British Baseball Beat: The season has begun

The British baseball season got underway last Sunday, for some teams at least, and the games produced plenty of action and entertainment.

National Baseball League (NBL)

The Croydon Pirates got stuck in a miserable rut last year.  There was almost a dismal inevitability about them going win-less throughout 2009 once the season had passed halfway without the Pirates coming out on top a single time. 

A new season wiped the slate clean, but it didn’t necessarily take away the pressure.  After suffering a 23-3 mauling in Game One of their doubleheader last Sunday against the Richmond Flames, few would have blamed the Pirates for collapsing in a heap thinking ‘here we go again’.  So it says an awful lot about the character of Dave Ward’s team that they bounced back and earned a 6-5 win in the second game.  With their first win on the board, Croydon firmly put their 2009 season behind them. 

Mildenhall Bulldogs might be newcomers to the NBL this season, but none of the established top-tier teams will underestimate their potential and they put down an early marker by winning both games of their double-header away to fellow NBL debutants Essex Arrows. 

The other new team, Southampton Mustangs, were beaten twice by the Herts Falcons.  Peter Kikel followed up his Herts Spring League 5-inning no-hitter from a few weeks ago with a complete game shutout in the second contest (12-0), although the Mustangs will take confidence from the first game in which they battled the Falcons to the last and ultimately lost by just a single run (8-7). 

Reigning NBL champions Bracknell Blazers earned a split from a double-header away to London Mets in a contest at Finsbury Park between two of the pre-season favourites.  Further details about the NBL games can be found in Simon Fitzjohn’s excellent report.

As for this Sunday’s double-headers: Herts Falcons travel to Finsbury Park to take on the London Mets, Bracknell Blazers host the Essex Arrows, the Croydon Pirates make the trip to Southampton to face the Mustangs, while the Richmond Flames are off the RAF Feltwell to play the Mildenhall Bulldogs.

Herts Pitcher Pete Kikel pitched a complete game shut-out against the Mustangs. Photo by www.hp2photographic.com.

 

AAA League

The AAA South doesn’t begin until this Sunday, so the North took centre stage in Triple-A over the last weekend and the brooms were out in force with three double-header sweeps.  Reigning AAA champs Harrogate Tigers, Liverpool Trojans and Menwith Hill Patriots all started the season with two wins apiece against the Glasgow Baseball Association, Manchester A’s and Halton Jaguars respectively.  At least one of those perfect records will go this weekend as the Patriots head to Bootle Stadium to face the Trojans.  Glasgow and Manchester will battle each other for their first win(s) of the year, leaving Halton to take on Harrogate.

The opening fixtures in AAA South will see the Essex Redbacks make their BBF league debut welcoming the London Metros to their newly-appointed home field. Bracknell Blazers 2 (A League in 2009) and Kent Mariners (AA) make their AAA debut playing against each other at Jarrett Field in Maidstone, while the other double-header sees Herts Eagles playing away to the Bristol Badgers.  Oxford Kings have to wait more more week before getting their season underway.

AA League

The MK Bucks and Birmingham Maple Leafs got off to winning starts in the Midlands Division.  The Bucks recovered from an early injury to their player-manager Ernie Ayala to defeat Leicester Blue Sox 9-4, with starting pitcher Tom Lloyd and catcher Tam Tachikawa earning the plaudits on the Bucks’ website.  The new Leicester Blue Sox 2 team also took a loss in their first ever game, falling 34-1 to the Birmingham Maple Leafs.  Mildenhall Bulldogs 2 sat out the first round of games but their season will begin on Sunday with a visit to the Leicester Blue Sox, while the Bucks and Maple Leafs meet in Birmingham.

There was limited play elsewhere in the AA League, with the North Division set to begin this weekend and only three games being played in the South.  AA-newcomers Essex Archers gained a debut win by a score of 11-1 over the Brentwood Stags, while Poole Piranhas defeated Croydon Pirates III 13-3.   Windsor Bears got an inside-the-park home run from pitcher Clint Milner on their way to a 15-10 win against Thames Valley Bisons and the Bears and Piranhas will meet this Sunday in one of six AA South games.  There are two double-headers scheduled in the North: Manchester Torrent @ Oldham North Stars, and Humber Pilots @ Sheffield Bladerunners.

A League

Finally, there were three games played in the A South all of which were typically exciting, high-scoring affairs.  The Old Timers and Braintree Rays combined for 25 runs, with the Rays winning 18-17. Herts Raptors took a heavy 31-5 loss against Southampton Mustangs 2, but first baseman Rob Jones summed up their positive attitude: “We did not beat ourselves and, in fact, we made some really good plays. And perhaps more importantly, we had the same spirit that the team had last year — to play our best, and to have fun doing it”.  BBF League newcomers Chelmsford Clippers also see their keystones as “a good spirit and lively humour” and they will no doubt be able to pick out plenty of positives and things to build on from an 11-16 debut loss to the Richmond Dragons.  And it just so happens that the Raptors and Clippers are scheduled to meet this Sunday at Grovehill Ballpark. 

Elsewhere, the Mustangs II and Dragons meet in a battle to continue their winning starts, the Rays will look to make it two wins from two in a home game against London Marauders, Old Timers look for their first win against the new Bracknell Blazers 3 team and BBF League newcomers Tonbridge take on Guildford Mavericks.

Further info

Full details on the results and fixtures from the BBF Leagues can be found on the BaseballSoftballUK website.