by Joe Gray
The BRACKNELL BLAZERS, playing a doubleheader at RICHMOND, were aiming to get their first victory of the season against one of the top two teams in the NBL South (all four of their victories had been against the CROYDON PIRATES). In the first game, the BLAZERS came back from an early three-run deficit to lead by two runs after five innings, but the FLAMES rallied for three more runs in the sixth inning and shut the BLAZERS down in the seventh to take the game 6-5. In game two, the BLAZERS held a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the fourth inning; however, Richmond crossed the plate four times in that inning and once more in the sixth, ending up 8-4 winners.
At Roundshaw, the METS rallied for six runs in the final inning of game one to beat the PIRATES 13-12 (Simon Pole pitched the last inning for the win), but in game two LONDON’s unbeaten record finally came to an end after 21 straight wins. The bats of CROYDON proved too much, with homers from Ryan Barwick, Kieran Clackett, and Maikel Azcuy driving in seven of the runs in an 8-4 CROYDON victory (Guy Lidbetter got the win after six innings of strong work). Clackett’s was his third of the day, having sent the ball out of the park in his first two at-bats of game one. In that first game, Phil Clark and Mark Rigby smashed back-to-back home runs for LONDON while CROYDON’s Kevin Brush hit a grand slam.
In the NBL North, the MENWITH HILL PATRIOTS (now 8-8) forfeited their double-header against the division-leading MANCHESTER EAGLES (now 15-2), but they secured a spot in the four-team National Finals as a result of the LIVERPOOL TROJANS’ withdrawal from the league.
In the one-game semi-finals, on September 6 at Roundshaw (the CROYDON PIRATES’ home ground), MANCHESTER will play the RICHMOND FLAMES while MENWITH HILL will take on the LONDON METS, with the winners of each contest meeting in a three-game final (game one takes place straight after the semi-finals, while game two and game three, if needed, will be played on September 7).
For a full report on Sunday’s action see: Baseball GB
| Time | Home | Visitor | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, August 17 2008 | ||||
 |
12:00 | Menwith Hill Patriots | Manchester Eagles | 00:07 |
|
12:00 | Sheffield Bladerunners | Liverpool Trojans | 07:00 |
|
12:00 | Richmond Flames | Bracknell Blazers | 06:05 (6) |
|
12:00 | Croydon Pirates | London Mets | 12:13 (7) |
|
14:30 | Menwith Hill Patriots | Manchester Eagles | 00:07 |
|
14:30 | Sheffield Bladerunners | Liverpool Trojans | 07:00 |
|
14:30 | Richmond Flames | Bracknell Blazers | 08:04 (6) |
|
14:30 | Croydon Pirates | London Mets | 08:04 (6) |
Standings NL South
| # | Team | W | L | R+ | R- | .pct | GB | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London Mets | 23 | 1 | 239 | 53 | .958 | 0 | W2 |
| 2 | Richmond Flames | 15 | 9 | 165 | 131 | .625 | 8 | W1 |
| 3 | Croydon Pirates | 5 | 19 | 113 | 178 | .208 | 18 | W1 |
| 4 | Bracknell Blazers | 5 | 19 | 101 | 256 | .208 | 18 | L1 |
Standings NL North
| # | Team | W | L | R+ | R- | .pct | GB | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester Eagles | 20 | 2 | 176 | 68 | .909 | 0 | W16 |
| 2 | Menwith Hill Patriots | 12 | 8 | 139 | 72 | .600 | 7 | W4 |
| 3 | Liverpool Trojans | 2 | 20 | 55 | 179 | .090 | 18 | L19 |
