The London Mets dominated the Herts Toucans in Game 2 of the NBL Final to secure their 9th consecutive title.
The Toucans started positively, taking a first-inning lead, but a dropped third strike in the top of the second set the tone for the rest of the game. The Mets plated two runs, while the Toucans went down in order.
Errors crept into the Toucans’ game in the third as they gave up five runs, managing just one in reply. The fourth inning was more of the same, with the Mets adding another five to extend their lead to ten.
The Toucans steadied a bit after a pitching change, limiting the Mets to just two runs in the fifth. However, they couldn’t generate any offense of their own, leaving the London Mets with a 14–2 victory and another NBL Championship crown.
Photos courtesy of Rocker Davies Media
Farnham Park also hosted the AAA semi-finals, where the Richmond Roebucks dominated the number-one-seeded Manchester A’s with a 16–4 scoreline to book their place in next week’s final.
Unfortunately, rain forced the postponement of the London Metros vs. Bristol Badgers semi-final, which will now be played ahead of the final.
Only two Single A quarter-final games were completed today wiith Exeter Spitfires vs. Hurricanes falling victim to the weather.
The Buccaneers and London Mercury played a wild game that saw 35 runs. Christopher Vernalli (Mercury) and Luca McCurdy (Buccaneers) both homered. Mercury tied the game in the top of the seventh and final inning, but with only one out remaining and the bases loaded, they walked in the winning run, giving Bristol an 18–17 victory and a place in the semi-finals.
The Cambridge Royals and London Minotaurs battled in another tight contest. Cambridge started strong, jumping out to a 9–6 lead after three innings. But London’s pitching shut them down over the next three frames, tying the game heading into the seventh. Cambridge pushed across two runs in the top of the inning, and relief pitcher Yi-Hsiung Hsu closed it out to send the Royals to the semi-finals.
For full game stats from any of today’s games visit https://stats.britishbaseball.org.uk