![\"BBB\"](\"https:\/\/baseballgb.co.uk\/wp-content\/BBB.png\" "\\"BBB\\"")
The Richmond Flames maintained their one-game lead over the Southampton Mustangs in Pool A of the National Baseball League after the games last Sunday.<\/p>\nThe Richmond Flames maintained their one-game lead over the Southampton Mustangs in Pool A of the National Baseball League after the games last Sunday.<\/p>\n
Both teams swept double-headers<\/a>, over the the Bracknell Blazers and Essex Arrows respectively.\u00c2\u00a0 Only the top team will automatically qualify for the National Baseball Championships, so there is more than bragging rights at stake between the sides the rest of the way.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n The Lakenheath Diamondbacks are still on course to make it straight to the NBC from Pool B, but the London Mets split a double-header with the Pool-leaders on Sunday to move into second place and to keep alive their hopes of staging a late charge on the top spot.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n The NBL\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s playoffs will be contested between the third to sixth-best teams by win-loss record regardless of which Pool they are in.\u00c2\u00a0 Right now, that would pit the Southampton Mustangs against the Bracknell Blazers and the London Mets against the Southern Nationals over the weekends of the 10th and 17th.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n This Sunday, the Diamondbacks host the Southern Nationals, the Arrows host Herts Falcons and \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in what may be a NBL playoff preview – the Mustangs host the Bracknell Blazers.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/p>\n AAA: Jaguars jump on the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s, Redbacks split with the Badgers<\/strong><\/p>\n The AAA-North was the source of a couple of bits of gloomy news over the past week.<\/p>\n The Menwith Hill Patriots have had to withdraw from the league as they are unable to field a team due to U.S. military operations understandably taking precedence.\u00c2\u00a0 Meanwhile the Liverpool Trojans are having to contend with their local council \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Sefton \u00e2\u20ac\u201c proposing to turn their playing field over to housing.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s believed that baseball has been played at Bootle Stadium since 1948.\u00c2\u00a0 Keep an eye on the Trojans\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 website<\/a> and Twitter feed for news and any ways that the rest of the British baseball community can help their cause.<\/p>\n On the field, the Manchester A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Halton Jaguars are now locked in a battle for second place behind the Trojans, with the winner joining Liverpool directly in the NBC.\u00c2\u00a0 The Jaguars beat the A\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s 15-5 on Sunday<\/a> to take a 1.5 game lead in the standings.<\/p>\n In the AAA-South, the Essex Redbacks still have an outside chance of catching the Bristol Badgers at the top of the division after the two teams split a double-header on Sunday.\u00c2\u00a0 The Badgers took the opener 9-5 to make it seven wins in a row, but the Redbacks fought back in the second game with an 11-3 victory.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n You would still expect Bristol to take the division and move straight on to the NBC. That leaves the Redbacks, London Metros and the Oxford Kings competing for the two playoff spots<\/p>\n AA: North Stars win!<\/strong><\/p>\n There were a couple of surprises in the AA-North on Sunday.\u00c2\u00a0 The Bolton Robots of Doom lost for only the second time this season, splitting a double-header against the Humber Pilots.\u00c2\u00a0 And the Oldham North Stars won not only their first game of the season<\/a>, but their first game since 2008!<\/p>\n In the Midlands, the Nottingham Rebels beat the Birmingham Maple Leafs to move within half a game of their opponents in the standings.\u00c2\u00a0 While the MK Bucks look all-but-certain to win the division, the battle between the Rebels and Maple Leafs will determine which team joins the Bucks in the AA playoffs and which goes on to the A playoffs.\u00c2\u00a0 The third-placed team is likely to be joined in the A playoffs by Leicester Blue Sox as they condemned the Blue Sox 2 to their fifteenth straight loss on Sunday.\u00c2\u00a0 The Blue Sox host the Bucks at Western Park this Sunday.<\/p>\n In the South, the Latin Boys beat the Essex Redbacks 2 by a score of 24-17 to improve their season record to 13-2 and to maintain their 4.5 game lead at the top of Pool A despite the Essex Archers winning their game against Brentwood Stags 10-9.\u00c2\u00a0 Croydon Pirates III could still battle with the Archers for second place, but they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need to win their games in hand to give them a decent chance.<\/p>\n In Pool B, the race for the top two places looks to still be between four teams.\u00c2\u00a0 The Guildford Mavericks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 victory over fellow contenders the Poole Piranhas keeps them in first place and with the best shot at securing a playoff berth.\u00c2\u00a0 The Piranhas have games in hand on those around them and would overtake the current second-placed team, the Sidewinders, if they won the four games they have in hand on them. The Thames Valley Bisons also are still in with a shout and the play against the Sidewinders this Sunday. The Mavericks host a double-header against the Stags this Sunday, while the Piranhas face the Richmond Dragons.<\/p>\n A: Mustangs get back on the winning trail<\/strong><\/p>\n The Southampton Mustangs II rebounded from their first loss of the season against Cambridge the previous Sunday by defeating the Braintree Rays19-9.\u00c2\u00a0 The Royals made it ten wins from ten with a 21-1 victory on the road against Tonbridge.\u00c2\u00a0 Both of the current Pool-leaders will be heading to the playoffs where initially they will face the second-placed team from the opposite pool.<\/p>\n