The 2026 BBF NBL and Division 2 seasons concluded last weekend, with this year’s finals taking place in Bristol.
First- and second-placed NBL South teams London Mets and Essex Arrows met in the best-of-three NBL Final.
A solo home run from Arrows’ Julio Almonte in the first inning opened the scoring, but the Mets were quick to respond with a three-run homer from Conner Brown. Aven Fletcher added two more runs to the Mets’ total in the second with another home run.
Essex pulled a run back in the fourth, but the London side continued to build their lead, adding another two in the bottom of the inning. Bass Walters recorded the Mets’ third home run of the game in the fifth, an inning which saw London add four more runs to their tally.
Pitcher Chris St-Pierre kept Essex quiet over the final two innings as the Mets took game one 11-3.
On a damp Sunday morning, game two got underway at 11.30am. Both teams plated a single run in the first inning before two scoreless innings followed. At the top of the fourth, play was delayed for an hour and a half as rain began to cause problems.
The Mets added two runs following the rain delay to take a 3-1 lead into the fifth, where they added a further two, with Essex replying with one.
Joe Cosgrove took over pitching duties for the Mets in the sixth inning and allowed no hits over the final two innings, striking out Javy Santana to end the game 5-2 and secure another NBL trophy for the Mets.
London Mets Baseball Club also featured in the Division 2 Final, as their second team, the Metros, faced Brighton Brewers for the championship.
Game one was a close affair. The Brewers led 3-1 going into the bottom of the fifth, where the Metros scored three runs to take a one-run advantage. A scoreless sixth inning left it a one-run ball game heading into the final inning.
The Brewers scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take a two-run advantage before Isaac Neal saw out the game, keeping the London side scoreless in the bottom of the inning to secure game one for Brighton, 6-4.
The Metros’ bats came to life in game two on Sunday morning, scoring five runs in the first inning. Holding a 6-0 advantage heading into the third, the Metros added a further seven runs. By the bottom of the fourth, they had built a 16-0 lead.
The Brewers failed to score in the bottom of the inning, and the Metros took game two 16-0 by mercy rule.
Brighton came out hot in the decider. Seven runs, including a grand slam from Sebastian Molina in the top of the first, set the tone.
London scored three runs over the opening two innings in reply before Brighton once again extended their lead with four runs in the third. By the top of the fifth, the Brewers held a 12-3 advantage.
An Isaac Neal home run kicked off the fifth inning, with Brighton adding a further two runs and leaving the Metros needing three in the bottom of the fifth to keep their hopes of victory alive.
The Metros scored twice, but Ryan Gulliver ended the game with a strikeout to secure the Division 2 championship for Brighton.
With Newcastle Nighthawks unable to field a team, Milton Keynes Bucks awaited the outcome of the game between London Meteors and Cardiff Merlins to discover their opponents in the Division 3 Final.
The nine-inning semi-final, held in Cardiff, produced an exciting game of baseball, with the Merlins winning 14-10. Lloyd Kirby and Oscar Landin homered for Cardiff, while Evan Hitenfield went deep for the Meteors.
The Division 3 Final will take place over the weekend of 19 September.
The Division 4 Final will also be held this weekend, with Herts Hawks taking on Plymouth Outlaws. The Hawks overcame Bracknell Phoenix 7-4 in their semi-final, while the Outlaws defeated Cambridge Royals 6-3.
In the Division 5 quarter-finals, London Mastodons advanced to the semi-finals with a 14-12 victory. They will face Bristol Brunels, who defeated Bracknell Pyros 10-9 on a walk-off walk.
Guildford Mavericks defeated Hastings Pirates 11-4 to set up a semi-final against New Forest Thunder, who secured a 10-9 extra-innings victory over Plymouth Mariners.
The semi-finals will take place on Saturday, followed by the Division 5 Final on Sunday.
For a full list of results and box scores, visit https://stats.britishbaseball.org.uk.