Following a defeat to the London Mets in the opening game of the 2009 top-tier National Baseball Championship on Saturday, the Bracknell Blazers were left needing to win all three of the games on Sunday to take the national title. They did just that, triumphing 16-4 in the nine-inning final, aided by a complete-game effort from Henry Collins against the pre-tournament favourites, the Richmond Flames. This followed a comfortable victory in Sunday’s first game, in which they eliminated the Herts Falcons, and a more nervy win in the second game, which was a rematch with the Mets.

The final was tied at 3-3 after 6 innings, and – up to that point – it had been as absorbing and balanced an encounter as a neutral spectator could have wished for. Cody Cain had looked strong but not infallible on the mound for the Flames, while Collins worked efficiently and quickly, extinguishing any rallies that threatened.

Like many followers of the National Baseball League, I had predicted in the build-up to the double-elimination Championship that it would be Richmond who would possess the greatest pitching depth. Added to that was the fact that the Flames had powered their way through to the final in one fewer game than their opponents, on the back of solid outings from Michael Osborn and Ryan Bird. However, the Richmond bullpen of Brad Crinion, Matt Spaulding, and George Naumczik gave up 13 runs in the final three innings, while Henry Collins stayed on the mound for Bracknell, racking up 140 pitches but yielding just one further run. Collins did concede nine hits, but they were dispersed sufficiently across the game to generally be of little consequence. Furthermore, the Blazers’ moundsman looked to be in full command of the strike zone, walking just three Flames will mowing down eight.

A second main reason that Richmond went into the tournament as favourites was the talent they had in the heart of their batting order. But, again, it was the Blazers who better displayed this quality: of their 15 hits in the game, 14 came from line-up spots three through six.  Adam Roberts went 3-for-6 with a home run, batting third. Michael Stewart, the Blazers’ clean-up hitter, went 4-for-5 with a walk. Phil Matthews finished 2-for-6 in the six spot, with a ground-rule double and a home run, which was his second of the day following a grand slam against London. Finally, number-five hitter Josh Chetwynd was hit on the helmet in his first trip to the plate and then proceeded to connect for five consecutive hits, the third of which was a 3-run double. His 5-for-5 game was a memorable finale to his playing days in Great Britain, which have included appearances on three National Championship-winning teams and five European Championship rosters.

While it is unlikely that Bracknell would have taken the title without their more experienced players in the line-up, there was substantial playing time in the tournament for some of their highly promising youngsters. This will come as good news to those teams around the country who have invested time and resources in youth programmes in the way that the Blazers have done for many years.