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: Firewalks and Olympic Flames

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The only place to start this week’s round-up is at Finsbury Park, where 44 players, staff members and parents walked across 600°C hot coals to raise money for the upcoming summer competitions contested by Great Britain teams of various age groups.

The ‘firewalk’ was complemented by a host of other festivities, including a home run derby – won by the Essex Arrows’ Giovanni Escalona – and games involving the GB Cadets, GB Juniors and the GB Under-23s teams.

Full details, including a ten-minute video of the firewalk fundraisers can be found on the BBF website.

Limited league action last weekend

There was a reduced schedule of games in the British Baseball leagues last weekend, with a limited number of fixtures initially on the list and the ‘Great British weather’ intervening as well (I think we can blame Her Majesty for the latter).

In the National Baseball League, the Southampton Mustangs were able to play their double-header against the Croydon Pirates on Saturday and the result was a double-header sweep for Southampton by scores of 13-1 and 10-7. The two victories meant that we had yet another change at the top of the standings, with the Mustangs pulling level with the Harlow Nationals on a 10-3 record, leading the 9-3 Herts Falcons by half a game.

The Mustangs have now won seven of their last eight games and they host the Essex Arrows this Sunday trying to add two more wins to their total. If they can achieve that then they will at least hold onto a share of the lead in the table for one further week, if not gaining a small advantage, as their two closest rivals are meeting in a double-header billed by Herts Baseball Club as the “biggest game of the season so far”.

The Falcons will welcome the reigning champions the Harlow Nationals to Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead for what should be a classic double-header, starting at midday.

Elsewhere, the Pirates host the Lakenheath Diamondbacks and the Bracknell Blazers host the London Mets.

In the other leagues, the Guildford Mavericks II improved to 8-0 in the AA-South with two comprehensive victories over the Croydon Pirates III team, while the London Metros technically added two wins to their tally in AAA-South due to forfeits by the now seemingly defunct Windsor and Bracknell Bears team.

Baseball not left out of the 2012 Games completely

Off the field, there was a great honour for Liverpool Trojans legend and British Baseball Hall-of-Famer Norman Wells as he carried the Olympic flame through Ormskirk on Friday morning. BaseballSoftballUK’s Jason Greenberg will also represent the whole of British baseball when he carries the torch through Merton, South London, on Monday 23 July.

This weekend’s schedule

On top of the NBL clashes mentioned above, there should be some good contests in British baseball this weekend.

The current weather forecast – for the south, at least – doesn’t look particularly encouraging, but hopefully baseball diamonds around the country can take centre stage after the Diamond Jubilee weekend just gone.

In Triple-A, the Liverpool Trojans put their long unbeaten run on the line against the Bolton Robots of Doom. Bolton are without a win so far this season, so the odds strongly favour the Trojans heading into the double-header. However, baseball doesn’t always work out the way you would expect.  The South Pool A leaders the Richmond Knights (11-3) host the 6-6 Cambridge Royals at Flood Field, while the Pool B leading Essex Redbacks (11-3) travel to Finsbury Park to take on the London Metros (5-6)

In Double-A, the Southampton Mustangs II are the latest team trying to ruin the Guildford Mavericks’ (8-0) perfect start to the season and if they can manage it then the Poole Piranhas (7-1) will try to take advantage with some positive results against the Latin Tigers. The South Pool B leading Sidewinders take on the Essex RedBacks II. In the North, the league-leading Sheffield Bladerunners are due to travel to Hull for a double-header against the Scorpions. In the Midlands, the Leicester Blue Sox and MK Bucks meet at the former’s Western Park with both hoping to cut into the Nottingham Rebels’ lead at the top of the table.

In Single-A, the 5-0 Essex Archers host the Herts Eagles, Hove Tuesday should be out at Pavillion Field in Brighton welcoming the Braintree Rays, the Essex Redbacks III take on the Old Timers and the Richmond Dukes and Tonbridge will battle to see which can gain their first victory of the 2012 season.

British Baseball Beat: Firewalk at Finsbury Park

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On Monday 4 June during the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee weekend, Team GB will run a major fundraiser in Finsbury Park, London, hosted by the London Mets.

The day will include a firewalk event at 1 p.m. where people over the age of 14 can raise money for the National Team programme by being sponsored to walk over hot coals. There is also a 5K sponsored run to take part in, alongside exhibition games including GB teams, all supported by on-site catering.

It should be a great day and a fantastic way to show your support for Great Britain baseball during an exciting year of international competition for our players at all age groups.

Further details can be found on the BBF website.

NBL: Nationals return to the top of the league

The Herts Falcons’ return to the top of the NBL lasted only one week, demonstrating just how competitive the top-tier of British baseball is this season.

The Harlow Nationals (10-3) are in first place again after they swept their two games against the Bracknell Blazers (1-9) on Sunday, while the Falcons (9-3) could only manage a split against the Essex Arrows (7-7).

Herts took the opener 12-7 with Kevin Niedringhaus and Dave Tretheway both hitting home runs in the victory. However, the Arrows hit back in the second game with a four-run first inning that sent them on the way to a 10-2 lead after the top of the fourth. The Falcons fought their way back into the game, but the Arrows responded to the increasing pressure by adding on three further runs in the top of the seventh and despite conceding two in the bottom of the frame, they held on for a 13-9 win.

The Blazers came close to pulling off an upset at Westmoreland Park when they pushed the reigning champion Nationals all the way, only to narrowly come up short 2-1 in what sounds like a classic top-tier contest.  Harlow were stung into life and with Great Britain youngster Jamie Ratcliff on the mound they took the second game by a slightly more comfortable margin of 11-4, against a developing Blazers’ team, to book their place back on top of the NBL.  Recent results suggest the Nationals are going to have to play very well to stay there for any notable period of time.

This weekend’s NBL action starts with a rare Saturday double-header in Croydon between the Southampton Mustangs and Croydon Pirates. On Sunday, the London Mets take on the Lakenheath Diamondbacks, while Grovehill Ballpark in Hemel Hempstead will stage the latest three-game feast of baseball including the Falcons, Blazers and GB Junior Team.

AAA: Perfect Ten for Trojans, No-hitter for Redbacks’ Warner

Like a lottery prize that keeps rolling over, or perhaps the increasing total on offer as those BBC2 Eggheads smugly dismiss the latest team of challengers, the prize of beating the Liverpool Trojans becomes ever more prestigious as each week passes.

The Trojans made it ten wins from ten on Sunday as pitchers Martin Godsall and Rob Vondy once again combined to get the better of the Halton Jaguars (3-7) by scores of 12-2 and 15-2. The Menwith Hill Patriots (7-3) are the next team to get a crack at ending Liverpool’s seemingly unending run of wins.  The Patriots stayed in second place after splitting a double-header with the Manchester A’s (2-6) on Sunday, whilst the Cartmel Valley Lions (6-4) consigned the Bolton Robots of Doom to an 0-8 record with a double-header sweep.

In the South, the Essex Redbacks’ Vince Warner pitched a no-hitter as his team took two wins against the Richmond Knights to continue their strong start to the season. The Redbacks own the best record in the division at 11-3, closely followed by the Bristol Badgers on 9-4. The Badgers collected their latest two wins at the expense of the Cambridge Royals, who subsequently slipped two games below .500.

AA: Mavericks strike again

The action in the AA-South, covered brilliantly by Michael Jones on the BBF website, saw the Guildford Mavericks maintain their unbeaten record with a 14-4 victory over the London Mammoths, whilst the Poole Piranhas’ pursuit of perfection was poleaxed by the streaking Sidewinders, who made it four consecutive wins with a 6-0 triumph.

The Mavericks will put their unbeaten run on the line with two home games against the Croydon Pirates III on Sunday, with the Herts Hawks hosting the Essex Redbacks II, and the London Mammoths hoping to get back on track with a double-header at Finsbury Park against the Kent Mariners.

In the Midlands, the Nottingham Rebels improved to 5-0 with an 18-0 victory over the Stourbridge Titans.  The Leicester Blue Sox returned to form by securing a 10-6 win against the Birmingham Maple Leafs, with seventeen year old Great Britain Junior Ben Powell pitching five solid innings on his debut.

In the North, the Oldham North Stars earned their first win of the season during a split against the Hull Scorpions. The Harrogate Tigers picked up two home wins against the Manchester Torrent to make it six victories from their last eight games. There are no league games in the North this Sunday, but the Newton Aycliffe Spartans are hosting a family fun day with an intra-squad game and plenty of other festivities.

A: Archers’ aim stays true

The Essex Archers defeated the Guildford Mavericks II 23-7 to continue to set the pace in Single-A.  The Archers are 5-0, closely followed by the London Marauders on 3-0.  The Marauders gained their latest victory in short fashion by the way of a ‘10 run mercy rule’, despite the Herts Raptors’ best efforts to send the game into at least one further inning.

British Baseball Beat: Falcons flying high again

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The Herts Falcons (8-2) swept a double-header over the Croydon Pirates on Sunday to regain the top spot in the National Baseball League.

The Pirates remain win-less through their first ten games and were comfortably beaten 17-2 in five innings in the opening game, with starting pitcher Jeff House getting the win on his Falcons debut. However, it took a five-run sixth inning, highlighted by a two-run homer by Phil Clark, for Herts to break a 3-3 tie in the second game, giving reason to believe that Croydon’s first victory might not be too far away.

The Falcons’ sweep came on a day when the other three NBL double-headers all ended in splits.

The result is that Herts have a half-game lead over the Southampton Mustangs and Harlow Nationals (both 8-3), with the London Mets (6-3) one further game back.

Herts will aim to extend their lead at the top of the standings this Sunday with a successful double-header against the Essex Arrows (6-6), while the Harlow Nationals look to keep the pressure on as they travel to Bracknell (1-7). The Blazers earned their first win of the season on Sunday against the Arrows.

AAA: Redbacks and Badgers split their double-header

The Essex Redbacks (7-3) and Bristol Badgers (4-4) split their double-header on Sunday. The Badgers can take a lot of confidence from the way they bounced back to win the second game as they started the day by conceding 12 runs in the first inning of the opener, on their way to a 22-2 loss.

The Richmond Knights (6-2) lead the Badgers by two games in Pool A after they swept a double-header against the Latin Boys, whilst the Cambridge Royals (4-4) now sit two games behind the Redbacks in Pool B as they made it three wins from their last four games by winning twice at home against the London Metros. The Royals host the Badgers in a battle of the second-placed teams this Sunday at Coldham’s Common in Cambridge. The two Pool leaders meet for a double-header at Melbourne Park in Chelmsford.

In the North, the Bolton Robots of Doom are still seeking their first Triple-A victory as they were beaten twice by the Halton Jaguars to fall to an 0-6 record. The Jaguars are now at 3-5, although they face a tough test in moving up to a .500 record this Sunday as they have a double-header against the relentless Liverpool Trojans (8-0).

AA: Tigers take two, Rebels, Piranhas and Mavericks remain unbeaten

The Harrogate Tigers (4-4) inflicted the first two defeats of the season on the Hull Scorpions (4-2) in the North and the Manchester Torrent (4-2) took advantage by taking two wins against the Newton Aycliffe Spartans (0-6) to move past the Scorpions into second place behind the Sheffield Bladerunners.

Harrogate host Manchester this Sunday, with Sheffield hosting the Spartans and Hull attempting to get back on track with two games against Oldham.

Nottingham Rebels (4-0) carried on their winning start to the season in the AA-Midlands with two wins over the Leicester Blue Sox (3-3). The Rebels host the Stourbridge Titans on Sunday, who are still seeking their first win of the year after they were downed by the Milton Keynes Bucks (3-1) by a score of 21-2 last time out.

In the South, the Poole Piranhas (7-0) and Guildford Mavericks (5-0) remain unbeaten after they swept their recent double-headers, albeit in the Mavericks’ case by way of forfeits by the Thames Valley Bisons. The Herts Hawks (5-2) and Sidewinders (3-2) also had the brooms out on Sunday, whilst the Daws Hill Spitfires picked up a 15-5 victory over the Croydon Pirates III.

Poole host the Sidewinders this Sunday, with the Mavericks facing the London Mammoths.

A: Archers and Mavericks II to meet on Sunday

The top two teams in Single-A will meet in Essex this Sunday. The Guildford Mavericks II will go into the game having suffered their first defeat of the year at the hands of the London Marauders, while the Essex Archers still have a perfect 4-0 record.

Herts Eagles improved to 2-2 on the season thanks to an 18-16 win over the Essex Redbacks III team on Sunday, whilst the Old Timers are 2-0 after defeating Tonbridge 20-15.

 

British Baseball Beat: Settling into the season

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There was a relatively full schedule of British baseball last Sunday and that should be replicated this weekend.

A number of teams have kept unbeaten starts to the season going this far into the campaign and several of those streaks will be put on the line on Sunday.

We’re also starting to see teams make an early attempt to put some daylight between themselves and their competitors as we move on from the first few rounds of games and really get into the heart of the season through June and July.

National Baseball League (NBL): Mustangs and Nationals lead the way

The Southampton Mustangs and Harlow Nationals are the early joint-leaders in the NBL after both gained two wins on Sunday to improve their records to 7-2.

The Nationals earned their wins on the road against the Croydon Pirates, who are still searching for their first victory of the season after eight games. The Mustangs benefitted from two forfeits by the Bracknell Blazers, who have also failed to register in the win column so far this season.

Herts Falcons now sit half a game behind the top two after they split a double-header against the Lakenheath Diamondbacks. They took the opener 17-5 before narrowly missing out in the second game as the D-Backs edged it 14-13 in extra innings. The London Mets and Essex Arrows also split their double-header.

The Falcons will aim to shake off their tough defeat with two strong performance at home against the Pirates this Sunday. The Mustangs and Mets meet at Finsbury Park, the Nationals are off to RAF Feltwell to take on the Diamondbacks and the Archers are due to host the Blazers.

Triple-A: Splits and sweeps

The big double-header in the South saw the Latin Boys (4-3) and Essex Redbacks (6-2) share the spoils with one win apiece at Melbourne Park in Chelmsford. Bristol Badgers (3-3) moved to a .500 record by securing two victories over the Bracknell and Windsor Bears. The Oxford Kings (4-2) and Richmond Knights (2-4), and the London Metros (3-4) and Cambridge Royals (2-4), all split double-headers.  The Metros and Royals will meet again this Sunday, this time in Cambridge, whilst the Badgers host the Redbacks.

The song remains the same in the North as the Liverpool Trojans made it eight wins from eight, with the Manchester A’s being the latest team to fall victim to their winning charge. The Menwith Hill Patriots are now two games behind the Trojans as they took two wins against the Bolton Robots of Doom to improve to 6-2.  The Cartmel Valley Lions and the Halton Jaguars each took home a win from their double-header. Halton will host Bolton in the sole Northern double-header this weekend.

Double-A: Six up for Sheffield, Rebels win, Pirates and Mavericks remain unbeaten

The Sheffield Bladerunners (6-0) are living up to their pre-season title as the AA-North favourites. They remain unbeaten after six games, taking their latest two wins against the Harrogate Tigers, although the Tigers put up a formidable fight and will be focused on improving their 2-4 record in the coming weeks. Harrogate will travel to Hull this Sunday for a double-header, with the Bladerunners looking to extend their unbeaten start with two home games against the Oldham North Stars.

The Nottingham Rebels (2-0) defeated the Leicester Blue Sox 10-8 to make it two wins from two to start their season in the Midlands, but the Blue Sox (3-1) will have an immediate chance to gain revenge as they will welcome the Rebels to Western Park for a double-header this Sunday. The Milton Keynes Bucks (2-1) won the other game played in the Midlands last Sunday, beating the Stourbridge Titans 16-2.

In the South, the Poole Pirates (5-0), Guildford Mavericks (3-0) and the Essex Redbacks II (2-2) all added two wins to their totals with double-header sweeps, while the Sidewinders (1-2) got their first win of the season at the expense of the Croydon Pirates III (2-1). The 3-0 London Mammoths travel to Herts this Sunday to take on the Herts Hawks. The Mavericks will try to keep their unbeaten start to the season going when they take on the Thames Valley Bisons.

Single-A: Archers and Mavericks II keep on winning

The Essex Archers (4-0) and Guildford Mavericks II (4-0) came out of their games against the Braintree Rays and Tonbridge with their unblemished records still intact. The scoreline (37-1) suggests it was a relatively comfortable fourth win for the Archers, just as it suggests it was anything but comfortable for the Mavericks II (30-29).

The London Marauders were delighted to finally get their season underway and they opened up with a 20-15 victory over the Essex Redbacks III. The Marauders travel to Guildford to take on the Mavericks II this Sunday, with the Herts Eagles facing the Redbacks III and the Old Timers taking on Tonbridge.

British Baseball Beat: Postseason plans announced

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After some soggy conditions over the last couple of weeks, the British baseball leagues got back on track on Sunday with plenty of games being played throughout the country.

The progress on the field was matched by progress off it, as the full post-season format and schedule was published this week allowing everyone involved to start planning their play-off push early.

NBL

The NBL-leading Herts Falcons (5-1) were not in action on Sunday and the team that took best advantage was the Southampton Mustangs. They collected a double-header sweep over the Croydon Pirates to improve their early season record to 5-2.  The Mustangs didn’t quite claim the second spot in the league after the London Mets (4-1) pushed past thanks to a 9-1 victory over the Harlow Nationals.

Essex Arrows (4-4) also secured two wins over the Lakenheath Diamondbacks (1-4) in the other NBL match-up to even up their early season record.

It promises to be a gripping race for the playoff spots as we head through the summer as five of the eight teams will qualify, with the top three going straight through to the National Baseball Championship (NBC) and the fourth and fifth placed teams playing a single nine-inning game on 19 August to determine the final entrant.

The Falcons, Mets, Mustangs and Nationals have been the pace-setters early on this season and if that remains the case then one of those four will have to battle through a nervy sudden-death encounter to ensure their season doesn’t end early. The Arrows and D-Backs will certainly have something to say about that – and also a potential top three spot – whilst it’s far too early to count the Blazers and Pirates out of the running either.

Triple-A

Liverpool Football Club hasn’t done a good job of turning performances into wins over the past year and manager Kenny Dalglish could do worse than head over to Bootle Stadium this summer to try and pick up the winning habit from the Trojans. They made it six wins from six this season with two victories over the Cartmel Valley Lions, although the Lions put up a strong showing in defeat, especially in the second game.

Menwith Hill Patriots (4-2) are the Trojans’ closest rivals so far in the North after they took two wins from the Halton Jaguars. The competition for second place in the North is going to be important because only one team from the division will qualify for the NBC and that team will be determined by a single game play-off between the first and second placed teams.  Whilst Liverpool have been the top team in the North for a while, another brilliant regular season will only give them home-field advantage in the play-off and the Jaguars or another Northern team could pip them to the NBC if they emerge victorious from the sudden death game.

The Northern play-off winner will join three teams from the South in the NBC. The two pool winners will qualify automatically and the Essex Redbacks (5-1) have made an early claim for one of those spots, although they did suffer their first defeat of the season on Sunday in a double-header against the Latin Boys (3-2).

The other NBC participant will be determined by a play-off game between the two non-pool winners with the best regular season records. The fact that it’s not simply between the two second-placed teams means that we could have, for example, the Latin Boys and London Metros facing each other in the sudden death game. The Metros (2-3) swept a double-header over the Bristol Badgers on Sunday to earn their first wins of the season.

Double-A

The Double-A play-offs will involve two rounds before the NBC for the southern teams. It looks like the top four teams from each Southern pool will make it through to the first round, with the second round then producing two finalists that will represent the South in the NBC. The current (version 2) ‘Road to the Finals’ document refers to games between “South Pool” and “North Pool” teams, but that presumably should be South Pool A and B. London Mammoths and Poole Piranhas are out in front so far with both improving to 3-0 on Sunday.

In the Midlands and the North, it’s a simple case of the top two teams from each heading into a play-off round where the division winner from one will face the second-placed team from the other to determine the two Midlands/North representatives. Hull Scorpions and Sheffield Bladerunners swept double-headers on Sunday to become joint-leaders in the North on 4-0 records, whilst the Leicester Blue Sox defeated the Milton Keynes Bucks 8-3 to improve their record to 3-0 at the top of the Midlands.

Single-A

The Southern section of the Single-A postseason will take the same format as in Triple-A, with the two pool winners being joined by the two remaining teams with the best records. The Essex Archers and the Guildford Mavericks II are the early favourites for two of those spots as both took victories on Sunday to make it three wins from three to start the season.

The third and fourth-placed teams in the Midlands and Northern AA divisions will continue to join the Single-A play-offs again this year. The two-round play-off structure will result in a team from the Sourth and a team from the Midlands/North qualifying for the Single-A final at the NBC.

The NBC itself

The main change with the National Baseball Championship this year is that it will be split over three days (the 25-27 August Bank Holiday weekend) rather than the normal two. This means that, excepting the single game Single-A final, the teams that make it to the NBC will be there for two or three days, making it much more of a season-ending event than a ‘turn up and go home’ affair.

The announcement of the postseason structure has come at the perfect time, rallying the rain-soaked teams to really get their play-off push on track after the stop-start beginning to the regular season. Plenty of teams will have an extra bounce in their step this Sunday as they run out onto the field knowing what their path to glory may be this year.

[NOTE: article updated at 16.55 on 10 May to correct the section on the Essex Arrows’ victories over Lakenheath Diamondbacks. The initial version incorrectly stated that the Arrows and D-Backs had split the double-header]

Rainy Britain, but Mets Pony Team shines in Prague

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It was to be expected really.

The British baseball season was entering its second Sunday of full competition across all four leagues, while water companies had announced hosepipe bans in various regions around the British Isles.

It was always going to pour down; you didn’t need Michael Fish promising a heatwave to know what was coming our way.

Consequently, many games understandably fell foul of the weather with the persistent rain leaving fields unfit for play.  However, some games were able to be played here and the weather was kinder in Prague where the London Mets Pony Team were competing in the SUMA European Qualifier.

National Baseball League – GB Juniors joining in

One game was played in the National Baseball League.  The Southampton Mustangs lifted themselves above a .500 record with a 6-2 victory over Lakenheath Diamondbacks.  The two teams had split a double-header on Opening Day at Croydon and they were back at Dave Ward Field on Sunday.

The Mustangs took an early lead with two runs in the first inning and starting pitcher Gary Davison, alongside some impressive fielding, made sure that the Diamondbacks were never able to catch back up.  Davison picked up the pitching win for the Mustangs, conceding two runs with six strike-outs and only four hits allowed, with the Mustangs improving to 3-2 on the season.

The Southampton-Lakenheath game was one part of a new venture by the BBF. The day of baseball at Croydon involved two NBL teams meeting for one NBL game and then both playing a game against the GB Juniors.

The GB Juniors will face all of the NBL teams this season in preparation for their European Championship qualifier in France later this year. As you would expect, the Mustangs and Diamondbacks both came out on top over their youthful rivals, but Head Coach Will Lintern’s comments on the BBF website show that the young stars of Great Britain’s future will have benefitted from challenging themselves against a tough standard of competition.

Mets Pony Team does British baseball proud

The London Mets Pony Team represented British baseball in outstanding style in the Pony Group stage SUMA European Qualifier in Prague, making it all the way through to the semi-finals.

The Mets topped their group with a perfect 3-0 record, starting with a memorable 10-5 victory over the Israeli National team and then winning twice on Friday against Technika Brno of the Czech Republic and BC Vilnius of Lithuania respectively. A comprehensive 11-1 win over another Czech team, Hlubloka, set up a semi-final under lights against a German Academy All Star team. Sadly, that’s where the Mets’ dreams ended, yet their tournament play can only be seen as a great success.

Congratulations to all involved for showing the rest of Europe that we have some talented youngsters here in the U.K. Further details on the tournament can be found on the London Mets’ website.

Back around the leagues

The Liverpool Trojans won twice at home against the Menwith Hill Patriots to make it four wins from four in 2012 and to continue their residence at the top of the AAA-North standings.  The Essex Redbacks have matched the Trojans’ 4-0 start in the South after they picked up two wins against the London Metros.

Last year’s AA-Midlands champions MK Bucks got their division defence underway with an 8-5 win over the Maple Leafs; however the Bucks needed a five-run seventh inning to fend off a spirited display by Birmingham. Meanwhile the Leicester Blue Sox followed up their Opening Day victory over the Birmingham Maple Leafs with a 26-9 win over the Stourbridge Titans. The result was the perfect way for the Blue Sox to toast the official unveiling of their new Sport England-funded backstop structure at Western Park.

In the AA-South, BBF league newcomers the Latin Tigers and the Daws Hill Spitfires both got their first ever wins at the second time of asking. The Croydon Pirates III scored eleven runs in the final two innings to get past a depleted Herts Hawks team with a 19-9 win, while Southampton Mustangs II showed their debut Double-A victory on Opening Day was no fluke by winning 18-3 on the road against the Brentwood Stags.

In Single-A, the Essex Archers made it two wins on the spin to start the season with a comfortable 33-3 victory over the developing Richmond Dukes side. The Herts Raptors defeated the Essex Redbacks III 9-0, while the Herts Eagles just fell short in a dramatic high-scoring affair with the Guildford Mavericks II. Guildford took the win by a score of 22-19 to improve their season record to 2-0.

This weekend

British baseball will once again be at the mercy of the weather, putting an asterisk next to every potential fixture either due to rain on the day of the game or the diamond being rendered unplayable due to downpours this week.

No one will be keener for games to go ahead this weekend than the Essex Redbacks. Former Eurovision contestant and Laindon resident Josh Dubovie will officially open the Essex Redbacks Baseball Club’s new Pony and adult diamond at Forest Glade Football Club on Saturday 28 April.

According to the Redbacks’ press release:

Josh, who performed live to a television audience of tens of millions at the Song Contest in 2010, will sing and entertain the crowds before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the Forest Glade Ponies’ first match against the Feltwell Redbacks – the newest team to join the Redbacks Baseball Club.

Josh will be presented with an Essex Redbacks playing shirt, alongside fellow VIP Kevin Blake, Basildon’s Councillor for Leisure and Arts.

Josh said: “I’m honoured to be invited to perform and throw out the first ever pitch on the Redbacks’ new diamond at Forest Glade Football Club. The Club has made great developments since it set up three years ago and I am looking forward to being involved in their continued progress.”

The matches at Forest Glade Football Club on Saturday 28 April are the first home competitive games of the season for the Redbacks junior section.

Fingers crossed that Essex, and many other clubs around the country, will be able to play ball this weekend.

British Baseball Beat: Back on the Beat

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British baseball followed MLB’s lead this year in deciding that one Opening Day just wasn’t enough.

While the top-tier National Baseball League got started on 1 April, the Opening Day for the rest of the leagues took place on Sunday 15 April. That made last Sunday the first full day of British baseball league action and it provided all of the twists and turns seasoned followers have come to expect.

The BBF website has plenty of division reports and scores to peruse, but these are the stories that caught my eye.

Northern sweeps

There were double-header sweeps all over the Northern baseball landscape on Sunday.

Least surprising were the two wins taken by the relentless winning machine that is the Liverpool Trojans Baseball Club. After a perfect 22-0 regular season and an AAA National Baseball Championship title in 2011, the Trojans got right back to it with a pair of victories over the Halton Jaguars.

Reigning AA National Champions Bolton Robots of Doom began their new era in Triple-A baseball with two home games against fellow newcomers the Cartmel Valley Lions. The Lions are a new adult team added to the club this year following nearly two decades of T-ball, Bronco and Pony baseball in the North-West. The double-header didn’t answer the important question of whether a robot or lion would win in a fight, but it did result in the Lions earning two victories to start their season in style. Meanwhile Menwith Hill Patriots were awarded two forfeit victories over the Manchester A’s.

In Double-A, the Sheffield Bladerunners would be seen as pre-season favourites for the division after finishing second last year behind the promoted Bolton. They picked up two wins over Oldham North Stars on Opening Day and are joined on 2-0 records by Hull Scorpions and Manchester Torrent thanks to sweeps over the reformed Harrogate Tigers and newcomers Newton Aycliffe Spartans respectively.

Redbacks rise above the Royals

Liverpool Trojans’ perfect 2011 season was matched in Single-A by the Cambridge Royals, who went 12-0 in the regular season before defeating the Birmingham Maple Leafs in the Single-A National Baseball Championship.  After such a successful first season back in the British leagues, the Royals took the brave decision to skip the Double-A level and move directly up to Triple-A.

Sunday proved to be a challenging introduction to the new division for the Royals as the Essex Redbacks travelled to Cambridge and came away with two victories by scores of 11-0 and 9-2. The Redbacks put together a strong 21-9 campaign last year and will be one of several contenders in what looks like being a very competitive Triple-A South.  The Bristol Badgers and Oxford Kings, and the Richmond Knights and Bracknell and Windsor Bears, both split double-headers to provide further evidence that many of the teams will be evenly matched this year.

The Royals have two more home double-headers in a row coming up and they will hope to take advantage of home comforts at Coldham’s Common to gain confidence for the rest of the season and to potentially give them a shot at being in the mix down the stretch as well.

Mustangs II make a winning Double-A debut

The Southampton Mustangs II, the Royals’ main adversaries in Single-A last year, have made the step up to Double-A in 2012. Coincidentally, like the Royals they also started against the Essex Redbacks club, their Redbacks II team in this case, and Southampton were able to gain a winning start with a 21-9 victory.

Guildford Mavericks and Poole Piranhas both had strong seasons in 2011 and they picked up victories on Opening Day, against the Sidewinders and newcomers Daws Hill Spitfires respectively, to quickly state their credentials for being at the sharp end again this year.

We could also see a new team come to the fore and challenge the established Double-A teams this season. The London Mammoths are the latest addition to the successful London Mets club and Matt Cartwright’s team got off to a great start with a 17-7 win over the Latin Tigers (another team that were making their debut on Sunday).

In the Midlands, Nottingham Rebels and Leicester Blue Sox started their seasons with a win, while last year’s Midlands champions the MK Bucks sat in wait to make their season debut this Sunday with a home game against the Birmingham Maple Leafs.

A tonic for Tuesday

Single-A contains eleven teams this season including newcomers Hove Tuesday, who put in plenty of work to get Pavilion Field in Brighton in good shape for their inaugural game and capped off a memorable day by earning a 14-1 win over Tonbridge.

The division includes two teams from Herts Baseball Club, the Eagles and Raptors. The former picked up a 28-6 victory over Richmond Dukes, while the latter played a final Spring Training game against the London Marauders. With the Herts Hawks also winning 13-4 over Richmond Dragons in Double-A, the question was whether the NBL Herts Falcons would be able to make it a perfect day for baseball fans in Hemel Hempstead and keep up their unbeaten start to the season.

Mustangs temporarily ground the Falcons

Herts Falcons had lived up the hype of their offseason headline-grabbing moves with four wins to start the season, but they were grounded by the Southampton Mustangs in their fifth game of the year. The Mustangs took the first game of the double-header 7-5 to quickly end any thoughts of the Falcons powering their way to a perfect season, but the fight and talent that Herts showed to win the second game against the Mustangs was a reminder – if one was needed – that they have what it takes to mount a serious challenge in the NBL this season.

The same could be said for reigning champions Southern Nationals and the London Mets.  The Nationals and Mets split a double-header on opening day at Finsbury Park and they have both won all their games since.  The Mets didn’t play on 8 April but followed their Game Two win against the Nationals with two comprehensive victories over Croydon Pirates on Sunday.  On the same day, the Nationals defeated the Essex Arrows twice at Harlow to make it five wins from six games after earning two home wins against the Bracknell Blazers on 8 April.

Highlights from this Sunday’s fixture list

In the NBL, the Mets host two games against the Bracknell Blazers, while Sunday will hopefully mark the first games played by the GB Juniors team against the Mustangs and Diamondbacks respectively, with the two NBL teams also set to play a game against each other.

In Triple-A, Liverpool Trojans have two home games against the Menwith Hill Patriots, the Essex Redbacks put their 2-0 record on the line against the London Metros and the Cambridge Royals look to bounce back as they host the Latin Boys.

In Double-A. after celebrating their debut win, the London Mammoths face a tough test on the road against the Guildford Mavericks. Herts Hawks and Croydon Pirates III meet both intent on inflicting the first loss of the season on the other, while things could either tighten up or spread out in the North as the 2-0 Bladerunners, Scorpions and Torrent are all facing 0-2 opposition.

In Single-A, Hove Tuesday have another home game, this time against the Old Timers, while the Herts Eagles and Guidlford Mavericks II meet at Grovehill Ballpark with the Herts Raptors also playing against the Essex Redbacks III to make for a good day of baseball in Hemel Hempstead.

British Baseball ‘Brief’: a few links

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BBBFollowing all of the great discussion in the comments from last week’s BBB, I thought I would leave this week’s column to one side so that we don’t end up with the thread becoming disjointed.

However there are a few noteworthy bits of news to bring together relating to British baseball and MLB in the UK.

Youth National Baseball Championships

First off, the National Baseball Championships at Herts did not completely mark the end of the British Baseball season. The Youth National Baseball Championships took place over the weekend just gone. Full details can be found on the BBF website.

Great Britain at the 2012 European Championships

Looking ahead to next year, Great Britain will be competing in the European Championships in the Netherlands and further details about the event have been announced this week.

The games will be staged in three cities - Rotterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht – between Friday 7 September and Sunday 16 September.  Team GB are in the same group as the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Czech Republic and Germany, so they will be involved in some very competitive games. 

Sounds like an enjoyable late summer trip to me.

Project COBB research days

While I’m on the subject of trips, new dates for the Project COBB research days were published here yesterday.

They provide a chance to contribute to the ever-growing historical archive for the domestic game, offer an enjoyable day out with like-minded British baseball fans and the perfect excuse to get out of doing the Christmas shopping.

MLB roadshow

The MLB roadshow is heading to the UK over the next two Saturdays.  It will be at Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester on Saturday 24 September and then Trafalgar Square in London Saturday 1 October.  Looks like a lot of fun for kids and adults alike

Moneyball the film

And finally, you may have noticed that the Moneyball film received it’s premiere in Oakland on Monday.

Thanks to the presence of Brad Pitt, the film will be shown over here although I suspect it might not be on a particularly long run. The UK release date is 25 November and it will be interesting to see how much, and what sort of, publicity it generates for the sport.

I’ll be wearing my A’s colours when heading along to the cinema soon after it starts showing.

British Baseball Beat: 2011 Champions crowned

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BBBThe 2011 senior British Baseball season came to an end over the past weekend with four teams being crowned as champions of their respective leagues.

The Southern Nationals, Liverpool Trojans, Bolton Robots of Doom and Cambridge Royals all left Hemel Hempstead with trophies and with their hopes fulfilled for the year.

While the rest of the teams competing at the National Baseball Championships (NBC) came away without quite achieving their aim, they can now reflect on their strong seasons that led to them being part of the marquee final event.

There is a full round-up of the weekend’s action on the British Baseball Federation website, including a link to a bounty of photos from the event.  You can also read game reports of the Liverpool Trojans’ matches on their website.

A good year for the newcomers

A few eyebrows may have been raised earlier in the year when it was announced that two completely new teams would enter British baseball at the top-tier level.  The fact that the NBC final was contested by the Lakenheath Diamondbacks and Southern Nationals was conclusive proof, combined with their regular season performances, that they deserved that lofty starting position.

Neither team was exactly a rookie outfit in terms of the players and coaches.  The Diamondbacks are a United States Army Air Force team, while the Nationals club was founded by a group of players with plenty of experience in the British leagues.  However, the pressure was on for them to show that they belonged and there’s little doubt that they succeeded.

The Nationals’ success was remarkable considering they were trailing 6-2 to the reigning champion Richmond Flames heading into the eighth inning of the semi-final on Saturday. 

An eleven run outburst in the top of the eighth, followed by a five-run flourish in the ninth sent them onto the final in incredible style.  It was a tough way for the Flames to see the defence of their title come to an end and their Pool A rivals the Southampton Mustangs also saw their excellent year end in semi-final heartbreak.  Five runs in the top of the ninth gave them a late 11-9 lead, only for the Diamondbacks to charge back with three runs in the last chance saloon. 

Great Britain junior Jamie Ratcliff took over in the final for the Nationals, pitching a gem as his team ran out 13-3 victors.  Their title triumph will paint a big bullseye on their chests and it will be fascinating to see how the Southern Nationals try to build on that momentum in 2012, with the rest of the teams intent on knocking them back down.  Continue reading →

British Baseball Beat: National Baseball Championship preview

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BBBBritish baseball heads to Hemel Hempstead this weekend for the end-of-season National Baseball Championships (NBC).

Herts Baseball Club will once again host the marquee event in which the 2011 champions in all four levels of senior baseball will be crowned.

The format is slightly different this year.  The top-tier National Baseball League (NBL) and Triple-A levels will play semi-finals on Saturday and finals on Sunday, rather than each competing in six-game double-elimination events.  This change will reduce the risk of games being played into the evening.

After the four semi-finals on Saturday, Sunday will offer a feast of four finals

There will be lots going on alongside the baseball games over the weekend and, if you are going along, look out for the official NBC programme (yes, I have written an article for it again this year!).

National Baseball League

In the top-tier of British baseball, the Pool winners Richmond Flames and Lakenheath Diamondbacks will be joined at the NBC by the Southampton Mustangs and Southern Nationals. 

The Mustangs had battled with the Flames all season long in Pool A, but partway through their playoff against the Croydon Pirates it looked like their year could be coming to an abrupt end.  Instead, the Mustangs rallied and came from behind to win 12-8, setting up a semi-final on Saturday against Lakenheath. 

Southampton technically won the regular season series between the two, although their two wins came courtesy of the Diamondbacks having to forfeit the games.  The semi-final will therefore be the first true encounter between the two sides, with the Diamondbacks looking to win the title in their first year of competing in the BBF leagues.

The other semi-final will be contested between the Richmond Flames and the Southern Nationals after the latter defeated the London Mets 7-3 this past Saturday.  As noted in Simon Fitzjohn’s report, it was the first time in five games that the Nationals had gotten the better of the Mets in 2011, but that’s how the playoffs work and the Nationals got the win when they needed it the most. 

The Flames and Nationals split a double-header in their only meeting of 2011 so far. The Richmond Flames deserve to go into the NBC as favourites as they had the joint-best win-loss record in the regular season (19-5, the same as the D-Backs) and have the experience of winning it all just twelve months ago.  The question now is: can Richmond retain their trophy?  Continue reading →