The 2011 Herts Spring League begins this weekend. The Spring Training competition provides a great opportunity for teams to continue their preparations for the upcoming British baseball season.
The 2011 edition of what has quickly become an established annual event is bigger than ever.Â
Twenty teams will be competing over three weekends at four different venues. Herts and Richmond will once again be hosting games and Grovehill Ballpark and Ham Field will be joined this year by the Essex Arrows’ Townmead Field and Lakenheath Diamondbacks’ field at RAF Feltwell.
The Diamondbacks are one of four new teams that will use the HSL as a way to prepare for their debut seasons in the British Baseball leagues. Lakenheath are a United States Air Force team tipped to compete in the National Baseball League, the top-tier of British Baseball, alongside fellow newcomers and HSL participants the Southern Nationals. The Cambridge Royals and Essex Redbacks 2 are slated to play in the AA-South this year and will play some games in the ‘Minors’ competition in the HSL.
The action begins at Herts on Saturday. Four teams from the NBL – the Richmond Flames, Bracknell Blazers Southampton Mustangs and Herts Falcons – will meet with the AAA-South Essex Redbacks, the latter getting a chance to see how they match up against some top-tier teams.
There are then 13 games scheduled for Sunday: 5 at Herts, 3 at Richmond and 5 at RAF Feltwell.
Further details can be found on the HSL website.
The first round of games from the Herts Spring League (HSL) over the previous weekend gave all involved the chance to knock off some rust and ease their way into the 2010 British baseball season. We have baseball and British Summer Time, but the weather doesnt want to turn to springtime just yet.