Unbeaten streaks continue and leaders pull clear

The Liverpool Trojans moved to 12-0 in 2012, the Guildford Mavericks improved to a perfect 10 and the Essex Archers have yet to register a loss this season as three of the last five unbeaten sides who’ve played more than five games continued their terrific run of form last weekend.

In the NBL, while no team is unbeaten, the Croydon Pirates finally recorded their first win of the season by splitting against the Lakenheath Diamondbacks. Although it was by far the most anticipated game in the division, the split means the Diamondbacks missed out on the chance to catch up to the Essex Arrows, who lost both in Southampton to the Mustangs.

While the Arrows drop below .500 for the first time this season, the Mustangs propelled themselves to the top of the standings as the Harlow Nationals and Herts Falcons split their top-of-the-table clash at Grovehill Ballpark, while the London Mets won both matches against the Bracknell Blazers. Already the Blazers and Pirates appear out of the running for the playoffs, but with only three places automatically guaranteed for the main draw at the NBCs, four teams are within two games of one another at the top. The run-in will be epic and we will see some of the most amazing and competitive baseball this country has seen in living memory at the top level over the next two months.

And hopefully the weather will stay dry to allow it to happen.

One place that’s suffered for the rain this season is Manchester, where on Sunday the As were due to take on the Halton Jaguars in AAA North, but the field was flooded and no action was possible. The Trojans, as expected, beat the Bolton Robots of Doom – still winless – to stay top of the pile, with Rob Vondy throwing a no-hitter and Martin Godsall allowing just the one clean contact over their combined ten innings, while the Cartmel Valley Lions surprised the Menwith Hill Patriots in their own back yard; one by ten runs and one in extra innings, meant the newcomers leapfrogged their Air Force team, moving into second place. Chances are that the two of them will still have to playoff for the second spot at the NBCs, if two places are available to teams from the North as I perhaps too hastily ‘confirmed’ last week – the BBF hasn’t yet made an official announcement on that – but whatever happens it’s shaping up to be a cracking summer in the North’s top division.

AA North saw more uncompleted fixtures – the Oldham North Stars and Manchester Torrent saw a drenched diamond, as did the Hull Scorpions and Sheffield Bladerunners, but the Harrogate Tigers won both games convincingly against the Newton Aycliffe Spartans.

Slightly further south saw the Leicester Blue Sox and Milton Keynes Bucks split a pair in two close matches – a five-run rally in the seventh threatened a Blue Sox comeback in Game 1, only to fall a run short, but they recovered to win by four in the second fixture – while the Stourbridge Titans took on the Birmingham Maple Leafs in two big games for the playoffs. The experience of the Maple Leafs told, as they won both convincingly, effectively ending Stourbridge’s chances of going to the NBCs, but Birmingham will struggle to make the AA tournament and might have to settle for a second consecutive crack at the Single-A title.

Much further south saw the Poole Piranhas return to form with two big wins over the Latin Tigers, the Guildford Mavericks beat the Southampton Mustangs II twice and Sidewinders swept the Essex Redbacks II to ensure the league leaders stayed ahead of the chasing pack, while Croydon Pirates III and Richmond Dragons shared a split, the Thames Valley Bisons lost to Daws Hill Spitfires and Kent Mariners swept the Brentwood Stags to give themselves a chance of a playoff berth as the season gets going.

And in the country’s lowest competitive division, as mentioned the Essex Archers made it six of the best with another crushing win against the Herts Eagles, although conceded more than half of all their runs this season in so doing, while the Tonbridge Bobcats won their first game of the season by holding the Richmond Dukes to just four runs. Also held to four were the Essex Redbacks III, who lost to the Old Timers, while Hove Tuesday will pick up a forfeit win over the Braintree Rays, who have withdrawn from the league.

Rounding off the weekend’s action, AAA South saw a couple of wins for the Cambridge Royals over the Richmond Knights – one a close 3-1 game, the other a similarly close 23-19 victory – while the Essex Redbacks could only win one game against division rivals the London Metros. Indeed, Richard Chesterton was saddled with his second loss of the season after the Metros thumped their way to a 16-6 win in Game 1 – the first time the Redbacks have lost on slaughter in over a season. While the Bristol Badgers took two walkovers against the Bracknell & Windsor Bears, the Oxford Kings also picked up two wins on the Latin Boys, making Pool A a three-horse race and keeping it interesting for the second playoff spot in Pool B, assuming the Redbacks don’t slip up against their divisional rivals.

Although heavily dependent on the weather, the schedule for Sunday 17 June is full to the brim.

In Single-A, Hove Tuesday might finally play again when they travel to take on the London Maruaders at Finsbury Park, the Essex Archers will put their record on the line against another unbeaten team, the Old Timers, the Essex Redbacks III travel to the Guildford Mavericks II and the Herts Eagles and Herts Raptors will face off in a crucial game between the two sides.

Poole Piranhas and Guildford Mavericks will each be confident of winning against the Brentwood Stags and Richmond Dragons respectively, while the Southampton Mustangs II and Croydon Pirates III will play for the right to challenge for the third playoff place in Pool A of AA South. The Latin Tigers take on the Daws Hill Spitfires, while the Kent Mariners and Sidewinders, London Mammoths and Essex Redbacks II will tussle for position, pride and power in the playoff hunt in Pool B.

AA Midlands sees double-headers between the Maple Leafs and Blue Sox – whoever wins has the edge going into the race for third, or even second – while the Nottingham Rebels will want to win their sixth and seventh games of the year in two games against the Milton Keynes Bucks. A sweep for the Rebels all-but secures them the division, and thrusts the Bucks into a three-way fight for second, but if the Bucks can win two then the race is back on.

More double-headers are due in AA North. The Sheffield Bladerunners and Manchester Torrent play for a pair, while the Hull Scorpions will look to win two against the Spartans. The Harrogate Tigers will be confident of sweeping the Oldham North Stars, but despite the records suggesting some easy wins, there’s still all to battle for in the division; third and fourth for an easier or harder draw in the playoffs is likely to be the big talking point for the next few weeks.

Up one more flight of steps now, and AAA North has a few cracking fixtures to catch up on later in the year, although only reschedule rain-dates (not yet confirmed) would take place this weekend. Instead, AAA South has the major activity, with the Latin Boys travelling to the Essex Redbacks looking to capitalise on the league-leaders malfunction in Game 1 last weekend, while the London Metros and Cambridge Royals will fight tooth and nail to join the party. In Pool B, everyone’s beating up everyone else, but with wins already guaranteed for Oxford in Pool A, the Richmond Knights will need to at least secure a split against the Bristol Badgers to keep their hopes of a big fight for the title alive, else following their four consecutive defeats they could enter freefall.

And so to the NBL, the best that the country has to offer.

The Herts Falcons host the Southampton Mustangs in what would appear to be a must-win for the Falcons if they’re to cling to aspirations of winning the title. If Southampton sweep then they’ll be three and a half games clear of the Falcons, and likely assured of an NBC berth already barring a mid-season collapse. The Essex Arrows have a tough ask to get back to .500 when they host the Harlow Nationals, who would like a sweep themselves to chance going top of the division, while the London Mets will be confident of two wins over the Croydon Pirates to keep them in with a shout, as they have games in hand. Lakenheath need to ensure they don’t slip up against the Bracknell Blazers, as a sweep could put the 2011 runners-up in fifth place if results go their way elsewhere; a commanding fifth place with games to make up as well.