After reporting on the double-header between the Bracknell Blazers and Southern Nationals on Tuesday, the second part of this week’s British Baseball Beat looks back at the rest of the games played last Sunday, and what we’ve got to look forward to this Sunday.

NBL: Flames sweep the Falcons

In the National Baseball League, three of the scheduled double-headers didn’t take place and the home teams were awarded forfeit victories.

Arguably the biggest winner out of that situation were the Southampton Mustangs.  They were scheduled to play the Lakenheath Diamondbacks, who had won thirteen of their previous fourteen games, while the Mustangs’ rivals in the race for the Pool A top spot,  the Richmond Flames, had a double-header against the Herts Falcons.

The Flames duly swept the Falcons, but they didn’t gain in the standings due to the Mustangs being awarded two wins as well.

The Croydon Pirates and London Mets also gained two victories apiece without swinging a bat in anger.

Hopefully we’ll get a full schedule this weekend.  The Mustangs are hosting the Southern Nationals, the Richmond Flames welcome the London Mets to Connare Field, the Bracknell Blazers host the Herts Falcons, the Essex Arrows are playing against the Mildenhall Bulldogs while the Croydon Pirates take on the Lakenheath Diamondbacks. 

AAA: Liverpool lift the AAA North title once again

The Liverpool Trojans had looked set to win the AAA-North after a handful of games had been played, but they finally made completely sure of their regular season success with an 11-1 victory over the Halton Jaguars.

In the South, the Bristol Badgers’ games against the London Metros were called off due to rain, the Oxford Kings took two wins against the Windsor and Bracknell Bears to continue their recent good form and the Essex Redbacks were awarded two forfeit victories over the Richmond Knights.  The Redbacks closed to within 2.5 games of the league-leading Badgers, but Bristol have played seven games less and look all but certain to take the title.

That leaves the Redbacks, Kings and Metros embroiled in a fierce battle for the remaining two playoff spots.  The Kings and Metros will meet this Sunday at Finsbury Park for a double-header, while the Redbacks host the Bears.

AA: Bucks and Bolton keep on winning

In the South, the Essex Archers beat the Croydon Pirates III 20-10 to leave them four games ahead in second place in Pool A, although the Pirates III have four games in hand.  The Latin Boys remain on course to win the Pool after they earned a 27-7 victory over the Essex Redbacks II.

In Pool B, the Sidewinders pulled to within 2.5 games of the Guildford Mavericks as they defeated the Mavs 21-10, while the Poole Piranhas’ double win over the Brentwood Stags leaves them 2.5 games behind Guildford as well.

In the Midlands, the Bucks celebrated the early clinching of a division title by taking two wins against the Leicester Blue Sox 2.  Meanwhile the Nottingham Rebels kept up the pressure on the Birmingham Maple Leafs by securing two wins against the Leicester Blue Sox to pull within half a game of the Leafs.

In the North, the Bolton Robots of Doom improved their season record to 16-2 with two wins over the Oldham North Stars. Sheffield Bladerunners and Manchester Torrent split a double-header, leaving Sheffield in second place, four games ahead of the Humber Pilots.  Those two teams meet for a crucial double-header in Hull this Sunday.

A: Royals and Mustangs II win again, while the Raptors

In Single-A, the song remained the same with the Cambridge Royals and Southampton Mustangs II both picking up their twelfth win of the season.  The Mustangs II now have two weeks off before a potential rescheduled game at home against Cambridge.

In the other Single-A game, the Herts Raptors suffered a “painful defeat” by a walk-off run to the Braintree Rays by a score of 16-15.  As the report on the Herts website states, another painful defeat “must also be seen as a welcome change from the overwhelming defeats early in the season”.