Early runners and riders set to shine

Following the Herts and Leicester Spring Leagues and the first two weekends of the NBL, the British Baseball community is beginning to see who’s shaping up for a big year over the 2012 summer.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, after their massive recruitment drive, the Herts Falcons have set off at a good early pace against the rest of the pack in the NBL. After a disappointing campaign last time round, the Falcons have won all four of their match-ups so far, sweeping a youthful Bracknell Blazers team on the opening weekend and then casting aside the Essex Arrows – themselves winning twice on opening day – in two games on Easter Sunday.

Close behind are the Harlow (nee Southern) Nationals, who are aiming to reclaim their crown after a great 2011, as they too took two from Bracknell on Easter to leave the Blazers hoping for a resurrection of form if they’re to be more competitive this season.

On Sunday we’ll see the London Mets (1-1 after splitting with Nationals on opening day) will take on the Croydon Pirates (0-2 following defeat to the Arrows on 1 April) while the Southampton Mustangs (1-1) welcome Herts. Lakenheath Diamondbacks take on the Arrows having split on opening day with the Mustangs in pursuit of their second consecutive NBL pennant.

Elsewhere, the rest of the BBF leagues get underway for the first time this weekend, with youth matches taking place on Saturday and the senior circuit kicking off on Sunday.

Although there haven’t been many youth fixtures to report on over the winter, some of the GB Cadets, GB Juniors and the London Mets Pony team have had the opportunity to take part in adult baseball against teams in the Herts Spring League. For the Cadets and Juniors it was a chance to play together competitively outside of international tournaments, while the Mets Ponies had the chance to play top opposition prior to their appearance in Prague at the SUMA/PONY European Baseball Championship next week (18-22 April).

In the north and Midlands, developments have been given a boost thanks to the Leicester Spring League, where six teams were able to play competitively against one another in a pre-season tournament. The Nottingham Rebels edged out the Leicester Blue Sox in the final, while the Stourbridge Titans succumbed to the Hull Scorpions in the 3rd/4th place playoff. The Sheffield Bladerunners gave the Newton Aycliffe Spartans a hard time to clinch fifth.

With no teams from AAA North competing, the interest in that division will be immediate as the Liverpool Trojans look to remain unbeaten after last year’s Championship season. They take on the Halton Jaguars on Sunday, while Manchester As will pick up against the Menwith Hill Patriots. Newcomers Bolton Robots of Doom (promoted after their Championship-winning season) and Cartmel Valley Lions will square off in the other encounter, with other teams in the league probably hoping for a split as both are fancied to contend despite the step up.

In AA North advantage is with the Hull and Sheffield clubs having been able to get some pre-season baseball in to good effect, although the Spartans will hope to build on their first competitive matches against teams from the division. Hull take on the reformed Harrogate Tigers, while the Spartans welcome the Manchester Torrent, and the Bladerunners travel to Oldham. This division is up for grabs more than any other following the promotion of the Robots of Doom last year, and it’ll be interesting to see who emerges as contenders in the opening month.

In the Midlands, 2011 AA Champions the MK Bucks valiantly took on AAA contestants in the Herts Spring League, and will be hoping to replicate their 19-1 season with more winning and another pennant in 2012. The Blue Sox and Rebels have shown their worth early on, while the Maple Leafs will be hoping not to be left behind as the only side not to have played Spring League ‘ball, with the Titans rounding out the pack. The Bucks have a week off as the Leafs welcome the Sox and Stourbridge host Nottingham.

AA South is the biggest single division in 2012, and the Guildford Mavericks have already shown their hand in winning the Herts Spring League. They pipped the Essex Redbacks II to the title, with the Kent Mariners picking up third place. The Sidewinders and Herts Hawks both took on higher opposition in AAA so will be hoping to bring that to the fore when they get going again on Sunday.

A busy schedule means that the new Daws Hill Spitfires host the Poole Piranhas, Redbacks II host newly-promoted Southampton Mustangs II, Croydon Pirates III travel to the Brentwood Stags, the newly-formed Latin Tigers host another new team in the London Mammoths, the Herts Hawks welcome the Richmond Dragons, Kent Mariners travel to Thames Valley Bisons and Sidewinders take on Guildford in what should be the big contest between two history-laden and playoff-bound teams.

AAA South has been split into two pools, and the Cambridge Royals might emerge as early contenders after picking up the Spring League title. It included a win over the Essex Redbacks, their opponents this weekend, but pitching depth is still a worry for the newly promoted Royals.

No other team has shown what they’ve got to offer yet, so when the London Meteors take on the newly-promoted Latin Boys, Oxford Kings take on the Bristol Badgers and Windsor & Bracknell Bears play the Richmond Knights, more will be known about what level teams are at after the weekend.

And rounding it all off, Single-A South. The Mavericks II were able to get some good game time in prior to the start of the season, while players from the Redbacks III will have enjoyed some action at the Herts Spring League. The London Marauders also joined them there, so already these three have a head start on the other competition in the division.

The Essex Archers are still heavily fancied to win another playoff place having dropped down from AA last season, but take on the Redbacks III on Sunday in one of three all-Essex derbies this season. The other team, the Braintree Rays, host the Mavericks II, while Tonbridge Bobcats travel to take on Hove Tuesday in Brighton and the Richmond Dukes take on the Herts Eagles in another new match-up for the 2012 season.

In a weekend that is worth a flutter, it’ll take a strong gamble to say who prevail. But it’s clear to see that more teams than ever are determined to be successful this season.

Play ball!