Brave Dukes go down fighting
Connare Field, Richmond, Sunday 21st August 2022
By Alvin Michael | alvinmichael.com | @AlvinMicWrites | @alvinmicwrites
It was the final day of the regular season in the BBF Single A South Central A and B divisions, and despite the division winners having been confirmed weeks ago, there was still a lot at stake for several clubs with ambitions to make the postseason.
Richmond Dukes entered the day’s play lying in 4th position in South Central B, but only 1 game behind both London Minotaurs in 3rd and Formosa Islanders in 2nd. Only the top two earned a playoff berth, making Islanders firm favourites with a favourable match up at home against Herts Raptors, despite their talisman Peng Yu Yang being unavailable through injury. Raptors were rooted to the bottom of the table with only one win all season - a victory against Herts Eagles, another feeder team for the Herts organisation, who occupied last place in South Central A. Minotaurs had a tough match up on the road to Bracknell Inferno who were also fighting for 2nd place in South Central A.
Of all three teams in South Central B, Dukes had the toughest mountain to climb. They faced off against division winners Herts Hawks in the knowledge that even winning both games would not be enough. Dukes would need Islanders and Minotaurs to lose their final two games to leapfrog both teams into 2nd place. Despite the onerous task in front of them, Richmond were upbeat and full of confidence. They were underdogs with little to lose and played with a fearlessness that caught the visitors by surprise.
Hawks jumped out to an early 4-0 lead halfway through the first inning with a couple of hard hit singles and a couple of walks. A muffed catch on a routine flyball then allowed two runners to come home. That could have broken the spirits of most teams, but Dukes rallied around and quickly reset. Sam Hofbeck struck out Pedro Martins for the third out of the inning, which would prove to be a marker of things to come.
Richmond bounced back immediately, led off by their batting leader Gaston Farina, lining a drive to centre field. A combination of patience at the plate and barrelled up balls loaded the bases. With two outs Dukes’ bottom of the lineup remained unfazed and kept the hitting train rolling. Farina stepped up for his second at-bat of the inning as Richmond batted around the order, scoring four runs in the process to tie the game heading into the second inning.
After a slow start Hofbeck had now found his rhythm, and completely shut down Hawks’ offence. After the minor first inning setback, Dukes conceded only two more runs the rest of the game, with Hofbeck giving up just one hit and two walks, whilst striking out five over the next three innings. Dukes’ defence backed up Hofbeck whenever he needed them which was perfectly encapsulated by a stunning defensive play by 3B Jamie Griffith. Griffith, in his rookie season and just 14 years of age, sprinted back into deep foul territory on the third base side to snag a foul ball over his shoulder on the run.
Richmond did not take their foot off the throttle and broke the score wide open. They batted around the order again in the second inning, this time scoring five runs all on two outs to take the lead for good. Dukes stifled Hawks for the rest of the game, eventually winning by a score of 10-6. It was a comfortable victory for Dukes despite the close score line, and a massive boost to keep their season alive.
Game 2 picked up were game 1 left off. Dave Wrigley was now pitching for Richmond, and the veteran right-hander retired Hawks’ first three batters in order. Andy Nendick walked and scored the only run of the first inning before Dukes scored five in the home half of the second to take a commanding 6-1 lead into the third. Hawks needed to wake up, and wake up they did to start playing the type of baseball that had given them 17 wins prior to Sunday’s doubleheader. They scored ten unanswered runs through the third and fourth inning to turn the tie completely on its head. Dukes who had been playing so assured began to make uncanny errors in the field, which Hawks compounded on with quality at-bats. Danny Preston doubled to centre field, before Paul Le Guillou, Todd Neville and Pedro Martins hit back-to-back RBI singles in the third. Danny Preston put the cherry on top of his performance at the plate with a majestic 3 RBI home run to dead centre in the top of the fourth.
Richmond had dropped the ball, literally and figuratively, and their chances of victory and postseason play was ebbing away. Into the top of the fifth and down by five runs, they needed to stem the bleed. Richmond’s infield answered the call and played inspired defence. Hawks’ 7-8-9 hitters were up and Wrigley induced them all into ground ball outs in order. Rob Markiewicz at third base started it off with a nice throw across the diamond. Alvin Michael atoned for his earlier error with an incredible play at shortstop, charging in to scoop up a slow choppy grounder up the middle, transferred and fired the ball to first on the run in one fluid motion. Luke Ellet got the assist for the final out of the inning, gloving the ball at second and throwing to Paul Tiley at first base who made an outstanding back-handed pick in the dirt to secure the ball. It was the perfect response from Richmond - the roar from the dugout mixed with the guttural yells of delight on the field summed up the importance of this game and indicated how pivotal a moment in the contest this was. Dukes doubled down on their clean defensive inning by scoring three runs in the bottom half to swing the pendulum firmly back in their favour and close the gap to two runs.
Tensions were starting to run high, as the visitors were visibly showing their frustration at the umpire’s strike zone. A called balk which resulted in a 5 minute game delay exacerbated those feelings, and there was now a palpable sense that an improbable comeback and sweep was on the cards. Manager Paul Tiley, rolled the dice in the final inning, bringing on Sam Hofbeck in relief to try to keep the score close and give the hosts a fighting chance of victory. Declan Carlean tripled to start things off for Hawks and came home to score on a wild pitch that would later prove to be vital. But Hofbeck adjusted and struck out the side after issuing a couple of free passes. Richmond needed three runs to tie it and four to walk it off with the top of the order leading off. Luke Ellet reached first base on a defensive error and then scored on a ground rule double to left field by Andy Nendick. Hawks were reeling and on the ropes, but in an instant they were let off the hook after a couple of mental errors on the base paths gave them two outs in quick succession. Andy Nendick at second base, and then Alvin Michael at first base were caught flat-footed and easily picked off. Down to their last out, Dukes rallied once more, scoring another run and placing the tying run on second base, but they left the runner there, as Hawks recorded the final out to win 12-11.
It was another crushing 1-run defeat for Dukes, their fourth of the season. In the end, the final result was inconsequential as Formosa Islanders won both their games against Herts Raptors. The first was a 14-2 rout, but they made extremely hard work of the second as Raptors pushed them all the way, scoring eight runs in the top of the last before Islanders eventually won 15-14 in a nail-biting walk-off. Those two wins cemented a 2nd place finish for Islanders with an overall 13-11 record. London Minotaurs lost both their games to Bracknell Inferno. It was a disappointing end for Minotaurs who had started the season so brightly, and left them tied for 3rd place with Richmond Dukes on a 12-14 record. Meanwhile in South Central A, the two victories for Bracknell guaranteed their 2nd place finish and a spot in the postseason.
It wasn’t the finale Dukes were hoping for, but it has been a successful year for the club nonetheless, improving upon the seven-win total they had in 2021, and many more positives to take into the off-season. They’ll be looking to strengthen their squad and make another strong run at the postseason for 2023.
The BBF Single A postseason continues on Saturday 4th September with the wild card round for the South divisions featuring Kent Mariners @ Bracknell Inferno, Formosa Islanders @ Tonbridge Wildcats, and Herts Londoners @ Herts Hawks. The winners will advance to the semi-finals to join the newly crowned winners of the BBF Single A South West Championships, Bristol Bats.
Bristol had finished runners up in the Severn division regular season to Cardiff Merlins 1, and the two teams faced off in an evenly contested and dramatic championship final in front of an attendance of over one hundred. Bristol took a huge early lead that Cardiff chipped away at over the final five innings. But Cardiff couldn’t make up the deficit, and Bristol held on for a memorable and deserved victory.
This year’s Single A postseason is shaping up to be an intriguing and exciting affair. With all teams evenly matched there will be more drama and scintillating baseball guaranteed. You can follow all the play by play live in BBF’s new beta mode. The full postseason schedule will be released in the coming days.