It was a glorious summer day on Sunday for all those involved in British baseball to enjoy. We had joy, we had sun, we had strikeouts and earned runs.

Or something like that.

As befitted a weekend of high temperatures, the hot teams stayed hot as several division leaders kept up their winning ways.

NBL: Lakenheath’s lead remains intact

The Lakenheath Diamondbacks are making a big impression in their debut season. 

The United States Army Air Force (USAAF) team were expected to be competitive, but they’ve really hit the ground running this year.  They lead Pool B by 2.5 games after picking up two more wins over their airbase rivals Mildenhall Bulldogs.  Form teams tend to find a way to win in close contests and that was the case here, with the Diamondbacks taking the first 5-4 and the second 3-2.

The Southern Nationals are the team trailing the Diamondbacks and they are another first-year club performing impressively.  The Nationals earned two wins at home to Herts Falcons on Sunday, making it seven victories from their last eight games. 

In Pool A, the top two teams stayed locked together as both had to settle for splits over the past weekend.  The Southampton Mustangs seemed reasonably satisfied with a share of the spoils from a road contest against the London Mets.  Meanwhile the Richmond Flames would have been expecting two wins at home against the Croydon Pirates; however the Pirates played brilliantly to take the opener and all the Flames could do from there was to win the second game to keep the Mustangs from taking sole possession of first place.

It’s the second ‘NBL Special Event’ of the season this Sunday as the Richmond Flames will be hosting a four-game extravaganza.  The BBF states that the baseball action will be complemented by “a BBQ and drinks tent by the field, PA announcers, a full bar in the clubhouse and ESPN America will be on site filming and interviewing for their website”.  The games begin at midday, so get down to Richmond’s ground if you’re in the area for a great day of baseball and possibly a starring role on ESPN America. 

AAA: Trojans and Badgers keep ahead

There was no holding back the division leaders in AAA.  Liverpool Trojans remain unbeaten in the North as they improved to 11-0 with two victories against the Halton Jaguars, while the Bristol Badgers’ took a big step towards securing the division title with two wins over their closest rivals: the Essex Redbacks.

None of the above are in action this Sunday, so the chasing pack have a chance to pull back a game or two.  In the North, the Halton Jaguars and Manchester A’s will do battle at the latter’s Allen Field.  In the South, the Oxford Kings have recovered from a five-game losing streak by winning their last three, all against the London Metros including a sweep on Sunday.  The Kings have two home games against the Windsor and Bracknell Bears this Sunday before taking on the Badgers on 17 July.

AA: Bolton and Bucks get the brooms out

Bolton Robots of Doom and the Milton Keynes Bucks both swept double-headers on Sunday to continue their march towards division titles. 

Bolton had been inactive since 22 May, but they quickly shook off any rust in two strong performances against the Sheffield Bladerunners, who had won three straight games heading into the contest.  As for the Bucks, they knew two wins against the Birmingham Maple Leafs would give them a four game cushion in the Midlands standings and that’s exactly the position they find themselves in, with the Bucks having just six games left to play in the regular season.

While the Bucks may be off and away, the Maple Leafs and Nottingham Rebels are now locked into a fascinating battle for second place.  The Rebels picked up two wins against the Leicester Blue Sox II team and are now 9-5 on the season after starting out with four straight losses. Their game against the Maple Leafs on 24 July could be decisive.

In the South, the Latin Boys and Guildford Mavericks split a double-header.  Latin Boys lead  Pool A and the edged the opener 7-5, only for the Mavs to hit back with an 11-1 victory in the second game.  With the Pool B leaders Sidewinders taking a split against Croydon Pirates III, the Mavericks are now just half a game behind them.  The Sidewinders are not scheduled to play this Sunday, so the Mavericks could jump ahead if they win both games of their double-header against the Pirates III.

A: Royals rampage on, Mustangs II do too

The Pool A leading Cambridge Royals improved to 7-0 on the season with an 18-3 victory over the Old Timers. 

The sun was blazing down on Coldham’s Common and one Old Timer got a little too hot under the collar, arguing his case one too many times and being ejected from the game as a result in the third inning.  The Royals were ahead 3-1 at this point after the Old Timers had been pegged back from an early 1-0 lead. 

Cambridge’s starting pitcher Raj Perera was not quite in tune with the umpire when it came to the strike zone and he ended up with eight walks against his name.  However, he battled to keep the baserunners from coming home and blanked the Old Timers in four of his six innings pitched, conceding three runs in total on the day. 

Despite leading 7-3 by the middle of the sixth inning, the Royals weren’t playing at the top of their game and a quick team talk was held to spark them into life.  The move had an instant impact as the Royals exploded for eleven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.  The run-fest was highlighted by a two-run homer by Mark Gilley.  He went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three driven in, while Perera backed up his pitching performance by knocking a single in each of his five at-bats and coming around to score four times.

Adam Brown pitched a three-up, three-down seventh inning, including two swinging strikeouts, to close out the game early with the Royals winning 18-3. 

The Royals and Old Timers will meet again on Sunday and Cambridge will be keen to keep their unbeaten run going prior to the big Single-A game on 17 July against the Southampton Mustangs II. The Mustangs II beat the London Marauders 27-10 on Sunday to improve to 9-0 and they host the Braintree Rays this weekend.

If you are looking for high drama and controversy, Croydon on a Sunday afternoon wouldn’t be the obvious place to start.  However, never underestimate the power of British baseball to turn preconceptions on their head.

The home town Pirates produced a stunning come-from-behind victory over the London Mets on Sunday, but the game ended with an almighty dispute amid calls for the contest to be replayed.

As explained in Simon Fitzjohn’s report, the Mets thought they had the game won in the ninth inning when, with the score 15-14 in their favour and two outs already recorded, a runner was seemingly tagged out at second base to end the game.

However, the umpire thought otherwise and called the runner safe. As an argument ensued, an opportunistic Pirate sailed home to tie the game at 15-15.  The Mets’ manager Alex Pike was none too pleased and when a passed ball allowed the Pirates’ winning run to score, he was apoplectic.

There are rumours that in the aftermath of the game the umpire asked for the Mets’ manager’s name, only for someone to shout “don’t tell him Pike”. Those rumours are as yet unconfirmed and most probably made up by myself.

The Mets (5-3) have an immediate opportunity to get the frustration out of their system this Sunday, but they’ve got two tough games at Finsbury Park against the Southampton Mustangs (10-3).  The Mustangs currently share first place in Pool A with Richmond Flames (10-3).  The Flames are hosting the Mets’ recent nemesis, the Pirates (3-10), in a double-header at Connare Field.  Continue reading →