who has just moved into the Under-15 age group.

Herts Cardinals (U15) 16 Forest Glade Redbacks (u15) 1

Witter was the starting pitcher in game two. He pitched an absolute gem allowing only one hit and one run. He also made his mark with the bat adding three more home runs making it four home runs for the day. One of them was a grand slam. Felix Maldonado also hit a home run, his second of the season after an inside-the-parker in last weekend’s game versus London. The Cardinals gave a debut to Billy Ayriss in these games.

Herts (U12) 4 Brentwood Bucks (U12) 14

In the under-12 games Herts lost their first game 14-4 against the Brentwood Bucks. James Dullea hit a towering 3-run home run showing that hard work in the batting cages will pay off. The Herts U12 team is also starting to see contribution from its younger members. 8-year-old Zack Minter picked up an assist with an on-the-money throw to third from the outfield to gun down the runner.

Herts (U12) 8 Forest Glade Redbacks (U12) 3

The team bounced back in their second game of the day this time against the Forest Glade Redbacks. James Dullea pitched three strong innings and he had the run support he needed from his teammates who were a lot more aggressive on the bases and with the bats, including two doubles by Christian Lynch.

The Little League UK Championships will take place on the weekends of 13-14 June and 20-21 June, but it is not too late for boys and girls of all ages to join the Herts teams. There is also the BBF National Championships to look forward to later in the year. For more details about giving baseball a try and joining the Herts baseball teams contact us.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

First games played at Herts’ new baseball diamond in London

The first games at the new West Hendon Ballpark in London were played on Monday, 25 May. Four youth teams with boys and girls from 8 to 15 years of age took part in these games. In the Under-15 games London Sports came out on top versus the Herts Cardinals, while in the Under-10 games the Mets and Herts picked up a win each in their doubleheader.

This project is part of Herts Baseball Club’s expansion into North West London to give the local community an opportunity to play baseball. The project is partly funded by the £10,000 grant awarded by Sport England.

The project has also received the support of other parties including the London Borough of Barnet, BSUK, and Dr. Matthew Offord, Member of Parliament for Hendon, who said “Sport England has made a tremendous bequest to our area by making this award. Baseball is not a traditional game of the UK but there is not only a great appetite for different type of sports but it also presents an opportunity for people of different backgrounds to come together and be united in the games. I look forward to visiting the diamond and perhaps swinging a bat myself.”

The club’s expansion and creation of a second ballpark is in line with BaseballSoftballUK’s “Played in every Park” vision.

“We are very excited to be bringing baseball to North West London and we hope to repeat the success of our existing programme in Hemel Hempstead which would mean that boys and girls, men and women of all ages, from beginners to elite players, will be able to play this fantastic sport, stay fit and healthy and become part of the Herts Baseball family and the wider British Baseball community” said Herts Baseball president Aspi Dimitrov.

There are various open baseball events coming up this summer which the whole community can get involved in. For more information about playing baseball with Herts at this new venue in North West London or at the club’s other branch in Hemel Hempstead contact us.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Weekend round-up: Wins for Hawks and Eagles. Raptors and Herts u12s suffer defeats

Herts Hawks continue winning run (photo by John Kjorstad)

HERTS EAGLES vs LONDON MAMMOTHS (Triple-A League)

While the Falcons were resting, three other Herts teams were in league action. The Herts Eagles suffered two heavy defeats on opening day. It became three losses in a row after the London Mammoths won the first of two games on Sunday. However the Eagles fought back in the second game of the doubleheader to end the losing streak with a 13-4 victory.

HERTS HAWKS vs BRIGHTON RED HAWKS (Single-A League)

The Herts Hawks remain unbeaten this season after a 22-18 win over the Brighton Red Hawks, who came close to pulling off a major come-from-behind win in the late innings.

HERTS RAPTORS vs TONBRIDGE (Single-A League)

Herts Raptors came up against a Tonbridge side who have made big strides over the winter and look like they will be a major playoff contender this year. It proved to be an uphill task for the team from Hertfordshire who went down 27-9. Six Raptors players made their league debut so it may take several more games for them to find their feet, but the signs are good at this stage of the season especially with several big names expected to return to the lineup shortly.

HERTS U12 vs LONDON METS U12 – (pre-season friendly)

photo by Vicky Sinclair

The youth baseball season is about to get underway. In a under-12 pre-season friendly on Saturday the London Mets proved too strong for the Herts under-12 team. With teams in every age group it is not too late for players between 4 and 18 years of age to join the Herts teams in Hemel Hempstead and North West London. Contact us for more details.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

2014 Herts MVPs announced

The 2014 Most Valuable Player awards for the Herts adult and youth baseball teams were presented on Sunday at the club’s annual general meeting.

Abel Salas was voted Herts Falcons 2014 MVP. This came as no surprise given that a few weeks ago his outstanding season was recognised by awarding him all three MVP awards in the whole of the National Baseball League, including Most Valuable Batter, Most Valuable Pitcher, Most Valuable Two-Way Player. He also won the 2014 NBL Home Run title which he shared with Essex Arrows’ Maikel Azcuy who will be wearing the Herts Falcons uniform in 2015.

The Herts Eagles MVP award went to Takaya Miki. He joined the club one month into the season after a move from the Essex Redbacks, but quickly established himself in the team. He rounded off an excellent season with a leaping catch at the wall in the Hunlock Series Final which was later nominated as one of the plays of the season.

Greg Bochan has been an unsung hero of Herts Baseball Club for many years being a major contributor in numerous departments and one of the best loved members at the club. On Sunday his on-field contribution was recognised as he was voted 2014 Herts Hawks MVP. His consistent performances at third base and on the mound combined with him being one of the most dangerous hitters on the Hawks roster made it a very easy choice for members when they cast their votes.

There was a very close race in the Herts Raptors MVP poll. It went right down to the wire. At the end the MVP award went to Michael Cresswell. 2014 was his third season with the club and he has been taking his game up a notch every year. This year he proved to be a key player offensively, defensively and on the mound for the Raptors. For the Herts Raptors coaching staff, Michael Cresswell was always one of the first players in the lineup.

The MVP race in the club’s Under-17 team, the Herts Harriers, proved to be just as close. Only one vote divided the top candidates and the MVP award went to pitcher Zack Longboy. He may have missed a large proportion of the U17 season due to his commitments in the American Varsity League and the GB Under-17 National Team, but there can be no doubt about the progress which he has made to become one of the top young prospects at Herts and in Great Britain as a whole. He was recording wins with more or less every one of his starts this season in the U17 league, Varsity League, Little League Europe Qualifier, GB U17 Team, Herts Hawks (BBF Double-A League), Herts Eagles (BBF Triple-A League) and even made a winning debut with Herts Falcons in the NBL, Britain’s top league.

The Herts U14 programme had a difficult year as part of its restructuring process, but managed to put together a team which surprised everyone by eliminating Brentwood Bucks, Essex Redbacks and London Sports in the bronze medal game. One player in particular stood out and he was voted 2014 Herts Cardinals MVP. Mikey Sylvester maintained a 0.00 ERA throughout the U17 National Championships with an opponent’s batting average of just .061 and 23 strikeouts per 9 innings which is unheard of. His offensive numbers were just as good – batting average of .900, slugging average 1.600, 1 HR and 8 RBI.

In the Herts Under-12 programme the MVP was awarded to Aaron Witter. There was little doubt about the identity of the winner as Aaron Witter made a real impression not only with Herts fans but with coaches from other clubs and the Great Britain national Team programme. On Sunday, Aaron could not pick up his MVP trophy during the club’s annual general meeting as he was attending the GB under-17 National Team tryouts. This is his first ever tryout with GB and he will face very tough competition as he has just turned 12 years of age, but it will be exciting for Herts fans to follow his progress in the coming years.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Bulldogs, Mets and Redbacks are the 2014 HFT winners

This was a record-breaking Herts Futures Tournament with 17 teams entering the four different age divisions.

UNDER-17

In the Under-17 Division the national champions, LYBL Bulldogs, didn’t show any mercy as they swept their opponents winning all four of their games. Their game against the Herts Harriers proved to be the deciding one. Both teams went into the game with 100% records and the HFT title on the line. Five Bulldogs came home in the first inning without reply to complete a perfect day for them. Herts Harriers managed to put that loss behind with a 4-0 win over the London Mets in the final game of the day to take the second place in the Under-17 standings.

UNDER-14

For the first time in the seven-year history of the competition all four teams in the Under-14 division ended up with identical win-loss records. The tie had to be broken on the “fewest conceded runs” rule. This meant that the LYBL Bulldogs secured the Under-14 HFT title as their team had allowed only 2 runs in their 3 games. London Mets and London Sports were in joint-second-place with 5 runs allowed. The Herts Cardinals conceded 11 so they had to accept forth place despite having the same won-loss record as the winners.

UNDER-12

The number of runs conceded was also the deciding factor in the Under-12 Division Pool A. The LYBL Bulldogs allowed 3 runs fewer than the Horsham Yankees and reached the final where they met the London Mets in a repeat of the National baseball Championship Under-12 Final. This proved to be a pitchers’ duel ending with a score of 0-0 which meant that the Mets were the Under-12 HFT Winners as they had a better win-loss record over the course of the competition.

UNDER-10

This was the first year that Under-10 teams entered the HFT and they produced arguably the most enthralling games. The Redbacks overcame the Mets in their best of 3 series to win it.

Click to view the full scoreboard and standings in all divisions.

GET YOUR PERSONALISED PHOTOS

The HFT was covered by DE Photo and participants can get their personalised photos, framed or otherwise, by visiting the HFT photo gallery (click to view)

2015 BASEBALL SEASON

The Herts Futures Tournament has rounded off the 2014 British youth baseball season in style. Teams up and down the country will now have to somehow survive the winter months without baseball. Thankfully Major League Baseball is about to enter its most exciting phase and we can follow the drama of the postseason on tv.

Players of all ages can contact Herts Baseball Club with a view to signing up for the 2015 season or giving baseball a try when the teams return to the ballpark in the new year.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

17 teams heading for Herts this Saturday

17 teams will be in action at the 2014 Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) which will take place this Saturday, 20 September 2014. This breaks the previous record of 15 team entries. This year, in addition to the U17, U14 and U12 divisions, an U10 division has been added as clubs expand their programmes to cover much younger age groups then we have been used to in the past.

 

U17

U14

Herts Harriers (U17)

Herts Cardinals (U14)

Horsham All Stars (U17)

London Mets (U14)

Hove Tuesday (U17)

London Sports (U14)

London Mets (U17)

LYBL Bulldogs (U14)

LYBL Bulldogs (U17)

U12

U10

Essex Arrows (U12)

Forest Glade RedBacks (U10)

Herts All Stars (U12)

London Mets (U10)

Horsham Yankees (U12)

London Mets (U12)

London Sports (U12)

The opening ceremony will take place at 10:30am. The first games begin at 11am and continue into the early evening. To view the games schedule click here.

“Herts Baseball Club welcomes new players at any time of the year” said club president, Aspi Dimitrov. “Any children aged between 6 and 16 who are interested to give baseball a try should contact the club. It is not too late to take part in this event.”

Traditional Baseball snacks will be on offer including hot dogs, chilli dogs, big league chew, Krispy Kreme Donuts and more. Imported baseball merchandise will also be on sale at the Herts Baseball shop. Professional photographers DE Photo will be on hand to capture every player from every team in action and players and fans will have a chance to buy framed photos from the games instantly at the venue.

The HFT has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. It brings together youth teams of all age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the best baseball venues in the United Kingdom.

For more information about the event visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage.

by Herts Baseball News Editor

Herts youth teams bring back 2 bronze medals from the 2014 National Championships

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The Herts youth teams returned from the 2014 National Baseball Championships with two bronze medals on what was a fantastic occasion, as is always the case every September.

UNDER-17 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Herts Harriers went into the Semi-Final as the second seed out of the four teams which had reached this stage. They took the silver medal in 2013 and they were hoping to go one better, but ahead of these games they received two massive setbacks. Catcher Conner Brown suffered a hand-fracture in a non-baseball accident and at the same time the team had to say farewell to one of its key players, pitcher Tom Armstrong who has now moved to the USA.

Their semi-final opponent was the London Mets who went with their ace pitcher, the amazing Laura Hirai, fresh from an outstanding tour of the USA with the GB Under-17 National Team. With LYBL the potential opponent in the final for the winner, Herts decided to save ace pitcher, Zack Longboy, in the hope of reaching the final – a risky strategy but one which was necessary if the team was to stand a chance of succeeding in the final.

As expected, Mets pitcher, Laura Hirai, was very effective shutting out the Harriers in the first 4 innings. Herts’ starting pitcher Carlos Casal Jr. was doing well as the team kept in touch with the Mets trailing just 2-0 after 4 innings. But then disaster struck in the fifth inning. 11 London runs came home to score and there was no coming back from this as the Mets went on to win 13-1.

The Bronze Medal game between Herts Harriers and London Sports was declared an automatic win for Herts as the Little League rules in place this year placed pitching restrictions and the earlier Wild Card playoff and Semi-Final games left London Sports without any players eligible to pitch on Sunday under the rules.

The Herts U17 players and coaches will feel disappointed that they couldn’t fulfil their ambition of winning the U17 National Championship for the first time in Herts baseball history as they knew they had a team which could compete. They certainly gave everything on the day which is all that can be asked of the players in these big games. Most of these Herts players have played their last season in the under-17 league but, one thing is certain, they will be making headlines as they move into the big leagues in the coming years.

The LYBL Bulldogs beat the London Mets 9-4 in the Final.

UNDER-14 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

(photo by John Jansson)

Semi-Final: Herts Cardinals 1 London Mets 24 (click to view box scores)

As the Wild Card Winner, the Herts Cardinals faced the top seed, London Mets, in the U14 Semi-Final. It was always going to be a difficult task for the Cardinals to upset the odds against a team which beat all of their UK opponents and went through to the Little League European Qualifiers in Poland just two months ago. The Mets won convincingly with a score of 24-1.

(photo by John Jansson)

Bronze Medal Game: Herts Cardinals 6 London Sports 2 (click to view box scores)

In the Bronze Medal game Herts Cardinals came up against London Sports, a team which is always difficult to beat. The Cardinals needed all of their players to produce a top performance and they did.

Starting pitcher Mikey Sylvester took control from the first pitch. He went on to pitch a complete game one-hitter. 18 of the 21 outs came by way of a strikeout and he walked only 1 batter over the course of the game. Stats like these are incredible especially given the calibre of the opposition. The two runs scored by London Sports were unearned coming in after two overthrows in a dropped-third strike situation.

The London Sports pitching staff also produced excellent numbers. They struck out 13 batters and allowed only 6 hits and 3 walks.

With such efficient pitching the Herts Cardianls needed something special. Clutch hits from Shane Richards (2-4, HR, 2B, 3RBI, 2R), Mikey Sylvester (2-3, 2B(2), 2RBI, 2R), Ben Hitch (1-4, R), Adam Jansson (1-3, RBI) drove a total of 6 runs one of which was Thomas Garton who managed to get himself on base twice. Shane Richards’ 2-run home run was his third of the postseason.

It was very fitting that Mikey Sylvester managed to close the game with 3 strikeouts. The final out came on his final pitch of the pitch-count limit regulations.

The London Mets are the U14 National Champions after a 7-4 win over the LYBL Bulldogs.

UNDER-12 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

This was the first appearance in the National Championship Semi-Final for the Herts U12 team. They came up against the favourites LYBL Bulldogs and had the best possible start taking a lead which they held on to for the first 3 innings. With the score at 5-4 the Bulldogs had a big inning to take a 9-4 lead. Spirited comeback by Herts saw them reduce the deficit to 9-7. They may have been able to regain the lead but in two consecutive innings left the bases loaded. The Bulldogs went on to win it 13-7 to reach the U12 Final which they won 7-3 against the London Mets.

In the Bronze medal game Herts U12 lost 13-3 against London Sports.

Despite losing both of their games, the Herts U12 team should be very proud of how well they performed against the toughest teams in the country. The team has grown together over the last two years made up of players who have had little or no experience prior to joining Herts so it is exciting to see the U12 coaching staff develop these players to this very high standard.

HERTS FUTURES TOURNAMENT

The National Baseball Championships are now in the history books, but the youth teams from around the country have one more big tournament before baseball takes its winter break. The Herts Futures Tournament is expecting a record number of teams this Saturday 20 September at Grovehill Ballpark in Herts. The HFT games schedule will be published over the next 48 hours.