This weekend saw Days 1 and 2 of the Margaret Borley Youth National Baseball Championships (YNBCs) take place at Farnham Park. Twenty-seven teams representing 14 clubs contested games and trophies across the U10, U12, and U14 divisions. New to the YNBCs this year were teams from Birmingham, Bournemouth, and Oxford.
In the U10 bracket, Guildford, Herts Pegasus, LYBL, and Sussex Firebirds survived a marathon schedule to reach the semi-finals, with Herts and Sussex progressing to set up a rematch of last year’s final. Sussex brought out the bats and the defence and repeated as back-to-back U10 champions.
The U12 BBF Shield saw nine teams battle it out in round-robin pool play on Saturday, with Cambridge Atom Smashers, Croydon Parrots, Greenwich Giants, and London Mets progressing to the semi-finals on Sunday morning. The London Mets prevailed over Croydon in the final to add the U12 Shield to their trophy cabinet.
Photos by Jody Davies – Rocker Davies Media
U14 play also featured pool play on Saturday, with tournament debutants Oxford Owls going 2-0 to qualify for the semi-finals on Sunday. They were joined by Herts Phoenix and two different teams from LYBL. LYBL and Herts contested a classic pitcher’s duel in the final, with LYBL prevailing to claim the U14 title.
In U12 pool play, Cambridge Atom Smashers and LYBL progressed out of the play-in round and will join the U12 championship bracket this coming Saturday at Herts Grovehill, facing off against the London Mets and another LYBL team. Grovehill will also host the U16 Championship on the same day, featuring Cambridge Atom Smashers, Herts Dragons, and LYBL.
Congratulations to all participants and winners from this weekend’s YNBC games. We look forward to wrapping up the youth season with our U12 and U16 championships this coming Saturday at Grovehill.