Falcons win first trophy in four years

The minibus was full of excitement and anticipation as club driver Rhys guided it down the M40 to Slough where the Falcons were to play in the inaugural National University Baseball Fall Cup organised by Baseball Softball UK (BSUK). The off-season had seen fantastic recruitment, particularly in the pitching department and this team represented the best chance yet that the Falcons had of securing that vaunted Fall Cup Shield which they last won in 2010.

Things were looking a little shaky in the warm up drills, but thankfully the Falcons found their groove for the first game against Southampton. The team as a whole was the beneficiary of some erratic pitching from our opponents, and patient battings led to 8 walks and 1 free base due to a hit batter. This allowed the Falcons to pile on the runs with a total of 16 scoring on 7 hits thanks to Ashley, Zack, Yuki, Patrick, Vincent, Ben and Min. Chris did well to hit a strong line drive to right field that was somewhat magically scooped up by Southampton's right fielder inches from the ground.

On the defensive side, the Falcons were impeccable with a perfect 1.00 fielding percentage. Pitchers Yuki Fujita and Zack Wang combined to shutout the Mustangs and gain the win for the Falcons in the first game. With a +16 run differential, the Falcons were now at the top of the table for the first time in 4 years.

The next game against the UCLU Capitals was a much closer affair as Falcon bats went strangely silent with only 4 hits the entire game. Nevertheless, the Falcon's fielding and pitching pulled through again with another fantastic performance by Zack Wang on the mound striking out 3 batters and allowing only 2 runs in the first 4 innings before closer Eduardo came in to finish the last inning with 3 easy outs despite 2 inconsequential walks. The Falcons again showed their mettle on the field with yet another 1.00 showing on the field, securing the win 8-2 despite mustering less hits than their opponents.

The third game started off a very tight affair, With the Falcons first up to bat, leadoff Ashley and second batter Eduardo both grounded out to the left side of the field. Third baseman Patrick stepped up and was lucky to get on base from an error by the Thieves' first baseman. A stolen base later, he was in scoring position and left-fielder Yuki smashed in a double to bring him home before Zack grounded out to first base. With the score at 1-0, pitcher Eduardo, gave a fantastic showing on the mound, gaining a 1-2-3 inning with 2 strikeouts to bring the Falcons back to bat. Things started off well for the Falcons with first baseman Ben hitting a triple to get in scoring position. Catcher Vincent Li then grounded out to the pitcher, giving the Thieves their first out. Then, in a squeeze play right out of the highlight reel, Second baseman Rhys Jones laid down a perfect bunt to score Ben and made it to first. The score was now 2-0 with the Falcons in the lead. However, right field Jacques would then strike out to give the Thieves their second out. Leadoff Ashley stepped up to the plate again and started off a 2-out rally with a big double behind centre field which was followed by hits from second, third and fourth batters which brought in a further 4 runs before Zack grounded out to first to end the inning. The Falcons were now 6-0 ahead and looking very strong on the field. Nottingham's biggest batter then stepped up in a big way with a solo home run over the centerfield fence before Eduardo closed out an otherwise uneventful inning against the remaining batters. In the top of the third, the Falcons continued to pile on the runs with Ben, Vincent, Chris and Ashley all coming round to score, bringing the Falcons to an unassailable 10-1 lead. The game would end in two more innings with the Falcons closer Zack closing out the game for the save despite giving up 2 runs to bring the score to 11-3.

The final round robin game for the Falcons came on Sunday against last year's Spring Cup champions, the UEA Blue Sox.

The chilly weather was getting to everyone and it was evident in the erratic pitching of starter Zack as well as a series of uncharacteristic fielding errors from everyone that allowed UEA to score 2 runs in the first inning. Nevertheless, the Falcons came back strongly to knock 7 in for a mercy rule inning in the bottom of the first that was helped along hugely by a UEA pitcher that could only manage 6 strikes for the inning and singles from Eduardo, Stephane and Ashley. The top of the second however, showed that the Falcons themselves weren't immune to the weather as UEA knocked them right back for a mercy rule inning with Zack struggling to find the strike zone. The Falcons then came back again with a second straight mercy rule inning of their own, helped along by singles from Patrick and Min and a massive two run line-drive homer to left field from Yuki.

The Falcons were now up 14-9 and with Zack finally finding the strike zone in the top of the third, they managed to get out of the inning with only 3 runs scored.

As the bottom of the third came round, the Falcons were 10 minutes from securing the win on time, having batted second.

Patient batting from all batters saw the inning drag past the 10 minute mark as the Falcons scored one off a wild pitch, bringing the Falcons into their first final in 4 years with a perfect unbeaten record in the round robin.

Nerves must have got to the Falcons in their first big game however, and they gave up 6 runs in the top of the first with a series of hugely uncharacteristic errors. From then on, UEA never looked back as dismal hitting from the Falcons saw them only getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third off a line-drive single from Patrick coupled with 2 stolen bases and a wild pitch. The Blue Sox continued to pile on the runs as starter Yuki had trouble finding the zone and soon the score had become 11-1 . With things looking grim for the Falcons, a two out rally started again in the bottom of the fourth with Ashley getting on base off a single to the opposite field before stealing two bases and coming home off a passed ball. Patrick drew the walk to get on base and subsequently came home on a wild pitch after two stolen bases.

Yuki then drew another walk and came home on another wild pitch before Jacques struck out to end the Falcon's hopes of victory.

Despite the dismal final, lots of positives were taken from the competition, with huge improvement from last year's new players, Rhys, Stephane and Min.

And as the Falcons celebrate their first trophy position in 4 years, the sights are set firmly on the National University Softball Championships on the 18th of October where the Falcons will be aiming to expand their trophy collection.