Hawks soar in rising heat
Grovehill Park, Hemel Hempstead, Sunday 18th July 2022
By Alvin Michael | alvinmichael.com | @AlvinMicWrites
Herts Hawks battled the unbearable heatwave and outlasted Richmond Dukes to win both games of their doubleheader this past Sunday.
Amber heat warnings by the Met Office were in place and, despite the 9am first pitch, the temperature was blisteringly hot and rising. Both teams suffered through the difficult conditions and bravely competed to put on an excellent display of baseball.
After a scoreless opening inning to game 1, the bats came alive, Herts putting up five runs in the second. Richmond hit back right away, punctuated by a three-run home run from Sam Hofbeck to cut the deficit to one run. Herts’ offence kept on hitting through the third and fourth inning, aided by multiple Richmond errors, and Richmond’s offence couldn’t keep pace. By the start of the fifth, Hawks were up 12-6 and added four more runs to take a 10-run lead into the last inning. The gap was too big to bridge for Richmond, and Herts kept them scoreless, recording the final three outs to win 16-6.
Game 2 was a much closer contest with Richmond taking a momentary lead in the third, and the score tied going into the bottom of the fourth inning. Richmond looked to their horse, Sam Hoffbeck, to shut down the Hawks’ offence. His stuff was good on the day, but he struggled with command, throwing more balls than strikes, walking six and only striking out five over four innings of work. Herts struggled to adjust to Hofbeck early on, but they fully capitalised on every scoring opportunity. They were aggressive on the base paths, stealing bags at will and scoring on several wild pitches.
The decisive game-changing moment came in the fourth inning that swung it firmly in the favour of the home side. Up by a run, Richmond needed another strong inning to pile on the pressure on their hosts. Uncharacteristically, and for the first time this season, they simply capitulated under the midday sun. Herts retired all three batters on three pitches in the top of the fourth - two groundouts and a pop out. No sooner had Dukes returned to their dugout for some much-needed respite, were they ambling out to take the field again, and trying to stave off the advancing Herts attack. This rare feat was a huge boost for Herts both mentally and physically. Like a heavyweight boxer sensing their opponent was ripe for the knockout punch, they pounced and made Richmond pay dearly. Herts finally made the adjustment at the plate against Hoffbeck and launched some hard line drives and fly balls to centre and left field, racking up five runs to go into the last inning with a healthy lead. Dukes tried to mount a comeback and did manage to score one run, but it was merely a consolation, as Herts eventually wrapped up the game neatly.
It was a disappointing end to a difficult day for Dukes, but not for a lack of effort. Debutant Stella Veski was the standout performer for Richmond following her move from local rivals London Minotaurs. After just one training session with her new team, she rose to the challenge of catching both games brilliantly. And at the plate, she recorded her first hit of the year, an RBI single to left field. She also had one stolen base and scored one run. Cam Esmond has been working hard in the cages to improve his swing, and that hard work has started to bear fruit, as he stroked a bullet line drive single to right field in game one.
Hope still remains for Richmond to sneak into the playoffs this year, but they can’t afford too many more slip-ups along the way. Next up is another road trip to face London Mustangs in an inter-division match up. Like Richmond, Mustangs also occupy third place in the South Central-A division and will be hoping for a similar strong finish to their season. Their recent sweep of London Minotaurs will be a welcome gift to Richmond, but should be accepted with a warning of their pedigree. It shapes up to be an interesting and exciting contest, but mercifully, a much cooler one.