British Baseball Beat: Controversy reigns in Croydon

If you are looking for high drama and controversy, Croydon on a Sunday afternoon wouldn’t be the obvious place to start.  However, never underestimate the power of British baseball to turn preconceptions on their head.

The home town Pirates produced a stunning come-from-behind victory over the London Mets on Sunday, but the game ended with an almighty dispute amid calls for the contest to be replayed.

As explained in Simon Fitzjohn’s report, the Mets thought they had the game won in the ninth inning when, with the score 15-14 in their favour and two outs already recorded, a runner was seemingly tagged out at second base to end the game.

However, the umpire thought otherwise and called the runner safe. As an argument ensued, an opportunistic Pirate sailed home to tie the game at 15-15.  The Mets’ manager Alex Pike was none too pleased and when a passed ball allowed the Pirates’ winning run to score, he was apoplectic.

There are rumours that in the aftermath of the game the umpire asked for the Mets’ manager’s name, only for someone to shout “don’t tell him Pike”. Those rumours are as yet unconfirmed and most probably made up by myself.

The Mets (5-3) have an immediate opportunity to get the frustration out of their system this Sunday, but they’ve got two tough games at Finsbury Park against the Southampton Mustangs (10-3).  The Mustangs currently share first place in Pool A with Richmond Flames (10-3).  The Flames are hosting the Mets’ recent nemesis, the Pirates (3-10), in a double-header at Connare Field. 

In the other game played last Sunday, the Southern Nationals (7-5) defeated the Mildenhall Bulldogs (4-8) 10-6.  That made it five wins in their last six games for the Nationals and they will hope to carry on that good form as they host the Herts Falcons (2-9) in a double-header this Sunday.

Elsewhere, the Lakenheath Diamondbacks (9-2) will look to extend their lead at the top of Pool B in the latest ‘Battle of the Bases’ match-up against Mildenhall Bulldogs. The Diamondbacks are on a seven-game winning streak and defeated the Bulldogs twice on Opening Day.

AAA South: Two more wins for the Badgers

In the AAA South, the results from last Sunday have set up a top of the table clash between two teams in impressive form this weekend.

The Bristol Badgers’ (13-1) march towards the division crown continued at pace with two victories over the Richmond Knights (2-12).  The Badgers coasted to a 16-0 win in the first game, but the Knights put up a real fight in the second, with Bristol eventually prevailing 15-11.

Meanwhile, the Essex Redbacks (11-5) made it six wins in a row with two closely-fought victories over the Windsor and Bracknell Bears (2-10).  The Bears are the only team to have taken a game against the Badgers so far this season, so the Redbacks knew how dangerous their opponents could be.

The Redbacks battled through and will go into their home double-header against the Badgers this Sunday full of confidence.  As noted by Michael Jones in the BBF AAA South review, Essex probably need two victories to keep the division fight alive.

The Oxford Kings (7-9) and London Metros (7-5) played out a split in Oxford and they’ll do battle again this Sunday, this time at the Metros’ Finsbury Park base.

In the North, the unbeaten Liverpool Trojans put their 9-0 record on the line with two games against the Halton Jaguars (7-3).  The games will be played at Liverpool’s Bootle Stadium, rather than at Halton’s ground as originally scheduled. The Manchester A’s (5-6) are scheduled to face the Menwith Hill Patriots (0-12).

AA: Split for Sidewinders and Stags

Sunday was a good day for the entire Essex Redbacks club.  The Redbacks II (2-8) recorded their first two wins of the season by sweeping a double-header on the road against the Herts Hawks (1-9).  Meanwhile it was honours even in the headline games in the AA South as the Sidewinders (9-2) and Brentwood Stags (6-3) split a double-header.

After the Pool B leader (Sidewinders) and Pool B second placed team (Stags) met last week, the BBF schedule gives us the opposite ‘top two’ match up this Sunday with the Pool A -leading Latin Boys (8-1) travelling to the Pool B second-placed Guildford Mavericks (8-2).

In the Midlands, the MK Bucks (11-1) recovered from dropping their first game of the season on 5 June by taking two wins against the Leicester Blue Sox II team (0-10).  The rookie Blue Sox II team are still searching for their first win, but will take heart from their performance in these two games.  The first meeting between these teams saw the Bucks romp away to 21-0/32-1 victories, so the 18-8/17-5 scores this time around show the Blue Sox II were able to make the Bucks work harder for their wins.

The Bucks will renew their rivalry with the Birmingham Maple Leafs (8-2) this Sunday in a double-header, while the Blue Sox II will face the Nottingham Rebels (7-5). The Rebels earned two wins against the Blue Sox’s first team (2-10) this past Sunday.

In the North, the Sheffield Bladerunners (5-3) swept a double-header over Manchester Torrent (5-5).  Those wins set up a top-of-the-division clash between the Bladerunners and Bolton Robots of Doom (7-1) this Sunday.

A: Mustangs II make it eight in a row

In Single-A, the Mustangs II march to the Pool B title continued with a 21-3 victory at home against Herts Raptors (0-6).  The Pool A leaders, Cambridge Royals (6-0), saw their game against Guildford Mavericks II (2-5) postponed, while Old Timers (4-3) took a win over Tonbridge (1-6).  The Old Timers will travel to Cambridge on Sunday to face the Royals, the Mustangs II host Tonbridge, Braintree Rays host the Mavericks II and the Herts Raptors take on the London Maruaders.