The 2026 BBF playoffs got underway last weekend, with action in all five divisions.
The NBL Semi-Finals took place at Grovehill, with teams looking to book their place in the finals next weekend in Bristol. First-placed Southern Division side London Mets faced second-placed Northern Division side Manchester A’s, whilst Essex Arrows faced the first-placed Northern Division Sheffield Bruins.
In game one of the best-of-three semi-final, Manchester got off to a hot start with a three-run home run by Jonathan Rodriguez in the first inning. The Mets replied with a three-run home run by Conner Brown and an extra run to give them the early advantage.
The A’s went scoreless in the second inning, whilst the Mets piled on the pressure, adding nine runs, including a two-run home run by Joe Cosgrove and another homer by Conner Brown. The Mets ended the game by the ten-run mercy rule in the fifth to take game one 14-4.
Game two of the series took place on Sunday morning. There were two home runs in the third inning as London’s Walter Bass hit one over the left-field fence, which was answered by Rodriguez’s second of the weekend as his two-RBI homer over right field gave Manchester a one-run lead. The game went the seven-inning distance, with A’s pitcher Cameron Waddelow picking up the 6-5 win to force a deciding third game.
Joe Cosgrove took to the mound for the Mets in what would be a one-sided affair. Conner Brown hit his third home run in as many games in the bottom of the first inning, and the London side never looked back. The Mets added five runs in the second and eight unanswered runs in the third inning.
Manchester got their only hit of the game in the fourth inning, with one run scoring in the top half. The Mets secured the win and their place in another NBL Final as Joe Cosgrove’s single in the bottom of the fourth brought in Taisei Nakahara to end the game by mercy rule, 16-1.
In the second semi-final, the Arrows took control of the first game, giving up three hits and one run on their way to a 13-1 victory, which included a grand slam from Javy Santana and a solo homer by Aneudy Perez.
Game two was a tense and exciting contest. The Bruins took an early one-run lead in the first inning before adding a further five runs to their tally in the second. Essex replied with four runs in the bottom of the third inning, which included a solo home run by Adoni Rodriguez to start the inning.
The fourth inning was scoreless, and Sheffield added a further two runs in the fifth to give them a four-run lead heading into the last two innings. Essex pitcher Richard Chesterton kept the Bruins quiet in the top of the sixth, giving up only one hit. The Arrows added two runs in the bottom of the inning, leaving them two runs behind the lead.
In the seventh inning Sheffield struck out, grounded out and grounded out before Essex came to the plate looking to force extra innings or walk off with a place in the finals.
Essex’s first two batters grounded out, leaving the Bruins one out away from forcing a deciding game. An HBP, single and walk followed, loading the bases for Essex before Javy Santana drove in three runs on a triple to walk it off and send Essex to the 2026 NBL Finals.
The NBL Finals will take place on 12th and 13th September at Somerdale Pavilion in Bristol.
The Division 2 playoff semi-finals were held at Finsbury Park. Bracknell Inferno fought a close battle with London Metros over a nine-inning game, which saw the Metros edge the contest 9-8.
Brighton Brewers faced Bristol Badgers in the other semi-final. The Badgers tied the game in the bottom of the ninth to make it 5-5 and send the game to extra innings. A Stephen Pollard three-RBI home run was part of a nine-run top of the tenth for Brighton. With the Badgers only managing two runs in the bottom of the inning, Brighton advanced to next weekend’s final in Bristol with a 14-7 victory.
It was a busy weekend in Division 3, with wild-card games played on Saturday followed by quarter-finals on Sunday.
Guildford Mavericks visited Kent Buccaneers in the Southern wild-card game. A three-RBI home run by Guildford’s Sam Christopher in the top of the seventh wasn’t enough to complete a comeback as Kent finished 10-8 winners.
The Buccaneers visited London Meteors on Sunday for a place in the semi-finals. London led 8-4 at the end of the first inning and, with two home runs from Brandon Jimenez, they never looked back, running out 15-7 winners.
Newcastle Nighthawks travelled to Hull to face the Scorpions in the Northern qualifier. Behind for the first two innings, they took a one-run lead in the third before extending it in the sixth and finishing 15-9 winners.
The next day, the Nighthawks travelled to Liverpool to face table-topping Bootle Trojans. A solid pitching performance by Newcastle’s Paul Brown, as well as a grand slam by the pitcher in the third inning, helped the Nighthawks progress to the semi-finals with an 18-7 win.
Oxford Kings visited Milton Keynes Bucks for the Central quarter-final tie. With the scores tied at 5-5 heading into the fourth inning, the Bucks sent Toshihiro Kondo to the mound to replace starter Nick Russell. Kondo gave up no hits in four innings, whilst the Bucks’ bats knocked in eight unanswered runs to win the tie 13-5.
The final quarter-final of Division 3 was for the SWWBL pennant. Bristol Bats travelled to Cardiff to face the Merlins. GB U-15’s Lloyd Kirby pitched two hitless innings for the Merlins, and the score was 0-0 heading into the bottom of the third when Cardiff took control of the tie with seven runs. The Merlins added an eighth in the fourth, with Bristol only managing three in reply as Cardiff progressed to the semi-finals 8-3.
On Saturday 12th September, Newcastle Nighthawks will travel to Milton Keynes Bucks, with London Meteors travelling to Cardiff Merlins for a place in the final.
Elsewhere, in the Division 4 quarter-finals, Co Durham Spartans had the longest journey of the 2026 BBF season, with a near 800-mile round trip to Plymouth Outlaws. Outlaws pitching dominated the Spartans as Plymouth progressed to the semi-finals as 19-1 victors.
Leeds Locos 2 travelled to London to face Herts Hawks. The Hawks held Leeds to one hit and one run as they brought in 17 runs, including a Lee Dunn home run, to win 17-1.
Bristol Buccaneers and Cambridge Royals played the only quarter-final to go the full nine innings. The lead went back and forth throughout the game, with the Royals winning the tie 19-18.
In the other quarter-final, Birmingham Bats faced Bracknell Phoenix. The Bats posted two home runs, by Mark Leighton and Nathan Fernando respectively, but were held to nine runs as Phoenix scored 23, including a Mitch Prescott grand slam.
On Sunday 13th September, Bracknell Phoenix will face Herts Hawks, with Plymouth Outlaws visiting Cambridge Royals for a place in the final.
There were two wild-card games played in Division 5. Tonbridge Bobcats took on Bracknell Pyros. Gareth Nutt homered for the Bobcats, but the Pyros won the wild-card game 18-12.
Exeter Wyverns faced Bristol Brunel’s in the other game. Bristol ran out 13-7 winners, booking their place in the quarter-finals next weekend.
For full box scores, visit https://stats.britishbaseball.org.uk.