Hert-breaking loss for Dukes
Basing Hill, London, Sunday 10th July 2022
By Alvin Michael | alvinmichael.com | @AlvinMicWrites
Herts Londoners extended their lead atop of the BBF Single A South Central-A division with two wins over Richmond Dukes, but it was far from easy for the home side.
Londoners were favourites going into the doubleheader having a superior win-loss record, but Dukes did not let that statistic daunt them. Richmond came out firing on all cylinders from the first pitch, taking the lead in the top of the first, and held onto it for almost the entire game. They competed and battled Herts to the very end, only narrowly losing the first game 9-8 in an extra-inning walk-off, having been one strike away from winning it in regular innings.
In the third inning, Herts’ Kenny Liao had a two RBI double and later scored himself on a wild pitch to level the score 3-3, but Richmond hit back immediately, with RBI singles by Henry Slesser and Andy Nendick, to take a 6-3 lead halfway through the fourth. Herts were not about to be beaten just yet. They proved why they had only lost four games all year. A steely determination and quietly confident, they chipped away at the lead and kept Richmond off the board in the top of the last, to give themselves a chance for a comeback. Richmond starting pitcher, Sam Hofbeck, retired the first two batters in a flash. Herts were down to their final out and still one run behind. Rob Jones stepped up to pinch hit for Jack Page - a roll of the dice by manager Aspi Dimitrov that paid off. Down 0-2 in the count, Jones came up with a clutch double to centre field and became the tying run on second base. Jason Reynolds followed up with a single to centre field on a 2-2 count to score Jones, and take the game into extra innings.
It was a devastating blow to Richmond and, simultaneously, a life-saver for Herts that seemed to tilt the scales of momentum towards the home side. Richmond regrouped quickly and scored two runs in the top of the sixth, but Herts finished the stronger side. Singles by Zak Beller, Kenny Liao and Greg Bochan helped to score the 3 runs they needed to end the game.
As the blistering heat continued to sap Richmond’s energy, the heart-braking game one loss swung the pendulum firmly over to the home side for game two. Making very few mistakes themselves, and capitalising fully on Dukes’ errors, Londoners played fundamentally sound baseball. They took the lead in the bottom of the first inning, after Dukes had scored two runs to start the game, and extended it further in the second and third, to eventually win 9-2 in five innings.
Kenny Liao continued his hot streak from the first game, going 3-for-3 in game two with a double, three RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases. Sonam Lama also contributed to the Herts win with a 2-for-3 performance, including one RBI, three runs scored and two stolen bases.
Evan Burkes in the middle of the line-up was the top Richmond performer going 3-for-3 at the plate. Toby Reynolds added two hits to maintain his team-leading .591 batting average for the season, and Monty Nendick and Alvin Michael added a 2-for-2 performance each. Unfortunately for Richmond, there was very little production from the rest of their line-up. It was sporadic and wearied, never quite able to build any impetus with a string of consecutive hits, they left 8 runners stranded in game two.
Those losses now leave Richmond three games back of the playoff places in Single A South Central-B. They continue their difficult road trip on Sunday 17th July in Hemel Hempstead to face-off against division leaders Herts Hawks. This will undoubtedly be their toughest test of the season against the third best team in Single A, but with their season on the line, they’ll have to play fearlessly and ride a little luck when it comes their way.