Tag: Tyler Badenhorst

Falcons playing spoiler, pick up win

On Sunday’s triple-header affair at Grovehill Ballpark, it was almost as if the weather was tied to the Falcons emotions.

The day started (early) with intermittent rain in the morning as the Falcons took on the 5th place Brighton Jets. Tyler Badenhorst was on the mound for the for the Falcons, facing Jamie Ratcliff of the Jets. After two rain delays, a particularly strong bout of rain forced the umpires to call the game with Jets in the lead. The minimum number of innings (4) had been played however, and the Jets walked away with a 5-1 victory.

After a long break, which saw the London Capitals defeat the Jets, the sun returned just in time for the Falcons second game of the day. With the sun there also came a boost in morale: just one week previous, the Falcons had played two tough games against the Capitals and only narrowly lost them both. 

Above: As the weather improved, so too did the Falcon’s performance.

Zack Longboy started on the mound for the Falcons, throwing a complete game and picking up the 10-8 win. The Herts bats looked alive as the team peppered hits off of London’s starter Maxime Flayol and relief pitcher Yusuke Ueno.

Herts led, albeit by a tight margin, for most of the game even stretching the lead to 3 runs in the 5th inning. A late home run gave the struggling Capitals a glimmer of hope, but leading 10-8, Herts Manager Lee Manning left Longboy out to finish the game and the Falcons shut the door.

The 10-8 victory over the 3rd place London Capitals marks the Falcons’ third win of the year, moving them into 6th place and ahead of the South London Pirates. While it is mathematically improbable that the Falcons could sneak into the playoffs, over the next six weeks they will be playing the role of spoiler as they match up against the NBL’s top dogs.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Zack Longboy’s dual threat performance When asked for his player of the game, Manager Manning lauded Zack Longboy’s performance both on the mound and at the plate. He went “5 for 6 [at the plate] and pitched beautifully, working his way out of jams like a seasoned pro,” Manning said. “He gets better every time [and] I have the joy of watching him play.” His performance against the Capitals was Longboy’s first career complete game in the NBL and second career win. And, of his five hits, two came with the bases loaded. 

More debuts Two more players made their Falcons debut on Sunday. Ian McCann played second base and came on in relief of Badenhorst in Game 1. In Game 2, Aaron Witter, a 14-year-old regular for the Herts Raptors, also got a cup of coffee with the NBL squad as he came off the bench to play right field. Witter’s experience is indicative of the fact that “Herts project youth is starting to pay off,” as Manning said, after the game. “The Capitals are a great team and our youngest player (14-year-old Aaron Witter) got the final out.” (Witter secured a fly ball to end the game.)

Execution, execution, execution Three critical runs of the 10 that the Falcon’s scored came via the suicide squeeze – Manning deploying an aggressive style with runners on third base. Although prior to Sunday, Louis Hare had never laid down a bunt in game, two of these squeezes involved him on the bunting end. A fourth squeeze was also put into motion, although a pick play to third by the Capitals pitcher left Matt Gilbert to improvise. When the dust cleared Gilbert had scored, leaving many rushing to check the record books on the oldest player to ever steal home.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Interference? Late in Game 2, a Capital’s runner scrambled from second to third, dislodging the Falcon’s shortstop in the process. As Louis Hare was in the process of fielding a ground ball, the runner was called out for interference, ending the inning. The Capital’s first base coach reacted strongly to the call, getting in the umpires face and causing a loud confrontation. Subsequently, the player was ejected and play continued without further interruption.

WHAT’S NEXT

On Sunday July 17th, the Falcons will take on the 4th place Essex Arrows (12-12) at Town Mead Ballpark. First pitch for Game 1 is 12:00 PM and Game 2 is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM.

A day of debuts

Strong pitching performances by two players making their Falcons debut propelled the Herts NBL squad to one of their finer performances in what has been an up and down 2016. Although the team lost both games of the doubleheader, the first 12-10 (in 9 innings) and the second 5-3 (in 7 innings), Manager Lee Manning was left very impressed with the team.

“Today was some of the best baseball we played all season,” Manning said after the two tough away games against the 3rd place London Capitals, lauding in particular the debuts of Tyler Badenhorst out of South Africa who pitched 3 1/3 innings in Game 1 and Matt Corran (pictured) a former cricket player, who came on in relief of Badenhorst.

Both pitchers showed plus velocity on their fastballs, with Badenhorst also showcasing a polished arsenal of plus off speed pitches including a knuckleball and forkball.

Above: Matt Corran, who has played baseball for less than a year, was impressive on the mound in his NBL debut.

In support of Badehorst and Corran, the Falcons also looked impressive at the plate with clutch run-scoring hits and great at-bats especially with two strikes. In the end however, a key factor in the loss was the Capital’s ability to control the running game as London’s pitcher-catcher battery limited Herts to only one stolen base.

In Game 2, the Falcons hitter’s provided much of the same, grinding out tough at bats, although facing the NBL’s official ERA leader in Justin Harris, the hits were harder to come by.

On the other side of the ball, Louis Hare proved especially pivotal with his defense, coming up time and again with big defensive plays in support of Zack Longboy’s 6 innings on the mound in Game 2.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED 

Louis Hare’s Defense Early in Game 2, Hare knocked down one of the hardest hit ground balls of the day, taking the ball off his Adam’s apple, before recovering and flipping the ball to the second basemen to complete the play and preserve the Falcon’s early lead. 

This play exemplified the excellent work Hare put in at shortstop throughout the day, providing stability at a position where the club has lacked this year. “[Hare] was amazing and fielded everything cleanly,” Manning said. “He gave our defense a much improved look and most importantly, stopped the errors in that position which has killed us this year.”

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

Balk? The tight, competitive nature of both games was evident in other ways as well, including a few lengthy stoppages to discuss the rule book with the umpire crew. One particular moment of controversy surrounded a balk call late in the Game 1 – Corran stopping his delivery mid-motion after the Capital’s cleanup hitter appeared to step backwards out of the box. After much deliberation the balk call was upheld leading to the Capitals scoring a critical run to take the lead.

WHAT’S NEXT

Next Sunday July 10th, the Falcons will host two different teams at Grovehill Ballpark. First pitch for Game 1 against the 5th place Brighton Jets (7-12) is 10:30 AM and Game 2, against the 3rd place London Capitals (15-7), is scheduled to begin at 2:30 PM.