Last weekend in British Baseball was dominated by the annual London Tournament. 

The National Baseball League’s Croydon Pirates came out on top at their home event, defeating the ‘Pride of the North’ Liverpool Trojans in the final by a score of 9-4.

Rob Jones has provided a full report on the final at the BBF website, combining it with the news reported here by Joe Gray that Croydon’s field has been re-named in honour of their manager Dave Ward.  The whole event was a great way to celebrate the Pirates’ thirtieth anniversary and, judging by reports, all fifteen teams enjoyed their weekend of baseball.

The Liverpool Trojans took plenty of photos over the weekend and they can be found on the Photo Galleries section on their website, while the Birmingham Maple Leafs have added 194 to the collection on their Facebook page.  You can also take a peak there at some potential designs for the Maple Leafs’ new uniform courtesy of Hawk Sport.

And in the tournament that kept on giving, a chance meeting in the burger-van queue at the London Tournament allowed Joe Gray to add the story of the Birmingham Maple Leafs’ name to the Project COBB archive.  If you can add any more to the list, do get in contact with Joe.

Mets and Blazers take one win apiece, Archers and Bisons get victories as well

While most teams not involved in the London Tournament took the opportunity to rest – a British version of the All-Star Break, perhaps – there was some league action in both the National Baseball League and in Double-AA.

In the top-tier, the London Mets (8-5) and Bracknell Blazers (5-7) split a double-header at the former’s Finsbury Park field.  The Mets took the opener 14-7, but their hopes of a sweep were thwarted in the second game as the Blazers bounced back to win 7-4.

The Essex Archers (6-7) hit the target against the Brentwood Stags (6-8).  The battle of Essex ended 15-4 in the Archers’ favour and saw them leap over the Stags into second place in the Pool A standings.  Meanwhile the Thames Valley Bisons (8-4) secured a 10-8 victory over the Richmond Dragons (2-10) to lift them within two games of the Pool-leading Guidlford Maverick, with two games in hand.

Big games in NBL and Single-A

The highlights of this Sunday’s fixture list come from the NBL and Single-A, where the top two teams in the respective Pools at each level are scheduled to meet.

In the NBL, the Richmond Flames finally took sole possession of top spot in Pool A following their win against the Southampton Mustangs on 3 July.  Their credentials for staying there face a stern test on Sunday as they host the Pool B-leading Lakenheath Diamondbacks. 

The D-Backs defeated the Essex Arrows last time out for their tenth win on the spin and will be looking to make it a dozen in the first meeting with the Flames this year.  The Mustangs will be hoping Lakenheath succeed and that they can earn two victories on the road against the Bracknell Blazers to regain first place straight away.

While the Flames and Diamondbacks meet in the NBL, ‘The Big One’ finally takes place in Single-A on Sunday. Southampton Mustangs II (10-0) and Cambridge Royals (8-0) were scheduled to meet in Southampton on 12 June; however the game was postponed due to heavy rain so the much-anticipated clash between the two unbeaten teams couldn’t take place. 

Undeterred, both teams have remained unbeaten since that point so their first meeting of the season will still decide which of the top teams in Single-A is handed their first loss of the year, and which is likely to go on and have a perfect regular season.  The game will take place on the Royals’ field at Coldham’s Common in Cambridge, with first pitch set for midday.

AAA: Trojans and Badgers aim to keep on winning

The Liverpool Trojans may have lost out in the London Tournament final, but they showed their strength and skill over the weekend and still have a great chance at recording an unbeaten regular season in the AAA-North.  They put their 11-0 record on the line in the latest instalment of their rivalry with the Manchester A’s.

In the AAA-South, the Bristol Badgers have a 5-game lead in the standings going into their double-header at home against the Oxford Kings.  The Kings are in third place currently, with the second (Essex Redbacks) and fourth (London Metros) placed teams meeting for two games this weekend.

AA: Latin Boys v Sidewinders, Bucks v Rebels, and the Robots of Doom are on tour

In the AA-South, the top match-up of the weekend pits the Pool-A leading Latin Boys against the Sidewinders, who have only recently been usurped in the top spot in Pool B by the Guildford Mavericks. The Mavericks look to keep hold of, and possibly extend, their half-game lead over the Sidewinders as they travel to Kent for two games against the Mariners.

In the Midlands, there’s a great game in prospect in Milton Keynes as the Pool-leading Bucks host the Nottingham Rebels.  The Rebels are on a five-game winning streak and it was in the first game of that sequence that Nottingham inflicted the only defeat of the Bucks’ season so far.

Finally in the North, the Sheffield Bladerunners travel to Hull to take on the Humber Pilots, while the Oldham North Stars face the Manchester Torrent.  The Pool-leading Bolton Robots of Doom will be representing British baseball in the Netherlands as they take part in the Birds International Tournament.