Three teams went into last Sunday’s games in the British Baseball leagues with perfect records, while several teams were still seeking their first taste of victory this season.
Furthermore, there were various contests between teams battling at the top of their respective leagues, most notably in the National Baseball League where London Mets and Bracknell Blazers battled for supremacy.
With so many storylines waiting to be written, it was no surprise that last Sunday produced another round of exciting games.
NBL – Top two teams split a double-header, Arrows get their first NBL victories
Bracknell hosted a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday between the hometown Blazers and the London Mets. The two teams have appeared to be closely matched over the season so far and that was in evidence on Sunday as they split the double-header. A 10-3 win in the opener by the Blazers (11-2) set up the possibility of a sweep, but the Mets (13-2) battled back to take the second game 7-1 and to maintain a one game lead in the standings, having played two games more than their closest rivals.Â
The split gave the third-placed Richmond Flames (9-4) a chance to gain some ground and they took full advantage by defeating Croydon Pirates (4-9) twice to move within three games of the league-leading Mets. Southampton Mustangs (7-8) continued their recent good form by winning both games of a double-header against Herts Falcons (4-9), while the Essex Arrows (2-11) finally got their first two wins of the season, getting the better of a depleted Mildenhall Bulldogs (4-9) team who have now dropped nine in a row. Further details about the games can be found in Simon Fitzjohn’s report.
The Arrows will have a tough task to build on their victories as they host the Blazers this Sunday. The Mets travel to Herts, the Pirates welcome the Mustangs to Roundshaw Field and the Bulldogs travel to Richmond.
AAA – First loss for the Kings, first wins for the Redbacks
Oxford Kings (9-1) saw their unbeaten start to the season come to an end on Sunday as they lost the opener of a double-header against Herts Eagles (7-3) by a score of 7-2. The Kings quickly put the loss behind them and battled to a 4-2 win in the second game, leaving them two games ahead of the Eagles and Bracknell Inferno (7-3). Bracknell were swept by the Kings the previous weekend, but they got straight back to winning ways with two comfortable wins away to London Metros (2-6). Oxford are not playing this weekend, giving Inferno (two games at home to Kent Mariners) and the Eagles (two games at home to Bristol Badgers) a chance to close the gap.
Meanwhile, there was joy at Melbourne Park as the Essex Redbacks (2-6) won their first ever games in the BBF leagues, beating Kent Mariners (0-10) twice to leave their opponents rooted the foot of the table.Â
In the North, Liverpool Trojans (11-5) effectively slipped to third place after they split a double-header against Menwith Hill Patriots (9-5). The Trojans were missing several players and while starting pitcher Ron Vondy was excellent as ever in the first game, a lack of pitching options in the second saw the Patriots march away with an 18-8 win. That makes it three losses from their last four games for Liverpool while their conquerors from the previous weekend, Manchester A’s (10-4), made it five wins in a row by taking two wins from Glasgow (1-13).
This Sunday, the A’s host Halton Jaguars, the Trojans host Glasgow and the league-leading Harrogate Tigers (9-3) are away to the Patriots.
AA – Archers hit the target against Poole, Robots of Doom down Manchester
Essex Archers (5-3) completed a memorable day for their ballclub, following up the Arrows’ debut NBL wins by landing Poole Piranhas (7-1) with their first loss of the season. All signs pointed to the Piranhas making it seven wins in a row after a six run fourth-inning, but the Archers plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth and held on in the seventh to record an 8-6 victory. The Piranhas responded by taking the second game 13-5. In the other contest on Sunday, Sidewinders (6-3) took two wins against Croydon Pirates III (4-5). Poole are scheduled to face the win-less Horsham Hurricanes on Sunday, while Windsor Bears (6-3) host Pirates III and the Pool B leaders, Richmond Knights (5-1), are away to Brentwood Stags (0-9).
In the Midlands, Leicester Blue Sox 2 (2-6) got their first wins of the season although not in the manner they would have hoped. Mildenhall Bulldogs 2 (2-5) had to forfeit the double-header due to a lack of players, handing Leicester two 7-0 victories. While their club mates had an unexpected rest, the Leicester Blue Sox first team (4-4) was embroiled in a closely-contested battle against the league-leading Birmingham Maple Leafs (8-3). Birmingham took the opener 14-6, but the Blue Sox fought back to share the spoils with a 12-4 victory in the second game. The Blue Sox are scheduled to be back in action again on Sunday, although we don’t yet know whether Bulldogs 2 will be able to field a team at RAF Feltwell.
In the North, Manchester Torrent’s (8-4) two-game lead in the standings following the previous Sunday was wiped away by Bolton Robots of Doom (7-3), who beat Torrent twice at home. Humber Pilots (5-4)won the only other game by a score of 13-1 over Oldham North Stars (0-11). It doesn’t get any easier for Oldham as they travel to Bolton for two games on Sunday, while Manchester need to regroup quickly for their visit to Sheffield to take on the Bladerunners (5-3).
A – Dragons drop a game, Pryos win, Raptors’ first win getting closer
With both the Kings in AAA and the Piranhas in AA losing their unbeaten records, it was perhaps already written that the only other team with a perfect record would see their run come to an end as well. And so it turned out, as Richmond Dragons (7-1) lost 19-10 to Guildford Mavericks (5-2), a result described by the victors as “a fantastic victory, fully deservedâ€. While the Dragons lost for the first time, the Bracknell Pyros (1-6) won for the first time in 2010 with a 26-15 win over London Marauders (2-4). That leaves Herts Raptors (0-7) as the only team in the A League without a win, but they got tantalizingly close on Sunday as they narrowly lost to Chelmsford Clippers (5-3) 24-21. The Clippers admitted that “it was one to really forget for the neutral, and perhaps for the players tooâ€.
This Sunday is set up perfectly, as the top two teams in both Pool A (Dragons and Mavericks) and Pool B (Clippers and Braintree Rays) are scheduled to meet.
Further details
As always, full details on results and fixtures from the British Baseball leagues can be found on the British Baseball Federation website.