Richmond Baseball Club laid down an early marker for their BBF league rivals this week as they picked up the first available silverware of the season. In recent years the Herts Spring League has grown to become the BBF's defacto spring training competition, and this time around it was no different with eight of the ten National Baseball League clubs competing.
Week 1 of the competition saw the Richmond 'Majors' team (a combination of Flames and Knights players) face off against the AAA Essex Redbacks. In a one sided game from the off, Richmond rolled the Essex team over by a score of 8 - 1. This was followed up by a repeat of the 2010 NBL Championship game versus the Bracknell Blazers. the much anticipated matchup resulted in a case of deja vu however as Richmond saw off their West London rivals 11 - 2.
Sitting a top the division heading in week 2, Richmond needed only one more win to gurantee a place in the finals of the competition. Facing off against 2010 playoff contenders Southampton Mustangs first up, Richmond's solid defence and steady hittting secured the 5 - 0 win they needed. That wasn't all for the Richmond team however as they had one final game against the tournament hosts, Herts, to navigate. The desire to keep the one hundred per-cent record intact showed through from the off as Richmond worked hard in the field and on the mound to grind out a gritty 0 - 1 win.
Richmond's dominance of the group stage was rewarded with a HSL Final showdown against new boys on the block - the Southern Nationals. The much fancied Nationals team had been the talk of the off-season, making several high profile acquisitions from clubs all over the National League. The experienced afforded to the Richmond club during the 2010 playoff run paid dividends in the Championship game as they overcame the southern club 5 - 6 in a close but enjoyable affair.
Next week the Richmond Flames will kick off their 2011 National Baseball League campaign with a double header away at the Essex Arrows. The club could not be better prepared having gone 5 - 0 with 31 runs scored in their spring training fixtures.
Richmond Baseball Club also enetered a team into the HSL Minors Division. The rookie team found the going tough however and although playing some promissing baseball, failed to notch a mark in the win column.
For more information on the Hertsb Spring League and for full results and standings please visit - http://www.hertsbaseball.com/HSL/
