by Simon Fitzjohn, BaseballSoftballUK, www.baseballsoftballuk.com
Richmond Flames – London Mets 5-4, 11-3
Richmond Flames served notice that they may well be the team to beat this season after they downed reigning champions London Mets in both games of their season-opening doubleheader on Sunday, April 19 at Richmond.
Working behind strong pitching performances from Michael Osborn and Brad Crinion, the Flames claimed 5-4 and 11-3 victories to get their season off to a flyer. Cody Cain provided the offensive fireworks, belting a three-run homer in the second game and Coach Grant Delzoppo was in ecstatic mood.
“We did not beat the Mets at all last season,” Delzoppo said, “so to win two games on the opening weekend is huge. It was a really good team effort, and we definitely deserved to win both games.
“Our pitching was a real strong point for us,” Delzoppo continued, “and I reckon there is plenty more to come. We felt we had a good chance this season, but everyone will really take a lot of confidence from this.”
Croydon Pirates – Herts Falcons 5-11, 3-10
NBL new boys Herts Falcons wasted little time in announcing their arrival on the national stage, cruising to two comfortable victories at Croydon Pirates.
The Falcons rolled to 11-5 and 10-3 wins, and Croydon GM Dave Ward had few complaints.
Ward said: “Herts were an unknown quantity to us, but we have so many players missing we were a bit of an unknown quantity ourselves! We are having to rebuild, and until we get some of our better players back I think we will be suffering.
“But Herts are a good club, and I think they will more than hold their own this season.”
| Time | Home | Visitor | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, April 19 2009 | ||||
 |
12:00 | Croydon Pirates | Herts Falcons | 05:11 |
|
14:30 | Croydon Pirates | Herts Falcons | 03:10 |
|
14:00 | Richmond Flames | London Mets | 05:04 |
|
16:30 | Richmond Flames | London Mets | 11:03 |
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | R+ | R- | .pct | GB | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond Flames | 17 | 7 | 209 | 95 | .708 | 0 | W8 |
| 2 | London Mets | 17 | 7 | 191 | 109 | .708 | 0 | L3 |
| 3 | Bracknell Blazers | 14 | 10 | 176 | 119 | .583 | 3 | W5 |
| 4 | Herts Falcons | 12 | 12 | 146 | 188 | .500 | 5 | L6 |
| 5 | Croydon Pirates | 0 | 24 | 70 | 281 | .000 | 17 | L24 |
