by British Baseball Federation, www.britishbaseball.org
Herts Baseball Club hosted its eighth annual Futures Tournament on Saturday 26 September at Grovehill Ballpark, with a record 20 teams in attendance on a day of warm autumn sunshine.
The Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. It brings together youth teams of all age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the top venues in the United Kingdom.
The 20 teams came from as far as Halton in the North, Essex in the East, Brighton in the South and High Wycombe in the West, and were divided into four age groups: U19s, U14s, U12s and U10s, playing on five fields. The weather featured clear skies and warm temperatures, ideal for playing baseball.
In the U19 Division, Herts fought off a resilient Halton team to win its first-ever Futures Tournament crown, with a walk-off 3-2 victory.
In the U14 Division, LYBL retained their title winning both games in the final series by 7-3 over the London Mets and 4-3 over Herts.
LYBL took the top prize again in the U12 Division, after taking both games decisively in the final series, 11-2 over LondonSports and 5-0 against London Mets.
LondonSports won the U10 Division, narrowly beating the London Mets 5-3 in the championship game.