BBF Round-up: The sun comes out and the baseballers stay home
On a weekend that the British baseballing public had been crying out for during much of last season, only a handful of clubs were able to take advantage of the pleasant weather as most Midlands and Southern divisions went on a brief break (likely a scheduled slip-weekend in case of early season rain).
The only divisions that had been properly affected by the weather so far were in the north, where in fact there was a full schedule. And, unfortunately, the first forfeits of the year. Still, having taken around 75 completed games to get to the first forfeit, things are perhaps looking a little brighter for the divisions.
The team that couldn’t complete their fixtures was Menwith Hill Patriots (AAA North), who for the second time in three years look like they might struggle again as personnel issues blight the air force base side. The beneficiaries were the Cartmel Valley Lions, who leapt into second place after the Halton Jaguars had little answer to the Liverpool Trojans in their double-header.
The Trojans started slowly by their own standards but soon stated their dominance en route to a well-earned sweep, placing them top of the division again and a half game ahead of the Lions in second. Halton dropped to third, as they and the Lions look set to play for second place if history is anything to go by.
In AA North the Hull Scorpions benefited from some good weather in picking up another two victories – their fifth and sixth of the season – to remain unbeaten against last year’s division champions the Sheffield Bladerunners, who were struggling for numbers. The Harrogate Tigers kept pace with the Scorpions, moving to 4-1 on the season with a sweep of the Oldham North Stars, while the Manchester As picked up their season to move to 4-2. The bottom four teams have three wins between them so far, but that will change if the weather provides them the opportunity to play this weekend.
AA South saw the London Mammoths turn a game-ending triple play over the Sidewinders to win the first of their twin-bill, winning the second as well to move to 3-2 on the season and inflict the snakes’ first defeats of the year, leapfrogging their guests in the process. The South London Pirates III just about edged past Brentwood Stags for their first win, both teams now owning 1-2 records after the first month of the season.
And in Single-A South, the Haverhill Blackjacks made it third time lucky against the odds in a win at Tonbridge Bobcats. The potent Bobcats’ offence was stifled for only seven runs as the division appeared to show signs of slowing down; Haverhill scored 15 as they moved to 1-2 and kept pace in Pool B.
The only action in the National Baseball League pitched two high-flyers against one another on Saturday afternoon in Finsbury Park. The London Mets, who hadn’t played since opening day, picked up another sweep to move to 4-0 as they pushed past Herts Falcons (who surrendered the division lead and moved to 5-3).
This week, action in the leagues returns to most parts of the country, as does the inevitable rain!
In the NBL, the Mets put their unbeaten record on the line at home to the Essex Redbacks, while the Falcons will have to stand around and watch as other teams have the chance to pull away at the top. The Harlow Nationals (2-4) face the Lakenheath Diamondbacks (3-3) in a repeat of the 2011 National Baseball Championships final, with both teams needing wins to restore hopes of a decent position come the end of the campaign. The Bracknell Blazers (3-3) host the Southampton Mustangs (5-1) in what could be a fiery and close contest while at the bottom of the league, the Essex Arrows and South London Pirates (both 2-4) square off in Croydon.
In AAA North the Trojans have a chance to inflict even more pain on the Menwith Hill Patriots while the Cartmel Valley Lions and Halton Jaguars fight for second place in their pair. In the Midlands, Stourbridge Titans (0-3) again go for their first ever wins in a twin bill at Birmingham Maple Leafs (1-5) while Leicester Blue Sox (1-2) travel to Milton Keynes to face the Bucks (3-0). Wins for the Bucks will see them join the Rebels at the top of the AAA division.
AAA South the Oxford Kings (3-1) take on the Richmond Knights (0-4) while the other winless side, Herts Ravens (0-4) travel to take on the Bristol Badgers (3-3) who have perhaps been the surprise of the division having ‘only’ managed a .500 record so far. Last year’s NBC semi-finalists Cambridge Royals (4-2) take on Leones de Feltham (2-2), with the London Mets II and London Metros having a week off following after the postponement of their anticipated clash on Bank Holiday Monday until next Saturday.
AA North pits the league leaders together as Hull (6-0) and Harrogate (4-1) play off at the Tigers’ field, while teams in the bottom four fight to stay with the peloton. The Sheffield Bladerunners (0-4) will be hopeful of getting their first wins of the season on the board in the defence of their title, but Oldham North Stars (1-3) will be eager to prevent that. The Bolton Robots of Doom (1-4), who bossed the division just a couple of years ago, face their first ever trip to Newton Aycliffe to take on the 1-3 Spartans.
Down in the AA South things are full up as well, with last weekend’s winners the South London Pirates III and London Mammoths putting their streaks on the line on Saturday afternoon, before Sunday brings the thunder. Double headers between the Brentwood Stags (1-2) and Hove Tuesday (2-1), Kent Mariners (0-4) and Herts Hawks (1-2) will see a little position fought for at the bottom of the division, while the Sidewinders (2-2) and Guildford Mavericks (3-0) slug it out at the top and co-leaders Richmond Dragons (4-1) make a trip to the south coast to take on Southampton Mustangs II (0-3), who are due a big performance.
Following their maiden win last week in Single-A South, Haverhill Blackjacks (1-2) welcome the Old Timers (1-1) to Suffolk, while the other Pool B teams (Essex Redbacks II and Essex Archers – both 1-1) host Guildford Mavericks II (1-1) and Milton Keynes Coyotes (2-0) respectively. London Marauders (1-1) face Tonbridge Bobcats (2-1) in Kent. The other two games see the longest and shortest journeys respectively, as the Leicester 2Sox (1-1) make their way down to face Richmond Dukes (0-2) while the all-Herts matches involve the 2-0 Raptors and 0-2 Eagles in Hemel Hempstead.