It was an eventful weekend in the British Baseball league set-up.

The National Baseball League served up a summer classic on Saturday that more than lived up to its name.

The rest of the leagues followed suit on Sunday, with top-of-the-table clashes and results that had an instant impact at the sharp end of the standings.

What’s more, the games from last weekend have really set up the games scheduled for the coming weekend.  The British baseball season is really starting to heat up.  Let’s hope the weather takes the hint on Sunday. 

NBL Summer Classic lives up to its name

The eight National Baseball League teams gathered at Grovehill Ballpark, Hemel Hempstead, on Saturday for the first ever NBL Summer Classic.  The day was billed as a baseball extravaganza, with all of the top-tier teams on show at one venue for the first time.  By all accounts it was a long (final pitch at 21.19) but very enjoyable day. 

London Mets (12-1) and Bracknell Blazers (10-1)went into the event as the top two teams in they league and they cemented their positions at the NBL summit by beating Richmond Flames (7-4) and Croydon Pirates (4-7) respectively. 

Southampton Mustangs (5-8) got their fifth win of the season, beating a depleted Mildenhall Bulldogs (4-7) team with the United States Air Force team taking the field with only 8 players due to various regulars being away on assignment.  Herts Falcons (4-7) also picked up a win for their home fans in a thrilling encounter against Essex Arrows (0-11).  The Arrows are still without a win in their debut NBL season, but they came out of the game proud that they had “put on a show worthy of the 1st National league game to grace the new facility [the second diamond at Grovehill Ballpark]” and it’s surely only a matter of time before they break their duck.

Simon Fitzjohn has all the details at the BBF website.

All eyes will be on Bracknell on Sunday as the Blazers host the Mets in a top of the table clash.  The Flames host the Pirates, the Mustangs host the Falcons and the Arrows travel to RAF Feltwell to take on the Bulldogs.

The successful Summer Classic format is scheduled to be repeated on Saturday 3 July at the NBC Independence Day Weekend, with the venue still to be decided.  Definitely something to look out for.

Tigers on the prowl, Kings continue to reign

The hotly-contested AAA-North league took another turn on Sunday as the league-leading Liverpool Trojans (10-4) were beaten twice by Manchester A’s (8-4).  The opener pitted two of the best young British pitchers against each other, Ron Vondy for the Trojans and Ben Pearson for the A’s.  Pearson pitched a five-inning perfect game on 2 May against Halton Jaguars and he showed similar form in this game, helping the A’s to a 4-1 win in a game described by the Trojans as “a great advert for British baseball, with both teams displaying high levels of skill and endeavour”.  A five-run top of the seventh by Manchester proved decisive in the second game as the A’s completed the double-header sweep with a 10-7 win.

That opened the door for Harrogate Tigers (9-3) and they took their opportunity by getting two wins away to Glasgow (1-11).  Tyler Smith pitched a no-hitter on his Tigers debut in the opener and a 7-7 extra-innings victory in the second game brought Harrogate level at the top of the league with the Trojans, while having two games in hand.  Menwith Hill Patriots (8-4) won both games of a double-header against Halton Jaguars (2-12)in the other contest.

The top two teams in the South met for a double-header in Oxford and the Kings (8-0) made home-field advantage count by beating Bracknell Inferno (5-3) twice by scores of 5-3 and 7-5.  Herts Eagles (6-2) won both games of a double-header away to London Metros (2-4) to leap up into second place, setting up yet another top-of-the-table encounter this Sunday as the Eagles and Kings meet in Oxford. 

Piranhas remain perfect, Maple Leafs march on, Torrent are tremendous

In the South, Poole Piranhas (6-0) made it six wins from six as they got the better of their closest rivals in Pool A: Windsor Bears (6-3).  The Bears looked well on their way to landing Poole with their first loss of the year after an eight-run fourth inning, but the Piranhas fought back and took a 14-9 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning.  Windsor rallied and reduced the deficit to two runs, but Poole held on to maintain both their unbeaten run and their place at the top of the league with a 14-12 win.  The top two teams in Pool B also met on Sunday and it was the road team that came out on top yet again with Richmond Knights (5-1) beating Essex Archers (4-2) 19-7.  The highlight of this Sunday’s round of games will be at Townmead, Waltham Abbey, where the Archers host the Poole Piranhas.

In the Midlands, Mildenhall Bulldogs 2’s (3-2) unbeaten start to the season came to an end as the Birmingham Maple Leafs (7-2) took two wins from their rivals.  The Bulldogs’ second team suffered from the same player shortage as their first team had done the previous day, but Birmingham still had to play well to win the contests and they did just that, taking a tight 1-0 victory in the opener and then pouring on the runs at the end of the second to run away with an 18-5 win.  The Maple Leafs host the Leicester Blue Sox’s (3-3) first team this weekend, with Blue Sox 2 (0-6) hosting Bulldogs 2.

In the North, Manchester Torrent (8-2) replicated the success of their clubmates, the A’s, by earning two wins against Oldham North Stars (0-10).  That gives Torrent a two game lead over Bolton Robots of Doom and Sheffield Bladerunners (both 5-3), but things could look very different at the end of Sunday as Torrent travel to Bolton for a double-header (yes, another top-of-the-table clash!).

Rays turn a triple play, Clippers win again

In the A-League, Braintree Rays (4-1) scored 37 runs against the rookie Herts Raptors (0-6) yet it was a fielding play rather than the offensive outburst that will live in the memory for their players.  Third baseman Brian Barrett and first baseman Glenn Barton combined in the fifth inning to complete the team’s first ever triple play before the game was called in the seventh inning.  Chelmsford Clippers (4-3) made it two wins on the spin with an 11-8 victory over Guildford Mavericks (4-2), earning their first home win at Melbourne Field, while Bracknell Pyros (0-6) had to forfeit their game against Tonbridge (3-3), handing the latter a 9-0 win.

This Sunday, the Richmond Dragons (7-0) put their unbeaten record on the line in an away game against the Guildford Mavericks, the Clippers look for their third straight win with a game against the Raptors and there’s an interesting game in prospect between the Old Timers (3-2) and Braintree Rays.

Further details

As always, full details on results and fixtures from the British Baseball leagues can be found on the British Baseball Federation website.