The NBL reached the halfway stage of the season with high temperatures baking diamonds across the country on Father’s Day.
London Mets and Croydon Pirates battled through an exciting series at Roundshaw Playing Fields. In game one, Croydon were quick off the mark, taking a 6-0 lead into the third inning, which included back-to-back home runs from 15-year-old Owen Wagner and 16-year-old Calvin Musil. Mets’ Conner Brown replied in the third with a two-RBI home run and, by the fifth inning, it looked to be going Croydon’s way with the score at 7-3.
Due to one of the umpiring crew suffering from heat stroke, there was a 45-minute medical break, after which the Mets came back recharged. An unanswered four-run seventh inning sent the game into extra innings, where the Mets capitalised on their renewed energy. A Joe Cosgrove single brought home the go-ahead run before Quin Cotton hit a grand slam to deep right field to extend the Mets’ lead to five runs. Relief pitcher Conner Brown saw out an unanswered bottom of the eighth as the Mets claimed a 12-7 victory.
Game two was controlled by the Mets, who never trailed after taking a two-run lead in the first inning. Starting pitcher William Harris struck out nine and gave up only two runs, including the fifth home run of the day, which came from Croydon’s Tyler Thompson. Joe Cosgrove came in to close out the seventh inning as the Mets completed the sweep with a 9-3 win.
In the other Southern Division game, fresh from European competition, the Herts Toucans visited Essex Arrows with both teams sitting at .500. Game one was a close battle, with the scores level at 4-4 heading into the sixth inning, including a Herts home run by Satohiko Fukuda. Essex edged ahead with a run in the bottom of the inning before closing out the game to secure a 5-4 victory.
Game two was dominated by Essex. A five-run second inning was followed by a further four runs across the third and fourth innings, with Herts managing just one run in reply. Essex took second spot in the division with a convincing 9-1 win.
Leicester travelled to Liverpool looking to earn their first win of the season. The Blue Sox took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before the Trojans plated four runs in the second to take a lead they would never relinquish. Backed by 10 strikeouts from Christopher Stone, Liverpool claimed a 7-3 victory.
The Trojans added to the Blue Sox’s woes with a fourth-inning mercy-rule win in game two. A Hansel Christopher home run was one of six runs scored in the first inning. Leicester chipped away at the deficit and trailed by just two runs at 7-5 heading into the bottom of the fourth, where walks proved to be their downfall. Liverpool scored 13 runs in the inning, with the 15-run mercy rule ending the game 20-5.
With Manchester A’s not in action, the Sheffield Bruins looked to extend their lead at the top of the Northern Division as they hosted Long Eaton Storm. Thirteen strikeouts from Solomon Redo, backed by nine runs in game one, ensured the Bruins made a positive start to the series with a 9-4 win.
Will Clayton pitched six scoreless innings against Long Eaton in game two. Heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Bruins held a 9-2 lead before Luke Martin homered to extend the advantage to eight runs, as Sheffield took game two 10-2 and moved one game clear ahead of next Sunday’s clash with second-placed Manchester.Heat, Home Runs and Tight Battles as NBL Reaches Midway Point
For a full list of results and standings across all divisions head to https://stats.britishbaseball.org.uk/