The sun has got its hat on, and hopefully it’s here to stay

Well how about that?! The sun has finally come out now the school holidays have begun. Isn’t that a twist of fate that laughs in the face of sod’s law!

After four weekends of substantial wet weather, and a couple of other Sundays where standing water hadn’t drained, many teams have entered the summer with less than half the season completed and only three weeks until the playoffs.

Most of those teams are in the lower divisions, so let’s work our way up this week from Single-A South.

Unsurprisingly, two of the last three unbeaten sides in the country swept aside their opponents as the London Marauders and Hove Tuesday booked their places in the playoffs with mercy-rule wins over the Herts Eagles and Essex Redbacks III respectively. The Herts Raptors went down in a close game to the Guildford Mavericks II, but should the Old Timers again not go through to take a playoff spot then the Raptors are still well placed to join the Essex Archers from Pool A. The Old Timers themselves secured a true-to-form win against the Richmond Dukes, moving to 5-2, in the only other contested game in the division.

AA North also saw a couple of belters. The rain had wiped out more of the schedule in the division than anywhere else in the country, the Harrogate Tigers won twice against the Newton Aycliffe Spartans to put pressure on the Sheffield Bladerunners, who split with the Hull Scorpions, both teams edging real thrillers during the afternoon, making it close again at the top of the table. The Oldham North Stars split with the Manchester Torrent, doubling the North Star’s 2011 tally, but the Torrent will almost certainly still take the fourth playoff spot in the division.

The Nottingham Rebels lost for the second time in a fortnight, proving the old adage that buses come around more regularly when you’ve been waiting a while, as the Milton Keynes Bucks won big in the first game with a mercy rule win in six frames, but a walk-off two-run home run in the second fixture from Sebastian O’Dell handed the Rebels both the match and the 2012 AA Midlands title. The Leicester Blue Sox comfortably dispatched new rivals the Stourbridge Titans, outscoring them 60-8 over two games, and they put pressure on the Bucks in second place to see who will fight for the AA National Title, and who will battle for Single-A. Leicester are currently half a game back, but there’s all to play for in the final few weeks.

Down in Croydon, six teams from AA South battled out with the Poole Piranhas and Latin Tigers taking the spoils. The Piranhas beat the Essex Redbacks II and London Mammoths to stay second in Pool A, while the Mammoths bounced back with a win over the Croydon Pirates III to ensure a team from the capital will be in the AA South playoffs. It was all a far cry from the wet weather experienced at the London Tournament last week, and the heat boiled over as the Latin Tigers swept the Richmond Dragons, ending the Dragons’ playoff hopes but not really changing the course of their own season given their results earlier this year. The Sidewinders moved back to top of Pool B with two wins over the Kent Mariners, while the Daws Hill Spitfires took two from the Brentwood Stags to secure at least fourth spot, and the final playoff berth, in the division. The Herts Hawks and Thames Valley Bisons didn’t play, as I’ll explain later.

Up a ladder, and the Essex Redbacks stayed top of Pool B in AAA South as they split against the London Metros. Two wins would have all-but handed them the title, but as is it still comes down to the last game of the season against the Cambridge Royals, after the Royals won two forfeits over the Windsor & Bracknell Bears. The Bristol Badgers ended the Latin Boys’ playoff hopes with a sweep, and the Oxford Kings ended the Richmond Knights’ threat with two wins as well, meaning the Kings and Badgers are joint on top of Pool A.

Across the country, the Liverpool Trojans lost for the second time this season in a close extra-innings affair with the Menwith Hill Patriots, but only after they’d already secured one win and with it top billing in AAA North. Cartmel Valley Lions stayed second with two big wins over the Manchester As, while Bolton and Halton didn’t play as the Robots of Doom were at an international tournament in Holland.

And finally, in the NBL, the Southampton Mustangs got back to big winning ways by picking up a crucial victory against the Lakenheath Diamondbacks. The D’backs were threatening an end-of-season run at the title, but with this defeat the most they can hope for is a top five finish meaning a playoff spot, but not a guaranteed NBC entry. The D’backs had split on Saturday in a make-up fixture against the London Mets, while the Mets fell to the Harlow Nationals in extra innings on Sunday, which allowed Harlow to move further clear at the top and the Mustangs moved into third. The Herts Falcons beat the Bracknell Blazers to stay a strong second and in an NBC berth.

Lakenheath’s defeat changed little for the Essex Arrows, who fell to the Croydon Pirates with Tim Ssali putting in a mammoth effort from the mound and in the batters box, standing out on a day when everyone in the league put in a shift.

The sun is set to be a fixture for the next week, drying out everything left ruined by the rain, so it’ll be crucial for sides to complete, and win, their games and any remaining matches over the next few weeks – no one will really care about the Olympics seeing that neither baseball nor softball is featured, will they?!

NBL

London Mets at Southampton Mustangs, Essex Arrows at Bracknell Blazers, Lakenheath Diamondbacks at Harlow Nationals, Herts Falcons at Croydon Pirates

The most tantalising fixtures next week will be between the London Mets and Southampton Mustangs. A sweep for the Mustangs will give them a real edge for the NBCs, while two wins for the Mets will see the London side replace Southampton in third place. The Nationals will face a stern test in last year’s NBL runners-up, the D’backs, but on form it would favour the hosts to stay top of the pile, as the Falcons will likely beat the Croydon Pirates to make it a two or three-way race once again down to the wire. The Arrows-Blazers have little more than pride to play for, while many of the Blazers have recently returned from GB duties and will want to put what they’ve learned into practice.

AAA North

Liverpool Trojans at Bolton Robots of Doom, Menwith Hill Patriots at Cartmel Valley Lions, Halton Jaguars at Manchester As

The Trojans can wrap up their third successive title with another sweep of the Robots of Doom, which is likely on current form, while the game between the Halton Jaguars and Manchester As bears little consequence outside of completing the season and ensuring good competition for the teams. The big crunch will be between the Cartmel Valley Lions and Menwith Hill Patriots; a sweep for either team puts them back in the driving seat for second place, the only other playoff berth, in the six-team division.

AAA South

Cambridge Royals at Latin Boys, Richmond Knights at Bristol Badgers, Oxford Kings at London Metros

The Royals need two wins at the Latin Boys to keep pressure up at the top of Pool B, while the Bristol Badgers will stay at least in a share of top spot in Pool A with a sweep of the Richmond Knights. The London Metros might not be able to make the playoffs, but can dent the Oxford Kings’ hopes of a guaranteed NBC place with any success at Finsbury Park in their double-header.

AA North

Manchester Torrent at Sheffield Bladerunners, Newton Aycliffe Spartans at Hull Scorpions, Harrogate Tigers at Oldham North Stars

The Sheffield Bladerunners can confirm their divisional championship with two wins against the Manchester Torrent, while the Harrogate Tigers can secure their AA playoff spot and runners-up position with two wins over the Oldham North Stars. The Hull Scorpions will hope to capitalise on any scores that don’t run true-to-form as they’ll likely beat the Newton Aycliffe Spartans.

AA Midlands

Birmingham Maple Leafs at Stourbridge Titans, Leicester Blue Sox at Milton Keynes Bucks

The first duties of the new Midlands champions is to have the weekend off. The Birmingham Maple Leafs will keep pressure on the final AA playoff spot with a win over the Stourbridge Titans, while the Milton Keynes Bucks and Leicester Blue Sox face off for a possible shoot-out for second place in the league as well.

AA South

Essex Redbacks II at Guildford Mavericks, Thames Valley Bisons at London Mammoths, Latin Tigers at Brentwood Stags, Herts Hawks at Southampton Mustangs, Sidewinders at Richmond Dragons, Daws Hill Spitfires at Kent Mariners

The Guildford Mavericks put their unbeaten season on the line against the Essex Redbacks II, while the Brentwood Stags will look to win their first game of the year against the resurgent Latin Tigers. The Southampton Mustangs will need a win to continue their pressure on teams around them by hosting the post-season bound Herts Hawks, while the London Mammoths and Sidewinders will be fighting to win and secure home advantage against the Thames Valley Bisons and Richmond Dragons respectively. The Daws Hill Spitfires put their little streak on the line against the Kent Mariners as they could make a move to a slightly higher playoff spot if results go their way. Currently the Croydon Pirates III and Poole Piranhas – who have a postponed game earlier in the season to make up – are scheduled to have a weekend off.

A South

Essex Redbacks III at Guildford Mavericks II, London Marauders at Old Timers, Hove Tuesday at Essex Archers

The Guilford Mavericks II host the Essex Redbacks III as part of a festival between the two sides this weekend, while the London Marauders and Old Timers revisit their rivalry in Enfield with both sides looking set to meet again in the playoffs should the ‘Timers take their place. Hove Tuesday and the Essex Archers should both produce top quality baseball as two of the best three sides in the division face off, and could likely produce another playoff tie later in the season as well!

Although all of the schedule is looking good and the sun is finally out, it is with sadness that I must break the final story this week. The Thames Valley Bisons player Daniel Kaleta passed away last week. As a mark of respect, the Herts Hawks – their scheduled opponents on Sunday – postponed the match. The thoughts of the British Baseball community are with Daniel’s family and friends, and the Bisons ‘ball Club.