Category Archives: British Baseball Beat

Matt Smith’s Thursday morning column, looking at all the latest news, results and fixtures on the British baseball circuit

British Baseball Beat: NBL openers

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Bracknell Blazers, Herts Falcons and London Mets got their 2013 National Baseball League seasons off to the perfect start on Sunday.

All three teams swept double-headers, against the Essex RedBacks, South London Pirates and Lakenheath Diamondbacks respectively.

Meanwhile the Southampton Mustangs and Harlow Nationals battled their way to a split with the opener being a real back-and-forth affair.

All the details are available in a comprehensive NBL report at the BBF website.

With the NBL consisting of nine teams this season, one side will sit out on any given Sunday. The Essex A’s were the team tasked with waiting an extra week for their Opening Day and it will come this Sunday at Town Mead Ballpark against the Southampton Mustangs.

The London Mets take their 2-0 record to Northbrooks Park to face the Nationals in arguably the match-up of the weekend. The Herts Falcons will look to build on their Opening Day momentum as they head to RAF Feltwell to face the Diamondbacks, whilst the Essex RedBacks and South London Pirates meet for the first time with both teams hoping to get their first win of the season.

Around the leagues

After the top-tier teams got the British baseball season underway last Sunday, the AAA-South, AAA-Midlands (newly reclassified from their previous AA status) and AA-South competitions will all begin this weekend.

There’s an excellent preview of those leagues on the BBF website, providing the lowdown on every team as they head into their seasons.

Two of last year’s AAA NBC contenders are in action this Sunday. Cambridge Royals are hosting London Mets II at Coldham’s Common, whilst the Oxford Kings are facing newcomers Leones de Feltham. Both the Royals and Kings just fell short at the semi-final stage last year and they will be intent on making it back to the NBC.

The Nottingham Rebels will also have the AAA title in sight after capturing the AA Championship last season. They begin their campaign with a double-header away to Stourbridge Titans, with the other Midlands match-up being Leicester Blue Sox against Birmingham Maple Leafs at Western Park.

The fierce battle in the AA-South division will begin with the newly promoted Hove Tuesday travelling to 2012 semi-finalists the Poole Piranhas for a double-header. Herts Hawks, who lost to the Rebels in the semi-finals last year, begin their season with a home game against London Mammoths, with the Sidewinders taking on Southampton Mustangs II.

Both of those match-ups will involve single games, whilst there are two other double-headers being played on Sunday between Kent Mariners and Richmond Dragons, and Daws Hill Spitfires and Guildford Mavericks.

Hopefully the weather will cooperate and there will be plenty of baseball played throughout Britain this coming Sunday.

British Baseball Beat: NBL 2013 preview

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This coming Sunday is Opening Day in the National Baseball League and it looks set to be one of the most competitive seasons in recent years.

The four play-off teams from last year – the Harlow Nationals, Herts Falcons, Southampton Mustangs and London Mets – should all be strong contenders once again.

Lakenheath Diamondbacks, Essex A’s, Bracknell Blazers and South London Pirates will all be intent on improving on their 2012 showings and we welcome a new team to the top-tier as the Essex Redbacks complete their rise through the ranks having been promoted from Triple-A.

It is hoped that this year’s National Championships will be staged at the new Farnham Park facility near Slough, which is rapidly taking shape. Winning the first top-tier title at this new venue will provide one extra incentive, if it were needed, to make 2013 a successful year.

History in the making?

It’s always exciting to see a new team tasting glory, but arguably the most intriguing story of the coming season concerns a potentially historic achievement by the reigning champions.

The Harlow Nationals’ triumph last year meant that they joined twelve other teams to have managed to retain a top-tier National Championship.

As this Project COBB graphic shows, the Nationals have already put their name among some rarefied company, but they enter this season knowing that they could earn a place in an even more exclusive group.

According to the available records, housed at Project COBB, there have only been two teams in British baseball history to capture three National League championships in a row. Those teams are the Cobham Yankees and Enfield Spartans and they managed to achieve the feat back-to-back.

Cobham’s titles came between 1986 and 1988, with Enfield capturing their terrific trio between 1989 and 1991. It should be noted for accuracy that from 1987 to 1989 there were two national championships, the ‘Main Competition’ (that won by the Yankees and Spartans) and the Scottish Amicable championship.

The Harlow Nationals therefore will be bidding this season to become only the third team in history to achieve a ‘three-peat’.

Since the turn of the new millennium, the Brighton Buccaneers, Croydon Pirates and London Mets have all been in the same situation and haven’t quite been able to join that elite group. It will be fascinating to see if the Nationals can buck that trend, or if one of the other NBL teams thwarts their effort and – perhaps – takes the first step to doing it themselves.

The games ahead

The Nationals have been dealt a tough trio of double-headers to begin their attempt at claiming three national titles in a row. After travelling to Southampton on 7 April to take on the Mustangs, the Nationals will host the Mets and then the Falcons at Northbrooks Park. Manager Marty Cullen will need to ensure his team hits the ground running to get through those early fixtures, which promise to make the NBL season start with a bang.

The Opening Day match-up in Southampton gives the Mustangs a chance to lay down a marker against the reigning champions. Southampton will face the Nationals again on 16 June and it will be interesting to see where they are in the standings at that point. Their remaining five match-ups from then on will be against the Pirates (twice), Diamondbacks, Arrows and Blazers: all teams that the Mustangs finished ahead of in 2012. With their final four double-headers all being played at home, that could amount to a favourable run-in for Southampton.

As for the Herts Falcons, they will welcome the South London Pirates to Grovehill Ballpark on 7 April before setting off on four road double-headers in a row, including back-to-back trips to the Nationals and Mets. Herts’ payback for their early season travels is a run of four home double-headers to end their regular season.

The London Mets will also hope to make good use of home-field advantage in the run-in as four of their final five series will take place at Finsbury Park, including a double-header against the Blazers on the final day of the regular season. As with the Falcons, the Mets’ late season homestand is counterbalanced by five consecutive series on the road during the middle of the season.

Lakenheath Diamondbacks will hope to make home-field advantage at Feltwell count in the mid-season as after their games against the Redbacks on 30 June, they will finish up their season with four consecutive double-headers on the road. Similarly the renamed South London Pirates end the season with five consecutive road double-headers.

The Bracknell Blazers will be hitting the road to start their 2013 campaign, with their first three double-headers being contests away at the debuting Redbacks, Diamondbacks and Arrows. Westmorland Park will host its first games of the NBL season on 12 May when the Mustangs make the trip to Bracknell.

The Essex A’s have to wait a week before getting their season underway on 14 April. They will then play three home double-headers at Town Mead Ballpark, the middle set of which will see their first NBL Essex derby against newcomers the Redbacks.

As for those Redbacks, their Opening Day double-header against the Blazers promises to be a day of celebration for a club that has quickly earned its way to the top-tier.

British Baseball Beat: Lots to be positive about

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Since the last British Baseball Beat, over 50 delegates met in Birmingham at the British Baseball Federation AGM for constructive talks on the future of the domestic game.

A full round-up from the day can be found on the BBF website.

A report from the AGM can also be found on the Herts baseball Club website. This rightfully emphasises the positive news of all BBF Board positions being filled and there being a commitment from teams to make youth programmes a priority.

The AGM motion that caught my eye two weeks ago – that of the AAA-North champions gaining a National Baseball League Wild Card spot – was withdrawn by the proposers (Liverpool Trojans). That’s perhaps a topic to think about in greater detail and to return to ahead of the 2014 season.

In the meantime, we will get to see the Trojans pitting their baseball wits against the two-time reigning NBL champions, the Harlow Nationals, in a pre-season game. The teams are scheduled to meet on Sunday 24 March as a special event at the Leicester Spring League.

Plenty of motions were passed at the AGM, including Motion 2 in which it was agreed that the postseason format will be set before the season begins.

It’s important for the credibility of the competition, as well as the commitment of all players, for everyone to know what they have to play for. Twitter has been abuzz recently with teams and players working hard in preparation for the season ahead and knowing the postseason format in due course will allow every club to set targets for 2013

2013 leagues taking shape

The BBF Twitter account also has been ticking off teams that have registered for the coming season and in the weeks ahead we’ll receive confirmation as to who will be competing at each level of British baseball.

Every year brings changes, sometimes due to the disappointment of a team bowing out, but more often due to new teams joining the fold and/or clubs progressing up through the leagues.

Initial reports suggest 2013 will be no different and that we’ll see positive growth at each level, from Milton Keynes adding a second team – the Coyotes – to play in Single-A, Hove Tuesday moving up to Double-A, Herts Baseball Club returning to Triple-A with a fifth team (still to be named) and developments at the NBL level with the (Essex) Redbacks earning a promotion to the top-tier in the club’s fourth year in existence.

The Redbacks’ Chairman Matt Jennings gave a great indication of the hard-working spirit at his club when his obvious, and justified, joy in seeing the team make it into the NBL was immediately set in the context of the challenges that lay ahead:

“Our work is far from done, and we need to get our heads down and strive to the next level. We know it’ll be tough against much stronger opposition than we have faced regularly before, but we think that if we are able to hold our own this year we’ll be happy and look to push on for the future”.

The Redbacks can take plenty of heart from the way in which the Herts Falcons, Essex Arrows and Southampton Mustangs have moved up into the NBL in recent years.  Seeing the Redbacks progress like this is not only great for the club, but great news for British baseball in general too.

The other sort of promotion

The on-field preparations around the leagues are being joined by continued efforts to promote clubs and British baseball. BaseballSoftballUK recently published guides to ‘Local and Social Media’ and ‘Creating Local Press Releases’ written by the Redbacks’ Michael Jones to provide some useful pointers on how clubs can promote themselves even more effectively.

Several teams have launched new websites recently too, such as Milton Keynes and Cambridge Royals, whilst the Croydon Pirates’ website has undergone a complete overhaul to reflect the team’s ‘rebranding’ in becoming the South London Pirates.

With so much good work going on at clubs throughout the country, let’s keep the Twitter accounts active, the Facebook pages thriving and club websites and the BBF website providing regular, up-to-date news to show those not involved yet just what they could be a part of.

And on that note, welcome to the Northants Baseball Club. You’re joining a sport that’s firmly on the way up.

 

British Baseball Beat: NBL and the North

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The 2013 British Baseball Federation Annual General Meeting is scheduled to take place at Birmingham City University this Saturday (26th).

This year’s collection of motions being put forward includes one from the Liverpool Trojans (M5 in the pack) that picks up on a matter that has become a growing talking point within British baseball.

Should the Northern section be represented in the National Baseball League Championship?

There was an intriguing conversation on Twitter about this very topic just before Christmas.

Representatives of the eight National Baseball League (NBL) teams met in London on 18 December to discuss plans for the top-tier of British baseball. A couple of days later, Herts Baseball Club floated the following idea to reigning AAA-North champions the Liverpool Trojans:

The idea of the AAA-North champions potentially qualifying for an NBL Wild Card playoff spot was thrown out there to be discussed. The Twitter conversation branched out into wider potential scenarios to consider for the future, including looking at whether the North is ready to step up to the NBL level again in the regular season.

Herts suggested that Liverpool put forward the suggestion to the BBF and hence we have the motion on the agenda for this Saturday’s meeting.

The top-tier of British Baseball has been contested solely by Southern teams for the past four years and that has made sense considering the depth of teams involved.

The 2008 National League Northern section consisted of three teams. The Trojans sadly had to withdraw part of the way through the season and that left the two remaining teams, the Manchester Eagles and Menwith Hill Patriots, in guaranteed National League playoff spots. Both were beaten relatively comfortably by southern counterparts in the semi-finals, the Eagles falling 10-3 to the Richmond Flames and the Patriots suffering a 15-1 loss to the eventual champions, the London Mets.

However it’s important for the growth of the game that there isn’t a glass ceiling based on geography.  Not only should the door be open to Northern and Midlands teams potentially to compete at the NBL level, it should be a key part of the British Baseball Federation’s medium term planning to try to facilitate this.  That’s much easier said than done, of course, but that should be the ambition.

A true ‘national’ league championship should reflect its title.

There’s no doubt that it’s the performances of the Liverpool Trojans over the past couple of seasons that have pushed the issue up the agenda again. They went through the 2011 season unbeaten and have compiled a 48-2 win-loss record over the past two seasons combined. Who wouldn’t want to see the class of the North testing themselves against the best that the South has to offer?

That brings us back to the question of how this may be achieved.

Simply moving the Trojans – or any other Northern/Midlands team – into the NBL probably wouldn’t be a realistic option due to the travel implications.

We all know that in an amateur sport the location of teams – and therefore the investment in time and cost that those involved have to commit to over the course of a season – is a non-trivial factor in scheduling.  The last thing we would want is for travel implications to have a greater impact, either in significantly reducing the number of games being played or, at the extreme end, forcing some players away from the game altogether.

The next option to consider would be a return to an NBL containing more than one geographic division.  That leads to the question posed by Herts as to the feasibility of the AAA-North becoming an NBL division, and perhaps there being a Midlands equivalent in the future too.

The prospect is unquestionably an exciting one, but I would hold on dearly to the concept that the classification of the ‘top-tier’ should mean something.

Whatever the sport, the top league is always the flag-bearer that leads the way in selling the game. Extending the NBL should be a decision based on the quality of the teams rather than a simple rebranding exercise.

The quality will always vary throughout any given league and indeed a team’s fortunes can ebb and flow from year to year due to key players coming or going.  At some point you need to take the plunge, even if that means a couple of teams currently not quite being up to scratch. I don’t get to take in any Northern baseball so others will be in a far better position to make a fully considered judgement than me, but the Trojans’ dominance over the past two seasons suggests that they are a fair way ahead of their competitors and that giving the North NBL classification would not yet be merited.

Indeed, the Trojans’ NBL Wild Card spot motion perhaps reflects this point and appears to be the most sensible option to consider. It would be following the precedent of AA Midlands and North teams being able to participate in the A postseason so would not be out of kilter with the rest of the postseason structure.

I’m not a big fan of teams playing postseason games at a different level to which they competed during the regular season. When a team wins a championship, you want the classification of being the best to really mean something. Let’s take the example of the AAA-North champions moving on to the NBL Wild Card this season. The team that goes on to win the AAA National Baseball Championship would have fully earned their right to be there and could be proud of winning the important postseason games to claim the prize. Yet there would still be a lingering question mark as to whether they were truly the best AAA team that season.

Maybe this matters much more to a fan with a keen interest in the history of the game and isn’t a major issue for the players involved. Fiddling with the competition levels isn’t ideal, but the current British baseball landscape doesn’t contain a nice even balance of teams of the same standard and therefore a bit of a fiddle may be the most pragmatic way to account for this, creating the most diverse, competitive, enjoyable and exciting postseason possible right now.

It will be interesting to see how the Trojans’ motion is received on Saturday and whether the 2013 National Baseball Champion will merit the ‘national’ classification just that little bit more.

British Baseball Beat: Good weather at last

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Apologies for the lack of the typical British Baseball Beat column over the last few weeks.

Just a quick round-up of some of the action …

The National Baseball League playoff race is really heating up to match the rise in temperature.

The London Mets split a double-header with the Herts Falcons at Finsbury Park on 15 July and then split another double-header on Saturday 21st, this time against the Lakenheath Diamondbacks, to put them on a 12-7 record heading into the NBL event on Sunday 22nd.

Herts Baseball Club staged the event and, judging by the BBF report, it produced a fantastic day of baseball.

The Mets and Harlow Nationals could not be split over the regulation nine innings and it wasn’t until the eleventh frame that a winner could be decided, going in favour of the Nationals by a score of 12-11. That victory gave Harlow a league-leading 16-4 record.

Other winners on the day included the Croydon Pirates and the Southampton Mustangs, who needed to get back to winning ways after dropping four in a row. The Mustangs face two difficult home games against the Mets this Sunday, while the Nationals host the Diamondbacks. Herts Falcons are in Croydon taking on the Pirates, with the Essex Arrows travelling to Bracknell to face the Blazers.

Elsewhere, the Liverpool Trojans suffered their second loss of the season on Sunday in Triple-A, with their website stating that the game against Menwith Hill Patriots was an “absolute classic”.  The Trojans had been victorious by a score of 7-2 in the opener, but the Patriots prevailed in an 11-10 walk-off.  As the Trojans put it: “credit must go to both teams who put on a great display of baseball in a thoroughly exciting and entertaining game”.

Meanwhile there was drama in Nottingham as Sebastian O’Dell hit a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to secure the AA-Midlands division for the Rebels.

With the weather forecast looking good again for this weekend, teams throughout the country will be looking to push on and follow the Rebels’ lead by securing playoff places. The National Baseball Championship is fast approaching and BBF President Mark Salter stated this week that Herts Baseball Club are the likely hosts for the season finale one again.

Full details from all of the action around the leagues can of course be found on the BBF website.

British Baseball Beat: Rain again

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Heavy rain washed away the vast majority of the British league schedule last weekend.

The league tables therefore didn’t change much, but we do have some additional complications to factor in when predicting potential playoff teams, namely the growing number of postponed games that some teams have to make up and the short amount of time left in the schedule to do so.

It now seems likely that a number of games over the leagues will end up not being played and we’ll have to wait and see how they are accounted for the in the standings in each case.

Fingers are firmly crossed that we get some good weather over the coming weeks, although the recent heavy rain in some areas could lead to one or two fields being declared as unplayable this weekend even if the rain largely stays away.

Let’s be optimistic and look ahead to the feast of baseball that we should have this Sunday.

National Baseball League

Despite some sterling efforts to get the games on, all of the NBL action had to be postponed last Sunday. There is only one double-header on the schedule for this Sunday and it should be an absolute belter between the Herts Falcons and London Mets, at the latter’s Finsbury Park diamond.

Herts had been due to face the Harlow Nationals in a top of the table clash last Sunday, but with those games postponed it denied the Falcons the chance to overhaul their rivals or for the Nationals to put some distance between themselves and their competitors.  The London Mets are hot on the heels of the top two and will hope to improve their 10-5 record with a double-header sweep at home this weekend.

Depending on field and player availability, it’s possible that last Sunday’s double-headers between the Southampton Mustangs and Essex Arrows, and Croydon Pirates and Lakenheath Diamondbacks, could be made up this weekend, although there is no word on that at time of writing.

Triple-A

The BBF website lists the AAA-North leaders the Liverpool Trojans as being on the road against the Halton Jaguars, with the Manchester A’s facing the Menwith Hill Patriots and the Cartmel Valley Lions taking on the Bolton Robots of Doom.

In the South, the Cambridge Royals are scheduled to host the Oxford Kings for a double-header at the former’s field on Coldham’s Common. Both teams are currently second in their respective Pool in what’s proving to be a very competitive division this year. The Kings trail the Bristol Badgers by one game in Pool A, while the Royals are also one game back of the Essex Redbacks in Pool B.

Double-A

In the South, the Southampton Mustangs II are at 5-7 so far in their debut season at the Double-A level and they will hope to get back up to .500 by taking both games of their home double-header against the Richmond Dragons this Sunday. Meanwhile the London Mammoths, also newcomers in 2012, would jump ahead of the Sidewinders to take the lead in Pool B if they can win both games against the Kent Mariners.

In the North, the division-leading Sheffield Bladerunners are scheduled to travel to the North East to face the Newton Aycliffe Spartans. The second-placed Harrogate Tigers are away to the third-placed Manchester Torrent, while the Hull Scorpions travel to Oldham to face the North Stars.

Single-A

We did get a couple of results in Single-A last Sunday. The London Maruaders defeated Tonbridge 32-12 to improve their winning start to the season to 6-0. Richmond Dukes got credited with their first win of 2012 with a 9-0 victory over the Braintree Rays.

This Sunday, the London Marauders are scheduled to host Hove Tuesday, while Herts Raptors host the Old Timers.

Keep a check on the BBF website, and the respective team’s Twitter feeds, for updates on which games will actually go ahead this Sunday.

British Baseball Beat: GB update

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Just time for a quick update this week.

The main league news came from Finsbury Park where the Lakenheath Diamondbacks claimed a surprising sweep over the London Mets in the National Baseball League.

The Mets were hoping to take advantage of the teams above them in the standings not being in action on Sunday, but Lakenheath had other ideas, improving their season record to 9-8 and showing that the Big Four of the season so far may have company in fighting for the playoff spots.

The Mets were without a few of their regulars as the Great Britain Baseball 23U National Team headed to New England for a six-game tour against teams from the Futures and New England Collegiate Baseball Leagues. The National Team programme also impacted on the other NBL meeting of the weekend as the Essex Arrows and Croydon Pirates followed their single league game – won by the Arrows 6-5 in extra innings – with a game each against the GB Juniors.

It really is great to see the British league setup and the National programme coming together in this way to help develop young British talent and it’s a real credit to all involved, especially the coaches Liam Carroll and Will Lintern.

Liam’s Twitter feed is arguably the best source for news on the 23U’s ‘Revolution’ tour, both for game updates and the inside track on how the tour is going overall.

GB 23U team on the grounds of Williams College (Liam Carroll's Twitter feed)

I’ll be back with a normal length BBB next Thursday, hopefully having watched some AAA-South action in a ‘varsity’-style match-up between the Cambridge Royals and Oxford Kings (weather permitting) at the former’s Coldham’s Common field.

British Baseball Beat: Trojans lose their streak then start another

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Wet weather had an impact on the British baseball schedule last weekend, with some games having to be postponed due to fields being unplayable.

However, that created opportunities for other teams to make a leap in the standings and the games that were played certainly didn’t lack any drama.

Liverpool’s winning streak comes to an end

The result of the week came in Triple-A where the Liverpool Trojans’ incredible winning run was finally brought to an end by the Cartmel Valley Lions.

Liverpool (13-1), the reigning Triple-A National champions, hadn’t lost a league game since 25 July 2010 and after starting this season 12-0 it looked like another perfect year might be on the cards. However the young Lions (9-5) have impressed in their debut senior season and they saw their opponent’s record as less a thing to be feared and more an opportunity to make a mark.

They did just that, with GB Under-23 pitcher Ben Pearson striking out nine Trojans over seven one-run innings and backing his effort on the mound with a three-run home run in the second inning. Cartmel took the opening game of the double-header 7-1, yet Liverpool responded in the way you would expect.

‘Let’s start the next winning streak’ was the cry and sure enough they quickly found their way back in the win column with a shortened five-inning victory by a score of 12-0 in the second game. Paul Smith put an exclamation point on the victory with a game-ending Grand Slam, while GB U-23 player Rob Vondy picked up the pitching win with five shut-out innings, making it an impressive day for the national team prospects.

The Trojans now have a four-game lead over the Lions at the top of the North. This Sunday, the Lions host the Halton Jaguars, the third-placed Menwith Hill Patriots host the Bolton Robots of Doom (still looking for their first win of 2012) and the Trojans look to keep their new winning streak going with two games on the road against the Manchester A’s.

Meanwhile the AAA-South is arguably shaping up to be the most competitive division in all of British baseball.

The Cambridge Royals (11-7) swept a double-header away to the Essex Redbacks (13-7) to move within one game of their rivals in the Pool B standings. Brett Curran and Raj Perera once again led the way for the Royals with some strong pitching. Curran’s 12 strike-out effort in the opener was particularly impressive as the Redbacks pitched a combined no-hitter in the game, although Cambridge’s offence was able to get runs on the board due to the Redbacks’ starter Phil Chesterton not having his normal control and walking 12 over five innings.

The Latin Boys and London Metros (both 7-8) are 3.5 games behind the Redbacks after they split a double-header, and wins were shared between the Bristol Badgers (13-5) and Richmond Knights (12-8) in the other double-header. That left the Badgers leading Pool A by one game over the Oxford Kings (10-4), with the Knights one further game back.

This Sunday, the Knights host the Redbacks while the Royals are in Croydon taking on the Latin Boys.

AA: Rebels and Mavericks keep their winning runs going

The AA-Midlands division is also challenging the AAA-South as one to watch. The Nottingham Rebels (10-0) currently look a class apart from the rest and they added two more victories to their tally last Sunday at the expense of the Stourbridge Titans (0-7). However, there’s a great battle developing for second spot between the MK Bucks (5-4), Leicester Blue Sox (5-6) and Birmingham Maple Leafs (2-5). The latter were dealt a blow last weekend when the Bucks defeated them 18-6; however Birmingham has games in hand and so they have the opportunity to get back in the race quickly. Ruining the Rebels’ winning streak this Sunday would be a great way for the Maple Leafs to start their comeback.

In the North, there was a top of the table double-header clash between the Sheffield Bladerunners (13-1) and Harrogate Tigers (9-5) last Sunday. Honours were even at the end of the day’s play and although the Tigers will be happy to have inflicted the first loss of the season on Sheffield, they may feel a little disappointed that they couldn’t take the chance to close the four-game gap that the Bladerunners have on them.  The Hull Scorpions (8-6) and Manchester Torrent (5-5) also split their double-header to keep those two teams in third and fourth place and separated by a single game in the standings. The Tigers host the Scorpions this Sunday, while Sheffield are playing away to the Oldham North Stars.

The Guildford Mavericks (13-0) still have a perfect record so far this season in the South, but they were pushed all the way last Sunday by the Daws Hill Spitfires (4-4). The teams couldn’t be separated after nine innings before the Mavericks finally managed to shake off the Spitfires in the tenth inning to take the game 11-9. The Mavericks will look to continue their winning run against the Kent Mariners (3-7) this Sunday. The Mariners took an 18-9 loss against the Southampton Mustangs II last Sunday in their debut at their new home ground.

The games were just as close in Croydon where the Pirates III edged both games against the Latin Tigers 8-7, the second of which being an extra inning win. Those victories took the Pirates III up to a level 5-5 record, albeit still a way off the Pool A-leading Mavericks and second-placed Piranhas (10-1).

The Pool B-leading Sidewinders (7-3) were held to a split by the London Mammoths (6-4) and that leaves the Pool wide open, with the Sidewinders holding a one-game lead over the Mammoths and Herts Hawks (5-3) and the Spitfires just one further game back. The Mammoths are due to play against the Richmond Dragons on Saturday, with the Sidewinders hosting the Hawks on Sunday.

Single-A: More mores for the Marauders and Hove Tuesday

In Single-A the London Marauders (4-0) and Hove Tuesday (3-0) continued their winning starts to the season.  The Marauders improved to 4-0 with an 18-5 win over the Richmond Dukes, while Hove hit the Guildford Mavericks II hard in a 29-4 win.

Herts Raptors (3-2) were also in the runs on Sunday as they put 35 on the board against Tonbridge in a convincing victory.

It will be a tougher test for the Raptors this Sunday as they host the Pool-A leading Essex Archers. the Dukes will head to Brighton to take on Hove Tuesday, Herts Eagles face Braintree Rays and the Essex Redbacks III host Tonbridge.

NBL: Harlow make hay while the sun shines (or at least while the rain stays away)

Harlow Nationals (15-4) took full advantage of the double-header between Herts Falcons and London Mets being postponed by sweeping the Southampton Mustangs and maintaining their place at the top of the NBL.

The pair of victories, by scores of 11-5 and 7-3, have given the Nationals a 1.5 game lead over the Falcons (12-4), which relatively speaking is a decent cushion considering how close it has been at the sharp end of the top-tier so far this season.

The Mustangs (12-7) had been leading the league with a 12-3 record, but four consecutive defeats at the hands of the Falcons and Nationals have put them on the back foot in the title chase, both in terms of adding losses to their total and in the negative impact of just coming up short against their main rivals. Southampton has this Sunday off to regroup before trying to get back on track on 8 July with two games on the road against the Essex Arrows.

The Arrows (7-13) are playing through a rough patch of their own having lost their last six, the first two coming at the hands of the Mustangs on 10 June and the latest two being suffered last Sunday against the Lakenheath Diamondbacks (7-8). Essex will feel that luck has deserted them as the D-Backs took both games by a single run, the second game being an extra inning defeat.

Lakenheath are scheduled to play a double-header against the London Mets this Sunday and the Mets will surely be itching to get out on the field after being denied by the weather once again last weekend. The other NBL action will see the Arrows and Croydon Pirates meeting for a single game before both teams play against the GB Juniors.

British Baseball Beat: Falcons sweep but Harlow head into first

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The Herts Falcons (12-4) swept a double-header over the Southampton Mustangs (12-3) last Sunday, but it was the Harlow Nationals (13-4) that moved back to the top of the National Baseball League thanks to a sweep of their own over the Essex Arrows (7-11).

Full details can be found in the BBF website report.

Harlow had to work hard for their two wins, particularly in the opening game when starting pitcher Barry Wiles and the Arrows’ restricted them to just two runs.

Unfortunately for Phil Chesterton’s men, that proved to be one run too many as Roberto Almanzer once again pitched well for the Nationals in a 2-1 victory.  The second game included a rare appearance on the mound for Will Lintern as the Nationals got the better of Matt Gilbert on this occasion for an 8-2 win to secure the sweep.

That was enough to put the Nationals on top of the NBL despite the Falcons’ own sweep over the previous league leaders. An 18-8 opening game win, ended early on a seven-run sixth inning, and a 9-2 win behind Darrin Ward made for a very successful day at Grovehil Ballpark for the home team. They trail the Nationals by half a game, having played one game less than their rivals.

After facing the Nationals and Arrows, the Falcons will have an equally tough assignment this Sunday as they welcome the London Mets (10-3) to Hemel Hempstead. The Mets took two victories over the Croydon Pirates (1-15) last weekend to move within one game of Harlow and they have four games in hand on the reigning champs. Meanwhile the Mustangs are hosting the Nationals in what is shaping up to be a cracking Sunday of NBL action.

In the other double-header from last Sunday, the Bracknell Blazers (2-12) earned a split with the Lakenheath Diamondbacks (5-8) courtesy of an extra-inning, walk-off win in the second game. GB Juniors Dexter Stewart and Guy Packham combined to bring the winning run home in a real confidence booster for the Blazers.  They will look to build on that with a home double-header against the Pirates, while the Diamondbacks host the Arrows.

Triple-A: Badgers and Jaguars at the double

The Cambridge Royals (9-7) and London Metros (7-8) split their double-header at Coldham’s Common in Cambridge, with the home side taking the opener 8-6 and the visitors earning a split with a 6-1 win in the later game.

There was good play on show from both teams, although perhaps the most impressive feat of the afternoon was the restraint shown when a couple of cycling clowns (without the face paint and oversized shoes) decided to take a short-cut directly across the outfield during the sixth inning of the second game. The Royals and Metros collectively resisted the urge to chance their arms by taking pot-shots at the peddlers, although a repeat performance at a future game might lead to Cambridge turning it into a promotional event, with cries of ‘roll up, roll up’ and funfair music filling the air and the first ‘dead eye Dick’ winning a cuddly toy and one of the Royals’ very smart new caps.

Elsewhere, the Bristol Badgers (12-4) secured an impressive sweep over the Richmond Knights (11-7) for their sixth and seventh wins in a row, and the Latin Boys (7-8) and Essex Redbacks (13-5) took a win apiece from their double-header.

Thoughts are already turning to potential playoff spots in Triple-A. The play-off qualification in the South may well be revised owing to the Bracknell and Windsor Bears withdrawing from the competition. The initial format had the two Pool winners qualifying automatically for the National Baseball Championship, with the two teams with the next-best win-loss records competing in a play-off for the third Southern slot. Crucially, that meant those two teams could come from the same pool.

Each team’s 26-game regular season schedule is geared towards playing more games against the three teams in your own pool (six games against each, combined with two each against the four teams in the other Pool). As all of the games involving the Bears are going down as forfeit wins for the opposing team, that hands six wins apiece to each of the remaining Pool A teams, while the Pool B teams will only benefit from two forfeits.

If the season ended today, the second and third placed teams in Pool A would both qualify for the play-off game and that might remain the case if the Pool B teams keep taking wins off each other. Of course, the Badgers, Kings and Knights could all argue that they might have won their games against the Bears on the field and therefore to diminish the value of their victories isn’t fair. That’s a valid argument and really there is no ideal solution to the problem, so it will be interesting to see how it is resolved.

Whichever way they go, it will be a fiercely contested competition and some good teams will be left looking in at the play-offs from the outside.

The top two teams in the North will contest a one-game play-off for the final NBC spot. The 12-0 Liverpool Trojans seem a shoo-in for one of those spaces, with the Cartmel Valley Lions (8-4), Menwith Hill Patriots (7-5) and Halton Jaguars (5-7) looking the likeliest contenders for the other place. The Jags added two wins to their total in the only AAA-North action last weekend, condemning the Bolton Robots of Doom to an 0-12 record.

This Sunday, all eyes will be on Bootle Stadium where the extremely impressive Lions become the latest team to try and end the Trojans’ winning run. Liverpool swept a double-header between the two sides back on 6 May.

Double-A: Wins for Mavericks, Piranhas, Mammoths, Scorpions and Rebels

In the AA-South, the Guildford Mavericks (12-0) and Poole Piranhas (9-1) continued their formidable form last Sunday as they lead the way in Pool A.  The Mavericks had the brooms out on the road in a double-header against Richmond Dragons (3-8), while the Piranhas eased their way to a shortened 24-1 win over the luck-less Brentwood Stags (0-8). Guildford are away to Daws Hill Spitfires (4-3) this Sunday, with the Piranhas taking on the Thames Valley Bisons (5-4).

In Pool B, the London Mammoths (5-3) celebrated a sweep in their home debut against the Essex Redbacks II (3-7), with both teams contributing to an enjoyable day of baseball at Finsbury Park. The Redbacks’ Arun Mandalia had the horrible misfortune to end the second game by giving up a bases-loaded walk, but both he and Matt Cartwright impressed on the mound throughout the 2-1 game. The Mammoths host the Pool B-leading Sidewinders (6-2) this Sunday, with Essex taking the Sunday off.

In the North, the only games recorded from last Sunday show the Hull Scorpions lifting themselves above .500 to a 7-5 record with two victories over the rookie Newton Aycliffe Spartans (0-12). The Spartans continue their search for their first league win in their debut year against the Oldham North Stars this Sunday, while there is a top of the table clash in the offing between the Sheffield Bladerunners and Harrogate Tigers.

In the Midlands, the Nottingham Rebels improved to 8-0 with their two latest wins coming at the expense of the second-placed MK Bucks (4-4). Meanwhile the Birmingham Maple Leafs (2-4) got their first two wins of the season on the board against old adversaries the Leicester Blue Sox (5-6). Birmingham will look to add another win to their tally this Sunday when they host the Bucks, while the Stourbridge Titans (0-5) have the tough task of taking on the Rebels.

Single-A: Archers on target again

In Single-A, the Essex Archers (7-0) edged a keenly contested game with the Old Timers (4-1) by a score of 18-13, lumbering the veterans with their first loss of the campaign. Tonbridge took a 9-0 victory over the Braintree Rays, while the Herts Raptors won the bragging rights in the intra-Herts game against the Eagles, much to manager Arnie Longboy’s delight.

This Sunday, the Raptors look to continue their winning form on the road against Tonbridge, Guildford Mavericks II host Hove Tuesday and Richmond Dukes welcome the London Marauders to Flood Field.

British Baseball Beat: Competitive contests

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Sporting events with big build-ups don’t always live up to their billing, but the clash between the Harlow Nationals (11-4) and Herts Falcons (10-4) last Sunday in the National Baseball League undoubtedly met the high expectations.

As noted by Joe Gray earlier this week, there nearly was an actual clash between the two NBL sides when Nationals slugger Edwin Alcantara, who won the batting triple crown last season, celebrated his latest home run in a manner that some of the Falcons didn’t take too kindly to. It couldn’t have helped that the three-run jimmy jack tied the game at 9-9 and had been preceded by a disputed longball by former Falcon Luis Goncalves, which the umpires judged to have just gone the right side (from the Nationals’ perspective) of the right-field foul pole.

Tempers briefly flared, but cooler heads prevailed despite the Nationals going on to take the game 13-9.  The Falcons channelled their frustration in a positive way for the second game, rushing out to a 13-3 lead and holding off a Harlow comeback to finish the game 15-10 winners.  The victory came on a surprising Herts return for pitcher Darrin Ward, who had left the Falcons over the offseason to join the Essex Arrows and has now quickly made his way back to further strengthen Herts’ roster.

Grovehill Ballpark will be the place to be once again this Sunday as the Falcons move from one home series to another, this time against the league-leading Southampton Mustangs (12-3). The Mustangs swept a double-header in Southampton against the Arrows (7-9) to keep hold of the top spot by one game.  The Falcons and Mustangs split a double-header earlier in the season and this Sunday’s pair of games in Hemel Hempstead are sure to be fiercely contested.

In the other results from last Sunday, the Croydon Pirates (1-13) finally broke their duck and claimed their first win of the season with an 11-8 victory over the Lakenheath Diamondbacks (4-7), who bounced back with an 8-1 win in the second game. There were also two impressive victories by the London Mets (8-3) over the Bracknell Blazers (1-11).  The Mets will take on the Pirates this Sunday, with the D-Backs heading to Bracknell to face the Blazers and the Nationals playing against the Arrows.

AAA: Vondy’s no-hitter

The outstanding individual performance of the week came at Bootle Stadium where the Liverpool Trojans and Great Britain U23 pitcher Rob Vondy pitched a no-hitter against the Bolton Robots of Doom. His pitching mate Martin Godsall nearly matched it with a one-hitter of his own, as the Liverpool Trojans maintained their perfect record (12-0) with two more victories and condemned Bolton to their tenth consecutive loss. The Cartmel Valley Lions (8-4) are in second place in the AAA North after sweeping a double-header against the Menwith Hill Patriots (7-5).  The Lions are impressing in their first season of Adult level competition and are genuine contenders for a playoff spot this season.

In the AAA-South, sadly it’s been confirmed that the Bracknell and Windsor Bears have pulled out of the competition and it leaves seven strong teams vying for four playoff places. The Cambridge Royals and Oxford Kings both swept double-headers, over the Richmond Knights and Latin Boys respectively, to show that they will be firmly in the mix. The Essex Redbacks and London Metros split a double-header, while the Bristol Badgers benefitted from two forfeits from those Bears.

This Sunday, the Knights will look to bounce back with a home double-header against Badgers, the Redbacks host the Latin Boys and the Metros head to Cambridge to take on the Royals.

AA: Guildford keep going

The South division is just as competitive in Double-A. The Guildford Mavericks have been the class outfit so far and they made it a perfect 10 to start the season with two wins over the Southampton Mustangs II on Sunday.  Poole Piranhas kept up with the pace with two wins of their own over the Latin Tigers to improve to 9-1, while the Pool B-leading Sidewinders (6-2) split a double-header against the Essex Redbacks II.

Kent Mariners took two wins at the expense of the 0-8 Brentwood Stags and their next task is a home double-header against the Sidewinders on Sunday.  The London Mammoths (3-3) host the Redbacks II at Finsbury Park, while the Richmond Dragons are the latest team to attempt to spoil Guildford’s glorious start to the season.

In the Midlands, the Leicester Blue Sox (5-4) and MK Bucks (4-2) split a double-header at the former’s Western Park and the Bucks will move on from that split with a double-header at the 5-0 Nottingham Rebels this Sunday.

In the North, the Harrogate Tigers are three games behind the Sheffield Bladerunners after taking two wins over the Newton Aycliffe Spartans on Sunday. The Bladerunners are scheduled to face the Manchester A’s this weekend.

Single-A

The Essex Archers look unstoppable at the moment as they made it six wins in a row with a 32-15 victory over the Herts Eagles. The defeat dropped the Eagles back down to .500 with a 3-3 record, but the team were not too disheartened by their latest result. Duncan Hoyle’s official report states: “Despite what on paper looks a heavy loss, Herts will be able to take away some satisfaction from the manner in which they played the game and the fact they scored 15 runs – 1 more than all five previous opponents of the Archers have scored put together”.

The Old Timers are also unbeaten as their 23-4 victory over the Essex Redbacks III made it three wins on the spin for the veterans. Their early season form will be put to the test by the Archers this Sunday.

Tonbridge won their battle with the RIchmond Dukes to gain their first win of the season 20-4 and will try to make it two wins in a row in a road game against the 0-3 Braintree Rays this weekend.